ECOLOGICAL STUDIES ON TILE SYMBIOSIS OF TER ITOMYCES ...

the ecosystem unless the nest in destroyed. idith termites the material
is quickly removed before other organisms have worked on It and may
then be kept within the nest systeme All the faecal material of the
termitasýaoes onto the funaus coimb aW dead termites am recycled
within the colony* The tcrmitewfungus system isýsppcjez poor In
relation to normal decomposition* An Important difference when
comparing It to straight wood decay by fungL is that the material
Ternit2Mceis to presented with has passed through the termites gute
Cou: minution of the plant material by the termites will rupture call
walls exposing the cell contents to the action of gut enzymes or
.., k-s in enzymes of Termitomyr the Cut* This means that it is likely some
eeccmposition, probably of the more accessible celluloseq has already
occurred.
In both system all the material gets recycled but what may take
a succession of many organisms a long time in normal decomposition
takes two speciest the termite and Termit2nMceg-, very little time.
369.