1 Diversity Patterns in Termite Communities: Species-Area Relationship, Alpha and Beta Diversity

Several processes may generate the relationship between species richness and area. The relationship between alpha and beta diversity with area may indicate which biological process was involved in a given species-area relationship. In this paper we aimed to test the response of termite species richness to remnant area, testing how alpha and beta diversity vary with remnant area, and which processes may be involved in such relationships. We sampled termites in 12 remnants with areas ranging from 3.21 to 60.63 hectares in Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The species area relationship was not confirmed for termites in these remnants, and alpha and beta diversity did not increase with remnant area. The SARs found in termite communities by other authors was attributed to sampling effects. There was no significant relationship between local and regional species richness. Therefore, termite commu-nities were considered saturated. Habitat specialists seem to be an explanation for the absence of a relationship between alpha and beta diversity with remnant area