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Frugivory and seed predation of fishtail palm (Caryota mitis Lour.) on the remote oceanic island of Narcondam, India J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2024-03-11 Abhishek Gopal, Sartaj Ghuman, Vivek Ramachandran, Navendu Page, Rohit Naniwadekar
Oceanic islands, due to their evolutionary history and isolation, play a dual role of having high endemicity and being vulnerable to extinctions, with most known extinctions occurring on islands. Plant–animal interactions are particularly important on islands, as island systems generally have low redundancy and are more vulnerable to disruption either via extinction or by invasive species. Here, we
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Elevated litterfall phosphorus reduces litter and soil organic matter pools in exotic-dominated novel forests in Singapore J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2024-02-12 Aloysius Teo, Theodore A. Evans, Ryan A. Chisholm
The estimation of leaf litter turnover is often limited to early-stage decomposition using unrepresentative models and litter types. In tropical secondary forests, particularly exotic-dominated novel forests, the characterisation of litter turnover remains poor. This study estimated the annual turnover of in-situ leaf litter across four forest successional types in Singapore using a Weibull residence
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Assemblage of forest communities in subtropical montane forests of western Mexico J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2024-01-29 Karolina Riaño, Ramón Cuevas, Susana Zuloaga-Aguilar, Enrique Jardel, Oscar Briones, Heidi Asbjornsen
Functional diversity indices have been used to differentiate the relative contribution of stochastic and deterministic processes that modulate the assemblage of communities; however, knowledge regarding the relative contribution of assemblage mechanisms in forest communities is scarce. We analysed the assembly mechanisms driving forest assemblages along a topographic gradient at two spatial scales
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Upside-down behaviour of certain ribbon worms (phylum Nemertea) J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2024-01-04 Hiroshi Kajihara, Audrey Falconer, Alexei Viktorovich Chernyshev
Ribbon worms in the genus Balionemertes from Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, and Guam—as well as Cephalothrix suni from Vietnam—were examined. Our observations indicate that the worms crawl mostly with their ventral surface upwards (the ventral surface being where the mouth opens), a behaviour that has not been documented in previous literature. Like many other worm species with colour patterns
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Bioclimatic predictors of forest structure, composition and phenology in the Paraguayan Dry Chaco J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2024-01-04 Susana Ruiz-Díaz, Lidia Florencia Pérez de Molas, Enrique Benítez-León, Angélica María Almeyda Zambrano, Daniel J. Johnson, Stephanie Bohlman, Eben North Broadbent
One of the largest remnants of tropical dry forest is the South American Gran Chaco. A quarter of this biome is in Paraguay, but there have been few studies in the Paraguayan Chaco. The Gran Chaco flora is diverse in structure, function, composition and phenology. Fundamental ecological questions remain in this biome, such as what bioclimatic factors shape the Chaco’s composition, structure and phenology
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Functional and phylogenetic metrics to evaluate the potential of flagship species: the case of the salamander Ambystoma ordinarium J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-12-04 Ireri Suazo-Ortuño, Julieta Benítez-Malvido, Marco Tulio Oropeza-Sánchez
Flagship species are those chosen to raise support for broader conservation marketing campaigns and can be used as symbols of the ecosystem services and evolutionary history of particular areas. Thus, flagship species can be employed for the protection of endangered species and threatened ecosystems. Northeastern Michoacán, Mexico, is an important region for amphibian diversity but approximately 40%
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Differences in the structure of bat assemblages among habitats in the Caatinga dry forest J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-12-01 Juan Carlos Vargas-Mena, Eugenia Cordero-Schmidt, Bernal Rodríguez-Herrera, Eduardo Martins Venticinque
The Caatinga is the largest seasonal tropical dry forest with extreme environmental and meteorological conditions. It harbours many phytophysiognomies and vegetational units, but bat fauna is poorly known in many regions. We analysed the structure of bat assemblages by mist-netting during 99 nights in seven habitats throughout six sites in the northeasternmost region of the Caatinga in Rio Grande do
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Leaf-litter frog abundance increases during succession of regenerating pastures J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-12-01 Michelle E. Thompson, Maureen A. Donnelly
The extensive clearing and modification of forests by anthropogenic activities is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Declines of common species are especially concerning because of the potentially large cascading effects they might have on ecosystems. Regrowth of secondary forests may help reverse population declines by restoring habitats to similar conditions prior to land conversion but the value
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Impacts of invasive alien species on riparian plant communities in South African savanna J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-11-14 Martin Hejda, Jan Čuda, Klára Pyšková, Llewellyn C. Foxcroft, Khensani V. Nkuna, Ana Novoa, Petr Pyšek
Biological invasions are a threat to protected areas globally; however, the relative lack of studies quantifying the ecological impacts impairs informed decision-making. We selected three annual alien plants, widespread in the riparian habitats of the Kruger National Park, South Africa: Datura innoxia, Parthenium hysterophorus, and Xanthium strumarium, to examine their potential impacts on riparian
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Gypsophily in tropical environments: a case study in the Yucatan Peninsula J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-11-14 Paloma Margarita Casas Navarro, Ivonne Sánchez-del Pino, Ariadna Ibarra Morales
Gypsophily, i.e. the relationship between plants and gypsum soils, has been extensively studied only in arid and semi-arid regions, in contrast to tropical areas, where gypsum outcrops act as refugia for xerothermophilic species and endemic flora. We focused on gypsophile flora in Campeche, Mexico on the Zoh-Laguna Plateau. Using a combination of remote sensing, literature review, and herbarium databases
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A comparison of inter- and intraspecific variation in seed dispersal in three South American primates J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-11-08 Ariek Barakat Norford, Kelin Nathaly Echeverry, Juliana Ramos Obregón, Pablo R. Stevenson
Primate communities vary in their level of redundancy, or overlap, in seed dispersal function, which could be due to body size, degree of frugivory or intraspecific variation, among other factors. In this study, we quantified redundancy in seed dispersal among three sympatric primate species: Lagothrix lagothricha, Alouatta seniculus and Sapajus apella in gallery forests in Meta, Colombia. We compared
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Assessing forest restoration effectiveness in the Seasonal Semideciduous Forest in the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest ecoregion using epigaeic ant assemblages J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-11-07 Mariane Aparecida Nickele, Wilson Reis Filho, Susete do Rocio Chiarello Penteado, Elisiane Castro de Queiroz, Luis Cesar Rodrigues da Silva, Thiele Sides Camargo, Alexandre Casadei-Ferreira, Rodrigo Machado Feitosa, Marcio Roberto Pie
Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant initiated a large reforestation programme after the expropriation of the areas destined for the formation of the reservoir. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of forest restoration of the Seasonal Semideciduous Forest in the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest ecoregion, Brazil, using epigaeic ant assemblages as bioindicators, by comparing ant species richness
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Changes in soil chemical properties and their spatial distribution after logging and conversion to oil palm plantation in Sabah (Borneo) J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-10-10 Trevan Flynn, Jiri Tuma, Tom M Fayle, Hana Veselá, Jan Frouz
Conversion of primary forest into oil palm plantations is common in tropical countries, affecting soil properties, ecosystem services and land-use management. However, little is known about the short-range spatial soil distribution that is important for soil scientists, ecologists, entomologists, mycologists or microbiologists. In this study, seven soil properties (pH, EC (µS/m), P (mg/kg), NO3- (mg/kg)
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Seasonal dietary niche changes in Neotropical bats J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-09-21 Sebastião Maximiano Corrêa Genelhú, Rafael de Souza Laurindo, Arthur Setsuo Tahara, Letícia Langsdorff Oliveira, Renato Gregorin
In the vast Neotropic seasonal environment, the most diverse family of bats, the Phyllostomidae (leaf-nosed bats), includes up to 93 species. As the quality and quantity of food resources fluctuate in the habitats, diet heterogeneity is observed among bat species and regions of the Neotropics. In this study, we investigated by faecal analyses, how the dietary niche (DN) of eight Phyllostomidae bat
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El Niño oscillations impact anti-predator defences to alter survival of an herbivorous beetle in a neotropical wet forest J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-09-01 Fredric V. Vencl, Robert B. Srygley
Little is known about the effects of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on tropical insect communities, even though they are suffering rapid declines in complexity and stability due to climate change. We explore the impact of fluctuations in local climate imposed by ENSO on the performance of herbivore defences mediating enemy interactions. In a widespread rainforest edge community, we quantified
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Growing population of the critically endangered white-thighed colobus monkey (Colobus vellerosus) from forest fragments in Ghana J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-08-29 Bright Obeng Kankam, Prosper Antwi-Bosiako, Louis Addae-Wireko, Christopher Dankwah
The population of critically endangered white-thighed colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus) at Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary (BFMS) is possibly the only growing population of this species in West Africa. We assessed the current population status of C. vellerosus in BFMS and the surrounding fragments in Ghana. We undertook a complete count of the population in 2020, and this data was combined with previously
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Factors influencing tropical lizard reproduction vary by microhabitat but not forest type J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-08-10 Meredith C. Swartwout, J. D. Willson
To understand mechanisms behind enigmatic declines of tropical reptiles, knowledge of species interactions and how they vary over space and time is important. Some tropical lizard population dynamics can be highly influenced by egg survival. Yet relatively few studies have examined relationships between lizard reproductive success and egg predators across forest and microhabitat types. In this study
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Spatial association of bamboos with trees in a commercial tree plantation forest in Myanmar J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-08-08 Toshihiro Yamada, Chihro Oshige, Miyabi Nakabayashi, Toshinori Okuda, Aung Zaw Moe, Ei Ei Hlaing
Bamboos are mainly distributed in subtropical to tropical areas. Bamboos provide numerous ecosystem services, while the expansion of bamboo gives negative impacts on forest ecosystems. Despite big impacts of bamboos on a forest ecosystem, ecological characteristics of bamboo remain poorly understood. The spatial distributional patterns of three bamboo species, Cephalostachyum pergracile, Bambusa polymorpha
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Changes in spinescence across leaf ontogeny support the optimal defence hypothesis in blackberries (Rubus adenotrichos) J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-07-10 Alejandro Farji-Brener, Débora Elías Díaz, Isabelle Holanda, Andrés Sierra Ricaurte, Kenneth Barrantes, Pablo José Gutiérrez-Campos
Hypotheses based on allocation theory and herbivore selection offer opposite predictions about how defence levels against herbivores change as the plant tissue grows. The growth differentiation balance hypothesis (GDBH) assumes that defences will be resource-limited in immature tissues and predict that defence levels increase as the plant tissue grows. Conversely, the optimal defence hypothesis (ODH)
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The effect of tree-on-tree interactions and abiotic conditions on woody communities in Brazilian savannas J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-07-05 Davi Borges Chagas, Alessandro Rapini, Pedro Manuel Villa, Rosane Garcia Collevatti
Fire plays a crucial role in shaping plant communities in South American savannas. However, the impact of biotic interactions on tree communities still needs to be better explored. In this study, we evaluated the influence of tree-on-tree interactions and abiotic conditions on the structure and diversity of woody communities in savannas of Central Brazil. We used plots of 10 × 10 m in three preservation
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Mangrove propagules are limited in their capacity to disperse across long distances J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-07-04 Natasha R. Granville, Cristina Banks-Leite
Mangroves are subject to rapid and large-scale habitat changes, which threaten their unique genetic diversity and provision of critically important ecosystem services. Habitat fragmentation reduces connectivity, which can impair dispersal and lead to genetic isolation. However, it is unclear whether fragmentation could impact mangrove genetic isolation, as mangrove propagules appear to be able to disperse
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Phenological diversity among sub-tropical moist forest trees of north-eastern India J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-07-04 Ningthoujam Linthoingambi Devi, Francis Q. Brearley, Shri Kant Tripathi
Analysing phenological diversity of tropical trees provides a potential tool to detect climate change effects and devise forest management options. In this study, the leaf phenological activity of 28 dominant tree species in a moist sub-tropical hill forest of north-eastern India was examined for a period of 2 years and related to functional traits (i.e. leaf mass per area (LMA) and wood density (WD))
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A review study on the design and control of optimised greenhouse environments J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-06-15 Renuka Vinod Chimankare, Subhra Das, Karamjit Kaur, Dhiraj Magare
Greenhouses are inflated structures with transparent covering that are used to grow crops under controlled climatic conditions. Crops are protected from extreme climate-related events by being enclosed. Furthermore, the greenhouse design ratio impacts the temperature and humidity distribution profile uniformity as well as the greenhouse. As a result, by effectively designing the greenhouse structure
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Divergent litterfall nutrient responses to rainfall seasonality revealed through long-term observations in a tropical dry forest J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-06-09 Víctor J. Jaramillo, Guillermo Murray-Tortarolo, Angelina Martínez-Yrízar, Manuel Maass, José Sarukhán, Maribel Nava-Mendoza, Raúl Ahedo-Hernández, Salvador Araiza
Long-term climate and vegetation data were used to determine the role of rainfall variability and its seasonal distribution on litterfall nutrients. Based on a 20-year data set on rainfall (range 334–1,506 mm per year) and litterfall nutrients from old-growth tropical dry forest (TDF) in Mexico, we examined litterfall N and P concentrations from the rainy and dry seasons in response to rainfall in
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Plant defence traits among discrete vegetation assemblages in a mesic savanna landscape in Kenya J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-05-26 John Mbaluka Kimeu, Geoffrey Mwachala, Dawood Hattas, Tammo Reichgelt, A. Muthama Muasya
A trade-off between structural and chemical defences against herbivory in woody plants is alleged to depend on edaphic factors in African savannas. We studied anti-herbivory traits, in an edaphic mosaic of fertile and infertile soils within a savanna landscape in East Africa, towards elucidating herbivory defence traits expressions in woody plants of African savannas. We used data of 81 plants for
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Early successional habitat supports unique avian communities dominated by wintering migrants in a premontane tropical forest J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-05-24 Christy A. Carello, Scott W. Yanco
Forest succession drives concomitant changes in associated faunal communities. Thus, maintaining landscapes with high successional diversity can be an important consideration in habitat management. We sought to describe avian community characteristics across a successional gradient created by reforestation efforts in a tropical premontane wet forest in Costa Rica. Specifically, we examined the effects
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Kaya forests: nucleus of cultural and biological diversity and functionality J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-05-17 Jan Christian Habel, Kathrin Schultze-Gebhardt, Halimu S. Shauri, Ali M. Maarifa, Marianne Maghenda, Maria Fungomeli, Mike Teucher
The Kaya forests in Southern Kenya are valuable habitats for rare animal and plant species and provide various ecosystem services. The Kaya forests are also centres of cultural life and are of great relevance to rites, traditions, and the social order of the community of people. During the past decades, these forest remnants become under extreme pressure due to land use and resource exploitation and
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Elevation and cation exchange capacity determine diversity of ferns in a low-montane tropical rainforest in Ecuador J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-05-03 Jennifer Michel, Marcus Lehnert, Dietmar Quandt
Ferns (Polypodiophyta) are an abundant floral element of the tropics with high sensitivity to environmental conditions and good indicators of overall biodiversity. Here, we set out to identify which geochemical factors determine fern diversity in a low-montane tropical rainforest in Eastern Ecuador. We conducted a field survey of high-spatial resolution completing a comprehensive fern inventory across
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Attack rates on artificial caterpillars in urban areas are higher than in suburban areas in Colombia J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-04-18 Jefferson Cupitra-Rodríguez, Lorena Cruz-Bernate, James Montoya-Lerma
Growing urban expansion can alter ecological processes within trophic networks. Predation on herbivores is known to vary with the size of the area covered by vegetation, successional stage, altitude and predator community structure; however there are gaps in understanding how this occurs in urban and suburban environments. The purpose of this study was to determine whether predation pressure on artificial
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Potential seed dispersal agents of Monoon liukiuense on Iriomote Island, Japan J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-04-14 Ryo Furumoto
Monoon liukiuense (Annonaceae) is an endangered tree species distributed in Iriomote Island and Hateruma Island in the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands, Japan, and in Orchid Island (Lanyu) in Taiwan. While its habitat is confined to small areas surrounded by human-altered landscapes, the matured trees bear abundant fruits, and many offspring grow under the mother trees. M. liukiuense is hypothesised to have
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Tree density-dependence effects on seed dispersal of a large-seeded tropical tree J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-04-13 Fernanda Cristina Souza, Arleu Barbosa Viana-Junior, Pedro Uchoa Mittelman, Fernando Cesar Cascelli de Azevedo
One of the biggest issues in plant ecology is determining the interaction outcome between seeds and scatter-hoarding rodents because the latter has a dual role as dispersers and predators of seeds. Density-dependence contexts involving resource abundance largely influence the outcome of this interaction. Here, we investigated how the variation in the density of a large-seeded tropical tree (Joannesia
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Effect of ants on herbivory levels of Inga laurina: the interplay between space and time in an urban area J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-03-27 Saulo Santos Domingos, Estevao Alves Silva
Extrafloral nectary plants not only occur in natural areas but also in urban parks. These areas are prone to edge effects, and plants face different microenvironmental conditions. We investigated the spatial variation of ant–plant interactions in an urban park, and we examined if plants with ants would show lower herbivory levels and if it depended on habitat type (interior or edges). Seedlings of
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Nocturnal activity and behaviour of the elusive bushy-tailed opossum (Glironia Venusta) J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-03-20 Corrie E. Rushford, Sean Glynn
The bushy-tailed opossum (Glironia venusta) is a small arboreal marsupial found in the Amazon basin. G. venusta is rarely seen and has few published sightings throughout its range. Videos (N = 79) were obtained from arboreal camera traps located in the Las Piedras Amazon Center near the Las Piedras River (SE Peru) from April 2017 until November 2017. Our new records, the first for the Las Piedras River
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How can the copepod Mesocyclops longisetus (Thiébaud, 1912) be used to control mosquito production effectively in pots, plates, and slabs? J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-02-14 Isabela Lima-Keppe, Victor Satoru Saito, Jaqueline Fernanda Soares, Aline Nunes-Silva, Antonio Ostrensky, Iuri Emmanuel de Paula Ferreira, Gilmar Perbiche-Neves
We tested the effectiveness of predation by the cyclopoid copepod Mesocyclops longisetus (Thiébaud, 1912) in Culicidae and Chironomidae larvae, aiming to test if (i) the introduction of copepods effectively controls mosquito larvae and (ii) the density of copepods is important for ensuring control. We conducted two semi-field experiments: the first involved 14 experimental runs over 75 consecutive
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Evolution and emergence of mosquito-borne viruses of medical importance: towards a routine metagenomic surveillance approach J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-02-09 Katherine Laiton-Donato, Camila Guzmán-Cardozo, Dioselina Peláez-Carvajal, Nadim J. Ajami, María-Cristina Navas, Gabriel Parra-Henao, José A. Usme-Ciro
During the last two decades, the world has witnessed the emergence and re-emergence of arthropod-borne viruses, better known as arboviruses. The close contact between sylvatic, rural and peri-urban vector species and humans has been mainly determined by the environment-modifying human activity. The resulting interactions have led to multiple dead-end host infections and have allowed sylvatic arboviruses
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Body mass determines the role of mammal species in a frugivore-large fruit interaction network in a Neotropical savanna J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-01-16 Larissa Gabriela Araujo Goebel, Breno Dias Vitorino, Angélica Vilas Boas Frota, Manoel dos Santos-Filho
Frugivorous mammals play an important role in maintaining biodiversity and are considered one of the main dispersers of large seeds. In this study, we describe the structure of the interaction network between non-flying mammals and seven plant species with large fruits in a megadiverse savanna-forest mosaic in the Brazilian Cerrado. We also evaluated the individual contribution of each species to the
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Sex ratios, damage and distribution of Myrianthus holstii Engl.: a dioecious afromontane forest tree J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-01-13 David Ocama Kissa, Fredrick Ssali, Douglas Sheil
Male and female dioecious tropical trees are subjected to distinct demands that may influence their ecology. An example is Myrianthus holstii Engl. that produces persistent fruit eaten by elephants and other large mammals that frequently damage the trees. Myrianthus holstii populations were assessed with 24 2-km transects, spanning an elevation range of 1435–2495 m in the Bwindi Impenetrable National
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Persisting while changing over time: modelling the historical biogeographic of cave crickets (Orthoptera, Grylloidea) in Neotropics J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-01-09 Rodrigo Antônio Castro-Souza, Thadeu Sobral-Souza, Lucas Mendes Rabelo, Edison Zefa, Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira
Using species distribution modelling (SDMs) techniques, we predicted the biogeographic history of crickets commonly found in Neotropical caves as a way to detect potential long-term environmental refuges in South America. Our models were built based on a thorough investigation of existing database regarding the genus Endecous Saussure, 1878 (Ensifera: Phalangopsidae) occurrences. The predictions of
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Nest density of Atta sexdens (Linnaeus, 1758) in Atlantic Forest restoration sites depends on the surrounding landscape J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2023-01-06 Jéssica Magon Garcia, Géssi de Sousa Gonzaga, Alexandre Mello Bordignon, José Marcelo Domingues Torezan
Herbivory is an important ecological filter, affecting plant establishment in restoration sites. One group of herbivores whose abundance has been increasing with environmental changes are the leaf-cutting ants (LCA). Here we evaluated the influence of the surrounding landscape on Atta sexdens nest density in restoration sites, by testing the hypothesis that sites farthest from forest fragments or with
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Report on an outbreak of coral-killing sponge Clathria (Microciona) aceratoobtusa in an unprotected reef of the Gulf of Mannar, India J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-12-13 K. Diraviya Raj, Jonathan Samuel Emmett, G. Mathews
Global climate change has aggravated the severity of space competition put up by marine sponges in the tropical coral reef ecosystems. We report here an outbreak of coral-killing sponge Clathria (Microciona) aceratoobtusa (Carter, 1887) over live coral colonies of the genus Turbinaria in an unprotected reef (mainland patch reef) in the Gulf of Mannar in India. An outbreak of this orange-reddish sponge
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Effects of seed size and toucan regurgitation on the germination of the tropical tree Eugenia uniflora J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-12-09 Landon R. Jones, Chelsey A. Hunts, Lacy A. Dolan, Natasha K. Murphy, Gabrielle N. Ripa, Emma A. Schultz, Varsha S. Shastry, Craig A. Sklarczyk, Bradly S. Thornton, Melanie R. Boudreau
Understanding the quality of seed dispersal effectiveness of frugivorous species can elucidate how endozoochory structures tropical forests. Large seeds, containing more resources for growth, and gut passage by frugivores, which remove seed pulp, both typically enhance the speed and probability of germination of tropical seeds. However, the interaction of seed size and gut passage has not been well
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Bat diversity is driven by elevation and distance to the nearest watercourse in a terra firme forest in the northeastern Brazilian Amazon J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-12-09 Marcelo Martins Ferreira, Bruna da Silva Xavier, Paulo Estefano Dineli Bobrowiec, Isaí Jorge de Castro, Renato Hilário, Alan Cavalcanti da Cunha, Leidiane Leão Oliveira, José Júlio de Toledo, William Douglas Carvalho
Variations in environmental conditions along gradients play an important role in species distribution through environmental filtering of morphological and physiological traits; however, their effects on bat diversity remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the effect of the distance to the nearest watercourse, terrain elevation, vegetation clutter, basal area and canopy height on taxonomic,
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Hail-caused greenfall leaves, litterfall, nutrients, and leaf decomposition in tropical cloud forest and a restoration planting J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-12-09 Guadalupe Williams-Linera, Javier Tolome, Claudia Alvarez-Aquino
Greenfall leaves caused by hailstorms may represent a resource pulse of nutrients. We determined the contribution of greenfall versus senescent leaves to total litterfall production, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus input to the system, and leaf decomposition rate. Litterfall was collected monthly for three years in two cloud forests (F1, F2) and a restoration planting area (R) in Veracruz, Mexico.
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Turnover in fish species composition is related to water colour of Amazonian rivers J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-12-09 Sérgio Henrique Borges, Deyse Darse D’Aquino, Marcela Victória da Cruz, Ramison Felipe de Souza
Variation in water colour is a remarkable characteristic of Amazonian rivers and reflects their limnological properties and the geomorphology of sub-basins. We present here a literature-based study to examine the relationships between fish species turnover and abiotic properties of Amazonian rivers with contrasting water colours. We analysed fish records and water physicochemical properties (pH, colour
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Larger insects in a colder environment? Elevational and seasonal intraspecific differences in tropical moth sizes on Mount Cameroon J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-12-09 Fotoula Papandreou, Jiří Hodeček, Vincent Maicher, Sylvain Delabye, Tomasz Pyrcz, Robert Tropek
Bergmann’s Rule describes an increase in the body size of endothermic animals with decreasing environmental temperatures. However, in ectothermic insects including moths, some of the few existing studies investigating size patterns along temperature gradients do not follow the Bergmann’s Cline. Intraspecific differences in moth sizes along spatiotemporal temperature gradients are unknown from the Palaeotropics
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Correlates of plant β-diversity in Atlantic Forest patches in the Pernambuco Endemism Centre, Northeastern Brazil J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-12-09 Isabel Cristina C. Guedes, Bárbara L. C. de Moraes, Renato R. Hilário, João Pedro Souza-Alves
Understanding how vegetation structure and floristic composition vary across landscapes is fundamental to understand ecological patterns and for designing conservation actions. In a patch-landscape approach, we assessed the β-diversity (q0 order – rare species, q1 order – common species, and q2 order – dominant species) of plants between forest patches and surveyed plots in Atlantic Forest patches
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National parks and conservation concessions: a comparison between mammal populations in two types of tropical protected areas in Ucayali, Peru J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-12-07 Rocío Bardales, Matthew Hyde, Jenny Gallo, Valeria Boron
Peru contains the second largest surface area of the Amazon biome. The Peruvian Amazon is threatened by logging, illegal crops, mining, and agricultural expansion. While a number of national parks exist in the Amazon region, privately managed areas like Conservation Concessions can be an attractive complement to existing parks. We compare medium and large mammal communities in a Conservation Concession
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Hard to predict! No clear effects of home-field advantage on leaf litter decomposition in tropical heath vegetation J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-10-12 Mery I. G. de Alencar, André Y. S. P. Belo, José L. A. Silva, Ana E. B. Asato, Eduarda F. Gomes, Valéria S. de Oliveira, Jesiel de O. Teixeira, Otávio de S. Monte, Adriano S. Mota, Vitória M. L. Pereira, Sibele S. Dantas, Gabriel H. S. Silva, Bruno T. Goto, Alexandre F. Souza, Adriano Caliman
The home-field advantage (HFA) hypothesis establishes that plant litter decomposes faster at ‘home’ sites than in ‘away’ sites due to more specialized decomposers acting at home sites. This hypothesis has predominantly been tested through ‘yes or no’ transplanting experiments, where the litter decomposition of a focal species is quantified near and away from their conspecifics. Herein, we evaluated
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The influence of burial depth on germination and establishment of seeds in chimpanzee faeces, Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-10-12 Kouadio Kan S. Koffi, Kanvaly Dosso, Marios Aristophanous, Philippe Moretto, Seydou Tiho, Roman M. Wittig
One of the many ecosystem services provided by dung beetles is that of secondary seed dispersal. This paper experimentally evaluates the effectiveness of this service using the chimpanzee–dung beetle seed dispersal system in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. The study focussed on the germination rate and success of four species of seeds contained in the faeces of Pan troglodytes verus: Dacryodes klaineana
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Striped hyaena den site selection in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, India J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-10-06 K. Ashish, Tharmalingam Ramesh, Riddhika Kalle
The den is a multi-purpose critical space of carnivores and provides a growth conducive refuge which ensures both substances and protection from interspecific predation and harsh climate. Selection of optimal den sites determined by various site-specific factors potentially reduces aversive interspecific interactions and provides cost-effective access to food sources. In this study, we have assessed
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The potential distribution of Cyclopes didactylus, a silky anteater, reveals a likely unknown population and urgent need for forest conservation in Northeast Brazil J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-10-03 Arielli Fabrício Machado, Flávia Regina Miranda
Cyclopes didactylus, the smallest of all anteaters, inhabits Amazonian and Atlantic forests with an apparently disjunct distribution. Yet, phylogeography reveals historical connections through the forests of the Northeast Region of Brazil. Its populations in this region are classified by the Red List of Threatened Species as Data Deficient and with a trend towards decline. However, Northeast Brazil
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High level of daily heterothermy in desert gerbils J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-09-09 Clara Gyhrs, Tiago Macedo, Bárbara Bastos, Xabier Salgado-Irazabal, Mubarak Hammadi, Oussama Bouarakia, Zbyszek Boratyński
Daily heterothermy is a strategy employed by endothermic birds and mammals to reduce their energetic costs by lowering their metabolic rate. We recorded nocturnal and diurnal rectal temperatures in three Moroccan Gerbillus rodent species to determine the level of heterothermy. A decrease in body temperature from night to day was observed by an average (±SD) of 8.7 (±4.2) in G. gerbillus, 11.1 (±3.0)
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Habitat use by mixed-species bird flocks in tropical forests of the Western Ghats, India J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-08-30 Priyanka Hariharan, Priti Bangal, Hari Sridhar, Kartik Shanker
While mixed-species flocks of birds (hereafter ‘flocks’) have been widely studied, few studies have looked at the effect of habitat structure on flock presence and flocking propensity within a site. Here, we employ a use-availability approach in locations with flocks and random locations to ask whether habitat characteristics influence the presence of flocks, and whether structurally similar microhabitats
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Favourable climatic niche in low elevations outside the flood zone characterises the distribution pattern of venomous snakes in Bangladesh J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-08-22 Mohammad Abdul Wahed Chowdhury, Sara Varela, Sanjoy Roy, Md. Mizanur Rahman, Mohammed Noman, Ibrahim Khalil Al Haidar, Johannes Müller
Snakes are sensitive to both environmental and climate gradients. To design conservation plans, a scientific understanding of snake habitats in light of environmental and climatic variables is an essential prerequisite. For venomous snakes, denoting favourable habitats should also be relevant for snakebite management. We have considered 18 spatial variables to portray the range of terrestrial venomous
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The association between rainforest disturbance and recovery, tree community composition, and community traits in the Yangambi area in the Democratic Republic of the Congo J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-08-10 Jonas Depecker, Justin A. Asimonyio, Ronald Miteho, Yves Hatangi, Jean-Léon Kambale, Lauren Verleysen, Piet Stoffelen, Steven B. Janssens, Benoit Dhed’a, Filip Vandelook, Olivier Honnay
Despite their key role in biodiversity conservation, forests in the Congo Basin are increasingly threatened by human activities, but it remains challenging to assess the impact of forest degradation under a more or less intact canopy. Likewise, forest recovery following agricultural abandonment remains poorly understood in the Congo Basin. Here, we surveyed 125 vegetation quadrats across 25 forest
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Tree height effects on vascular anatomy of upper-canopy twigs across a wide range of tropical rainforest species J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-07-27 Jamaluddinsyah Jamaluddinsyah, Martyna M. Kotowska, Sulistijorini Sulistijorini, Pierre-André Waite, Fabian Brambach, Bernhard Schuldt, Triadiati Triadiati
Vessel diameter variation along the hydraulic pathway determines how much water can be moved against the force of gravity from roots to leaves. While it is well-documented that tree size scales with vessel diameter variation at the stem base due to the effect of basipetal vessel widening, much less is known whether this likewise applies to terminal sun-exposed twigs. To analyze the effect of tree height
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Bacteria associated with leaf-cutter ants drive natural antibiotic resistance in soil bacteria J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-07-18 Sophia Simon, Kelsey Chai, Matthew Drescher, Johel Chaves-Campos
Actinobacteria that live mutualistically with leaf-cutter ants secrete antibiotics that may induce antibiotic resistance in nearby soil bacteria. We tested for the first time whether soil bacteria near and inside Atta cephalotes nests in Costa Rica show higher levels of antibiotic resistance than bacteria collected farther away. We collected soil samples 0 m to 50 m away from ant nests and grew bacteria
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Scaling of indirect defences in Central American swollen-thorn acacias J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-07-13 Sabrina Amador-Vargas, Yorlenis González, Maikol Guevara, Finote Gijsman
Myrmecophytes may adjust the investment on ant rewards, depending on tree size and ant defence level. In swollen-thorn acacias (Vachellia collinsii), we tested whether the level of protection provided by the resident ants (defending vs. non-defending) influenced the relation between tree size and ant rewards, or between types of ant rewards (housing and food). We quantified ant rewards in trees occupied
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Belowground structure and determinants of woody plant height at a tropical dry forest site in Zambia, southern Africa J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-06-30 Emmanuel N. Chidumayo
Root metrics and plant height for 256 excavated saplings and small trees of 27 species, including sown plants, were used to describe belowground structure and assess factors that influence shoot growth in a tropical dry forest (TDF) in Zambia. Models were developed to (i) estimate taproot depth from incomplete excavations and (ii) coarse lateral root biomass from proximal diameter data. The majority
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Litter production in successional forests of southern Bahia, Brazil J. Trop. Ecol. (IF 1.4) Pub Date : 2022-06-28 Janaine Isabela da Silva Rocha, Luiz Fernando Silva Magnago, Daniel Piotto
Litter production plays an important role in the functioning of the ecosystem, providing several ecosystem services, such as nutrients cycling and carbon storage. We studied litter production patterns and its relationship with forest structure over a chronosequence of secondary forests in southern Bahia, Brazil. In the study area, 15 pairs of mature and secondary forest were used, in a chronological