Termites Create Mounds that Have a Better Ventilation System Than Human Homes

A new study reveals a bit more about termite mounds. Scientists have learned how these structures are ventilated, which may reveal a bit more about these amazing creatures.

Termites don't have many tools at their disposal-just their bodies, soil and saliva. They also have the guidance of variations in wind speed and direction and daily fluctuations in temperatures. Despite these limitations, though, these tiny insects have built structures that are efficiently ventilated.

In order to better understand these mounds, the researchers used a series of custom-designed probes. They then conducted a variety of tests on both live and dead mounds.

"The direct measurements essentially overthrow the conventional wisdom of the field," said L. Mahadevan, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The classic theory was that if you have wind blowing over the mounds, that changes the pressure, and can lead to suction of CO2 from the interior, but that was never directly measured. We measured wind velocity and direction inside the mounds at different locations. We measured temperature, CO2 concentrations...and found that temperature oscillations associated with day and night can be used to drive ventilation in a manner not dissimilar to a lung. So the mound 'breathes' once a day, so to speak."

The mounds are built around large central "chimneys," which reach from gallery, which is the underground vault where the bulk of the colony lives, to the top of the mound. While the interior of the mound features larger, structural walls, the exterior is far thinner, with a wall that does not allow for the exchange of gases.

The findings reveal a bit more about termite mounds and show how these amazing creatures manage to create such ventilated systems.

The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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