LAUSR

Abstract A comparative study of termite (Isoptera: Termitidae) species diversity and richness in three ecologically different habitats was conducted in the Shivamogga District of Karnataka, India, from September 2014 to August 2015. A standard belt transect method was used to sample the termites in each habitat for the duration of the study. The three habitats studied were rainforest, semimalnad represented by degraded forest area that was previously rainforest, and maidan represented by open field and plantation crops with no tree cover. Twenty-two species were collected, all representing the family Termitidae. Nine species were recorded from the maidan habitat, 14 species from the semimalnad habitat, and 18 species from a rainforest habitat. Of the 18 species recorded from the rainforest, 6 were exclusively recorded there and not in the maidan or the semimalnad habitats. Species richness, as indicated by Shannon's diversity index (H), was highest in the rainforest (1.62), followed by the semimalnad (1.43) and maidan (1.13) habitats. The variation in diversity across these three habitats is attributed to anthropogenic disturbance, cropping patterns, topography, and bioclimatic factors. Implications of habitat disturbance on termite diversity are discussed.