In this study, we tested the hypothesis that functional traits associated with nutrient impoverishment contribute to enhancing shade-tolerance (survival at low light) for the juveniles of canopy tree species in Bornean rain forests. To test the hypothesis, survival and functional traits (biomass allocation, leaf dynamics and foliar nutrient concentration) were investigated as a function of light conditions for saplings of 13 species in three forests with different levels of nutrient availability. As predicted by the hypothesis, the species in the severely nutrient-poor site (a tropical heath forest on nutrient-poor soils) showed greater shade-tolerance (>91% survival for 8 mo at 5% global site factor) than in the other two sites (mixed dipterocarp forests) (54–87% survival). Across the species, greater shade-tolerance was associated with a higher biomass allocation to roots, a slower leaf production and a higher foliar C concentration, which are considered as C-conservation traits under nutrient impoverishment. These results suggest that the juveniles of the canopy species occurring on nutrient-poor soils can enhance shade-tolerance by the same mechanisms as the adaptation to nutrient impoverishments. Tree species in nutrient-poor environments may be selected for surviving also in shaded conditions.

We documented one of the most species-rich assemblages of tropical rain-forest Auchenorrhyncha, comprising 402 phloem- and xylem-feeding species, by sampling adults from forest vegetation. Further, we reared 106 species from larvae sampled on 14 plant species. Both xylem- and phloem-feeding guilds exhibited wide host-plant ranges, as 74% of species fed on more than one plant family. In comparison, using data extracted from the temperate-zone literature, phloem-feeders exhibited lower host specificity in Papua New Guinea than in Germany, because in Papua New Guinea they were dominated by generalist Fulgoroidea while in Germany by specialist Membracoidea. The similarity of Auchenorrhyncha assemblages from different plant species was unrelated to the phylogenetic distance between their hosts. Host specificity, abundance and species composition of Auchenorrhyncha assemblages were unrelated to the optimum of their host plant species on succession gradient from secondary to primary forest. Higher host specificity did not lead to greater species richness in Auchenorrhyncha assemblages feeding on different plant species, but the number of species feeding on a particular plant species was a strong predictor of the Auchenorrhyncha abundance on that plant. These patterns suggest that Auchenorrhyncha assemblages on these plant species are not saturated with species and determined by division of limited resources among competitors, but instead are dependent on the number of colonizers from the regional species pool.

The spatial distribution of adult trees is typically not expected to reflect the spatial patterns of primary seed dispersal, due to many factors influencing post-dispersal modification of the seed shadow, such as seed predation, secondary seed dispersal and density-dependent survival. Here, we test the hypothesis that spatial distributions of primary seed shadows and adult trees are concordant by analysing the spatial distributions of adult Genipa americana trees and the seed shadow produced by its key primary disperser, the capuchin monkey (Cebus capucinus) in a tropical dry forest in Costa Rica. We mapped the dispersal of G. americana seeds by the capuchins during focal animal follows (mean = 463 min, n = 50) of all adults in one free-ranging group over two early wet seasons (May–July, 2005 and 2006). We mapped the locations of all G. americana trees within a 60-ha plot that lay within the home range of the capuchin group. We conducted multiple spatial point pattern analyses comparing degrees of clustering of capuchin defecations and G. americana trees. We found that adult tree distributions and primary dispersal patterns are similarly aggregated at multiple spatial scales, despite the modification of the primary dispersal patterns and long dispersal distances.

The Winkler extractor is widely used for collecting both micro- and macrofauna from large samples of forest litter, but the long period of extraction that it demands and that allows continuous feeding and reproduction of target organisms is a serious drawback when samples are collected for subsequent stable isotope analysis. This problem is exacerbated in a humid tropical climate. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of the modified Winkler apparatus equipped with heating plates placed inside each mesh bag. The study was performed at the end of the wet season in a mature forest and young forest plantation at Cat Tien National Park, southern Vietnam. The heating plates increased the temperature within the extractors by about 8ºC and accelerated the desiccation of litter in the mesh bags. The extraction speed of macrofauna from the forest litter was strongly increased and the number of mites collected nearly doubled in the modified extractors, though the extraction rates of collembolans were not affected significantly. Overall, our results suggest that the application of heating plates accelerates the extraction process while yielding large quantities of litter-dwelling animals.

The landscape of the upper Rio Negro basin (North Amazon) exhibits distinctive habitats that are associated with differential soil characteristics and topographical conditions as well as species composition (Herrera et al. 1978). The mixed forests thrive on well-structured oxisols on slightly more elevated areas. The valleys with sandy podzols are occupied by the ‘Amazon caatinga’ complex with three distinct zones: the bottom valley and the gentle slopes, both of which have closed forests, and the sandy domes with open forests (‘bana’ or sclerophyllous forest; Breimer 1985). From the mixed forest towards the caatinga valley-slope-dome habitats, the leaf δ15N signatures become increasingly negative, suggesting a trend in N limitation in the same direction (Sobrado 2010). Thus, negative leaf δ15N signatures depleted in 15N compared with the soil indicate a very tight N cycle in all of the habitats. Water availability follows a similar pattern from the top of the oxisol towards the flooded valley bottom of the caatinga, with extreme water-table fluctuations in the sandy domes (Klinge 1978). Thus, parallel variation in nutrient and water availabilities exist in this area that are associated with soil characteristics and topography. Under such contrasting habitats, species-specific responses would be linked to particular conditions of the habitat at a local scale (Comita & Engelbrecht 2009, Engelbrecht et al. 2007). A number of studies in these habitats have shown that this is the case for soil fertility (Coomes 1997, Medina et al. 1990, Sobrado 2010, Sobrado & Medina 1980). Similarly, the hydraulic characteristics and long-term water use are species specific and related to particular conditions of the habitat at the local scale (Sobrado 2010). In this report, it was hypothesized that the leaf tissue water relations of species thriving in different habitats may reflect the water availability at the particular sites as well. The leaf tissue water relations of species thriving in the extreme nutrient and water-supply conditions of the sandy domes from the caatinga complex have been previously studied in detail (Sobrado 2009a). However, these data are currently not available for the species that thrive in the surrounding area of the closed forests, and importantly, such information would allow for a comparison across habitats. Therefore, the present study assessed the minimum leaf water potential (midday) under field conditions as well as the leaf tissue water relations by using pressure-volume analysis of dominant tree species in the top canopy of these high-stature forests.

Environmental effects on species interactions can be studied by comparative analyses of network structure. For example, comparison of interaction networks among study sites can provide clues to geographic variation of host breadth. Obligate plant–ant interactions are ideal systems to explore these phenomena because they are long term and can be accurately sampled in the field. We tested two hypotheses: (1) network structure and host specialization do not vary among communities, and (2) the effects of plant extinction do not vary among communities. We sampled 10 or more plants for each of the 30 ant–plant species found in three Neotropical locations. We found that network specialization, H2′, was significantly higher than expected in random networks. The ant or plant specialization index, d′, distribution did not vary among localities, neither varied in link or asymmetry distribution. Plant extinction simulations showed that these interactions are vulnerable to plant loss, and the null model was more robust than the observed networks. This study provides a foundation on which plant and ant phylogenies can be added to explore compartment evolution.

Ecological and morphological traits of fruiting trees, such as spatial distribution (Levey et al. 1984), crop size (Howe & vande Kerckhove 1981, Korine et al. 2000, Leighton 1993, Murray 1987), local availability of fruit (Sargent 1990), seed size or pulp/seed mass ratio (Julliot 1996a, Leighton 1993, McConkey et al. 2002, Russo 2003, Stevenson et al. 2005) and nutritional value and concentration of secondary compounds (Leighton 1993, Milton 1980, Sallabanks 1993), influence fruit preference in animals. In general, frugivores maximize energy intake by consuming ripe fruit with smaller seeds, higher pulp/seed ratio, bigger crop size, more nutritional fruits or fruits with fewer secondary compounds (Howe & vande Kerckhove 1981, Julliot 1996a, Korine et al. 2000, Leighton 1993, Milton 1980, Murray 1987, Russo 2003, Stevenson et al. 2005).

For endozoochorous seed dispersal systems, the extant dung beetle assemblage at seed deposition sites may influence site suitability as burial activity may change the probability that seeds germinate and seedlings establish. This study tested if the different conditions of the two main seed-deposition habitats of a western lowland gorilla population of south-east Cameroon (sleeping sites and old secondary forest) influenced dung beetle assemblages and consequently the seed relocation patterns. In March 2012, in both habitats, burial patterns (proportion and depth) were described in eight stations based on two 300-g experimental faeces with known number of Uapaca spp. seeds (N = 75) left for 48 h, and beetle assemblages were described based on one 48h-dung-baited pitfall trapping session in five of these stations. To assess the impact of burial pattern on seedling emergence, Uapaca seedling emergence trials were performed in a nursery (75 seeds per depth treatment). Assemblage at sleeping sites had a higher species richness (non-significant) and was significantly more abundant than in old secondary forests. Conversely, significantly more seeds were buried in old secondary forests than sleeping sites and at significantly greater depths (mean: 14.9 cm vs. 8.7 cm). As trials suggested that burial depth ≥7 cm prevented Uapaca seedling emergence, dung beetles are assumed to induce seed loss more strongly in old secondary forests than sleeping sites (20.5% vs. 6.7% of initial seed crop). The demonstration that dung beetles may exert a negative influence on seed fate overall, and that the degree to which this occurs may vary depending on habitat, highlights the complexity in determining the suitability of deposition sites for recruitment.

The temporal pattern of flower opening and closure is a feature of the biology of many plant species, particularly those inhabiting oceanic islands where flowering generally lasts for only a few hours per day. Additionally, flower visitors often seek different floral sources on a timely basis, thus the relative timing of interactions is central to their status in pollination competition, or in the facilitation of pollination among co-flowering plants sharing pollinators. However, few studies have examined the impacts of daily temporal variation in flowering patterns on the pollinator network and competition on a community scale. In order to examine whether the daily pattern of flower opening and closure can impose temporal dynamics on interspecific interactions within a single day, plant–pollinator interaction networks (AM subweb and PM subweb) were quantified, and the relevant interactions between the two subwebs were compared using the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity of visitation frequencies in an oceanic island community (Paracel Islands, South China Sea). The role of species within networks and its variation between two subwebs were assessed by calculating the species-level specialization and species strength of each plant and pollinator species. The quantitative plant–pollinator interaction dissimilarity between morning and afternoon subsets was 0.69, and this value dropped to 0.58 when considering plant species flowering throughout the day. In our study, this dissimilarity between the two subwebs might be explained by the morning peak activity rather than a preference for morning flowers. No significant differences were detected in the species-level specialization and species strength of plants flowering all day from morning to afternoon at the community level. The flower visitation rates of native honeybee Apis cerana were not significantly different between morning and afternoon for most of the whole-day flowering plants. However, plant species only flowering either in the morning or the afternoon differed in the rate of visitation by A. cerana. The analyses of variation in the visitation rates of pollinators shared by plants within a single day in the studied community suggest that daily structuring at a community level and half-day staggered flowering during the morning or afternoon might reduce competitive interactions in oceanic insular habitats.

The effects of salinity upon the growth, photosynthesis, ion and water contents of a population of Dactyloctenium aegyptium originating from a saline site in Nigeria were investigated. Growth was unaffected by a salinity of 10% artificial sea water, but was reduced by one third in 20% and by two thirds in 30% artificial sea water respectively. Initial adjustment to salinity was due both to increases in the concentrations of sodium and potassium per unit dry weight and to reduced hydration, the latter being the more important at higher salinities. The increase in ion concentration in the cell sap balanced the salinity of the medium at 10% artificial sea water, but was excessive at higher concentrations of sea water. Net photosynthesis was unaffected by 10% artificial sea water but declined at higher salinities. The potassium content of the plants did not fall below 200–250 mM, and the sodium to potassium ratio did not exceed three, even at the highest salinities. Variation in the concentration of nutrients (potassium, nitrate and sulphate) in the medium in the presence of 25% artificial sea water had significant effects upon growth, but these were small in relation to the inhibitory effect of the salinity.

The reduction in growth could not be attributed to lack of osmotic adjustment or to nutrient deficiency, and was probably due to ion toxicity within the leaves. The tolerance to reduced hydration, combined with the ability to germinate in saline conditions previously observed, could enable D. aegyptium to establish in a saline soil. The population did not exhibit any halophytic characteristics but did survive with a low growth rate at salinities up to 50% artificial sea water. It is concluded that the species was able to colonize the saline site because of its inherent adaptability, rather than the possession of an ecotype adapted to saline conditions.

The present study investigated how climate and plant size affect the growth of Bauhinia thonningii and how fire and source of regeneration (grown from coppice versus seedlings) might modify the results. The study was conducted over a period of 10 y, from 1997 to 2007, at a savanna site in central Zambia. Trees were marked and monitored throughout the entire period; they showed a phase of declining growth (1998–2003) and a phase of low growth (2004–2007). During the phase of declining growth autocorrelation was high but either weakened or disappeared during the phase of low growth. After adjusting data for autocorrelation, climate factors and tree size accounted for between 14% and 35% of the variation in annual tree radial growth. However, the growth responses of trees to climate factors and tree size varied with the source of regeneration (i.e. coppice or seedling) and fire treatment. Trees of seedling origin were only affected by climate factors and tree size when exposed to annual burning whereas all trees of coppice origin were significantly affected by climate factors and tree size, regardless of the fire treatment. However, basal radial growth of saplings that were monitored for 4 y (2003–2007) was significantly influenced by maximum temperature and rainfall that accounted for 33–47% of the variance in annual radial growth under fire protection. Saplings recovered from shoot die-back during the cool dry season by resprouting in the hot dry season and this annual die-back slowed the height growth of B. thonningii saplings.

Mimosa pudica is a Neotropical legume that closes its leaves rapidly in response to touch stimulation, hypothetically as herbivory defence. Habituation to non-harmful stimuli and long-term memory of past events have been demonstrated in this species, the former with relatively heavy objects and the latter under laboratory conditions. This species should not habituate to harmful stimuli if leaf movement is a response to herbivore damage. We tested in Monteverde, Costa Rica, whether (1) memory occurs in wild plants, (2) whether habituation occurs under harmful stimuli: simulated herbivory, and (3) whether wild plants can habituate to light non-harmful stimuli. The degree of closing of the leaflets and time until reopening was measured in response to repeated harmful and non-harmful stimuli. The results showed habituation to repeated non-harmful very light stimuli and showed lack of habituation to simulated leaf damage. Wild plants also showed faster rehabituation to repeated non-harmful stimuli when they had been exposed 15 days previously, suggesting possible long-term memory. These results indicate that wild plants are capable of (1) distinguishing between harmful and non-harmful stimuli (only habituating to the latter), (2) memorizing previous events, and 3) habituating very light tactile stimuli commonly experienced in the field.

Trees of the family Dipterocarpaceae dominate the emergent canopy of most lowland rain forests in Asia (Ashton et al. 1988). The family is, therefore, one of the most ecologically important in South-East Asia. Shorea curtisii Dyer ex King is the most common tree species in the hill dipterocarp forests of Peninsular Malaysia (Burgess 1975, Symington 2004), and is considered a key species for the dynamics of such forests. Currently, most Malaysian hill forests are selectively logged. Trees over 50 cm dbh are harvested, and any subsequent harvests depend on the remaining smaller trees. Such selective logging takes no account of seedling regeneration. Hence, subsequent timber harvests rely on trees derived from the seedlings that are already present and future seeds produced by the residual trees (Appanah & Mohd. Rasol 1994). Existing seedlings of S. curtisii in the forest, therefore, play a significant role in the dynamics of the hill forest. However, the conditions that constitute a suitable habitat for S. curtisii seedling establishment and survival remain unknown.

Bush encroachment has serious consequences on ecosystem functioning through alteration of species composition and ecosystem productivity. However, little is known regarding the spatial patterning of invading shrubs in semi-arid savannas. Cartesian coordinates of two invading woody species (Vachellia karroo and V. nilotica), were recorded in a 20 × 20-m plot on a grassland at Matopos research station, south-west Zimbabwe. We recorded a total of 308 plants including both saplings and shrubs from the two study plant species. Second-order spatial statistics was applied in order to understand the spatial pattern of encroaching plants. We predicted that the encroaching plants would be spatially aggregated because of facilitation that occurs in harsh environmental conditions. Consistent with our predictions, the two species were aggregated, with no evidence of inter- and intra specific species competition. This study demonstrates that encroaching trees in semi-arid savanna generally do not show self organization during early growth stages.

To date, the spatial distribution pattern and density of Brazil nut trees in logged forest stands is unclear across the Amazon basin. We asked the following questions: (1) What are the densities and spatial distributions of Brazil nut juveniles (10 ≤ dbh < 40 cm) and adults (≥ 40 cm dbh) in three selectively logged Brazil nut concessions (1413 ha sampled) in Madre de Dios, Peru; (2) What is the spatial relationship between adults and juveniles (10 ≤ dbh < 30 cm); and (3) What is the spatial relationship between juveniles (10 ≤ dbh <30 cm) and cut stumps (≥ 10 y)? Spatial analyses were conducted using statistics derived from Ripley's K function. Juveniles were aggregated in all three concessions. Results for adult populations rejected the null hypothesis of a random distribution among trees ≥ 40 cm dbh. We did not find an attraction between juveniles and cut-stump locations, nor between adults and juveniles. The strong peaks of aggregation for juveniles and adult Brazil nuts in this study occurred at long distances (300–900 m), suggesting multiple tree canopy gaps as drivers of spatial distribution patterns, either via natural or anthropogenic sources. Our data contribute to a more thorough understanding of Brazil nut population structure in disturbed forests in south-western Amazonia.

Cascading effects of high trophic levels onto lower trophic levels have been documented in many ecosystems. Some studies also show evidence of extended trophic cascades, in which guilds dependent on lower trophic levels, but uninvolved in the trophic cascade themselves, are affected by the trophic cascade due to their dependence on lower trophic levels. Top-down effects of large mammals on plants could lead to a variety of extended trophic cascades on the many guilds dependent on plants, such as pollinators. In this study, floral-visitor and floral abundances and assemblages were quantified within a series of 1-ha manipulations of large-mammalian herbivore density in an African savanna. Top-down effects of large mammals on the composition of flowers available for floral visitors are first shown, using regressions of herbivore activity on metrics of floral and floral-visitor assemblages. An extended trophic cascade is also shown: the floral assemblage further altered the assemblage of floral visitors, according to a variety of approaches, including a structural equation modelling approach (model with an extended trophic cascade was supported over a model without, AICc weight = 0.984). Our study provides support for extended trophic cascades affecting floral visitors, suggesting that trophic cascades can have impacts throughout entire communities.

As part of the programme Écosystèmes et Paléoécosystémes des Forêts Intertropicales (ECOFIT,France),we are engaged in multisite comparative studies of how forests regenerate across ecotones such as those between forests and savannas (Vincens et al. 2000).One such ecotone comprises the forest succession from bare soil that occurs naturally on beach successions along meandering rivers. To gauge the development of foliar layers during succession and quantify changes of efficiency of the vegetation in capturing the available solar energy, we are measuring the Leaf Area Index (LAI) of transects within forests and across their edges.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) is an economically important crop in South-east Asia, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia. In Malaysia, oil palm is the most profitable commodity in the agriculture sector. The future of oil palm lies in obtaining a higher yield that is aligned and directed towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030. Elaeidobius kamerunicus was introduced into Malaysia during the late 1980s to boost the production of oil palm fruit bunches. Almost 40 years since the introduction of E. kamerunicus, significant improvements have been witnessed in the increase of oil palm yield. Nevertheless, the current concern in the oil palm sector is regarding the decreasing of fruit set that may be affected by E. kamerunicus. The weevil population plays a crucial factor in the pollination of oil palm. Several factors had been reported to reduce the weevil population such as natural enemies, interaction with local insects, pesticides, climate and male inflorescence. These factors have been addressed in this article based on various studies conducted since the first investigation in Cameroon by Syed in 1977. The role of the pollinator in terms of its biology, behaviour and pollination mechanism is also described in this article, together with the population management of the weevils. This review article will provide a summary of the current state of Elaeidobius kamerunicus in Malaysia and other neighbouring oil palm-producing countries.

Neotropical species richness is often estimated using accumulation or rarefaction curves and extrapolations based on various methods, but the efficacy of these methods is rarely tested. We used both a time-limited trapping session and previous knowledge of the mammal fauna from a site in French Guiana to validate these different methods. Three currently used extrapolation models were tested on our data. In a 2.5-mo trapping period we caught 75 individuals representing 18 small non-volant mammal species in three different habitats. We found that for comparable trapping efforts, village edges presented a higher abundance and species richness than primary and secondary forests. Species richness extrapolations using current models demonstrated that the exponential dependence model fits the known diversity of the site better, although this model is usually applied to large geographic areas and to relatively poorly documented taxa. Both Clench equation and linear dependence models underestimate small-mammal species richness in our study. We finally emphasize the interest of sampling in such edges surrounded by either primary or secondary forest, to maximize the probability of trapping rare species.

In dioecious plant species different frugivore activity between genders may influence the abundance and richness of the seedling banks underneath their canopies throughout seed removal and dispersal. In the tropical dry forest of Chamela, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, the role of S. purpurea female trees as nucleation sites of regeneration was investigated. The standing density, species richness and dispersal syndrome of woody seedlings (i.e. trees and shrubs, 10–100 cm tall) recruited underneath and outside the canopy of 10 male and 10 female S. purpurea trees were recorded in a total of 160 1-m2 plots. Total density was greater in seedling communities associated with female trees (i.e. underneath and outside their canopies) as compared with male trees (231 vs. 153 seedlings, respectively); whereas overall species richness was greater underneath female canopies. Further, the density of zoochorous species were greater underneath the canopy of S. purpurea females (range = 0–5 plants m−2), than elsewhere (outside female canopies, range = 0–3 plants m−2; underneath and outside male canopies, range = 0–2 plants m−2), suggesting a directional dispersal bias towards them. Females of dioecious plant species may act as nucleation sites of initial seedling recruitment in tropical dry forests.