Seasonal activity patterns and behaviour of juliform millipedes in south-eastern Botswana
- 1 November 1992
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Journal of Tropical Ecology
- Vol. 8 (4), 451-464
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0266467400006799
Abstract
The seasonal patterns of surface activity and behaviour were recorded for three species of juliform millipede in a savanna habitat in south-east Botswana. Initially, surface activity followed rainfall events but this association weakened as the season progressed and, although significant, the correlation between the magnitude of rainfall events and activity was weak. Activity also occurred on moist, relatively cool and cloudy days, particularly inAlloporus uncinatuswhich was much larger than the other species. The onset and duration of surface activity varied between species. Observations of feeding behaviour suggested that millipedes in semi-arid savannas did not subsist exclusively on tree leaf litter but appeared to select a range of food types. Mobility is necessary to obtain these patchy resources but differences between the sexes in patterns of behaviour are more likely related to the mating patterns of these species.Keywords
This publication has 20 references indexed in Scilit:
- Seasonal activity patterns of julid millipedes in ZimbabweJournal of Tropical Ecology, 1991
- Herbivory by Insects in Australian Tropical Savannas: A ReviewJournal of Biogeography, 1990
- The Influence of Soil Fertility on the Ecology of Southern African Dry SavannasJournal of Biogeography, 1990
- Seasonal abundance of soil-surface arthropods in relation to some meteorological and edaphic variables of the grassland and tree-planted areas in a tropical semi-arid savannaInternational Journal of Biometeorology, 1990
- Seed Germination in a Seasonal Tropical Forest in Panama: A Community StudyEcological Monographs, 1983
- Studies on an Indian polydesmoid millipede Streptogonopus phipsoni Life cycle and swarming behaviour of the larvaeJournal of Zoology, 1983
- Soil respiration in a tropical grasslandSoil Biology and Biochemistry, 1981
- Behavioural Preference of Julus scandinavius (Myriapoda) to Different Species of Leaf LitterOikos, 1979
- The population dynamics of the millipede, Ommatoiulus moreletii(Diplopoda: Iulidae)Journal of Zoology, 1978
- Termites and SoilsMycologia, 1972