Although snake populations are suffering numerous local declines, determining the scale of these declines is problematic due to the elusive nature of snakes. Determining the factors associated with species detection is therefore essential for quantifying disturbance effects on populations. From 2017 to 2019, we assessed the detectability associations of five river-associated snake species and all snake detections in general within two logging concessions in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Data collected from both stream transects and visual encounter surveys at 47 stream sites were incorporated into an occupancy-modelling framework to determine the climatological, temporal and survey distance associations with species detection probability. Detection probability of riparian snake species was significantly associated with humidity, month (2 spp. each), survey distance and total rainfall over 60 days (1 spp. each). Pooled snake species detectability was significantly positively associated with transect distance and the 2019 El-Niño year, whilst yearly pooled snake species detections in stream transects spiked during El-Niño (2017 = 2.05, 2018 = 2.47, 2019 = 4.5 snakes per km). This study provides new insights into the detectability of riparian rainforest snakes and suggests that future studies should account for short-term (climatological and temporal) and long-term (El-Niño) factors associated with detection probability when surveying and assessing snake populations.

Estimates were made of rodent longevity, population biomass and production in a dry sub-humid grassland area in Kenya, The results were based on a live-trapping study made over a 27-month period. During this time fourteen species of rodents and four species of insectivores were recorded from the area of the trapping grid. The most numerous species were Praomys natalensis, Mus triton, Mus minutoides and Lemniscomys striatus.

Breeding took place in both wet seasons, coinciding with peaks in rodent populations. Densities ranged from 6.6 ha-1 to 52.4 ha-1, and estimates of net annual production varied from 5485 g ha-1 year-1 to 7221 g ha-1 year-1. Rodent populations appear to turn over every six to nine months.

The results are discussed in relation to studies in other tropical grassland areas of Africa.

A land use survey involving land typing and vegetation classification was conducted within the Luuq District Refugee Area (200,000 ha) in south-western Somalia. Average rainfall and annual temperature of the area are 310 mm and 30.5° C. The area is composed of limestone and basalt uplands, gypsiferous and alluvial interplains, and ancient and recent alluvial terraces of the Juba River.

Land types were identified by aerial photo survey and ground observation and mapped on a 1:100,000 scale LandSat Satellite (colour) Image. Soil types were classified according to the method used by the US Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. Vegetation was sampled according to the Braun-Blanquet approach in 52 releves located within previously mapped land types, and analysed using the traditional phytosociological methods and the DECORANA and TWINSPAN computer programs. The results of these methods are compatible with one another. Most community types identify distinct land types: basalt and limestone uplands, gypsum and alluvial interplains, and depressions and gentle rises of the Juba River terrace.

Commiphora and Acacia species dominate the open thorny bushland. They are mostly medium-sized shrubs and trees, 1 to 4 m in height. There is little herbaceous ground cover except in depressions and drainageways. Total shrub and tree cover averages 34%. Due to the large influx of refugees, there has been excessive cutting for fuelwood and construction material and notable bushland converted to cropland. Degradation of the vegetation and soils is prominent and is most evident on the upper and lower terraces of the Juba River.

Praying mantids (Insecta: Dictyoptera, Mantodea) attracted to light at a savanna site in Ghana (Legon) were studied over 34 months. 1771 insects of 26 species were recorded, most of which were males. There was a gradual decline in numbers during the study, which was probably due to habitat deterioration. Significantly more mantids were attracted to light on new moon nights than when the moon was full. For the second commonest species, Sphodromantis lineola, a significant correlation was found between mantid numbers and rainfall per month. Some species appear to have two peaks of abundance per year, others only one, while the commonest species, Miomantis paykullii, shows no clear seasonal pattern, but longer term studies are required to confirm these tentative conclusions.

Three measures of diversity are calculated and compared with mantid data from elsewhere in the tropics. Diversity at Legon was found to be very similar to that at Lamto, Côte d'lvoire, despite different methods of collecting the insects, but the mantid fauna of Panama is less diverse than at the two African sites. Suggestions to account for this result are presented.

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 organization of the interaction network and tested whether body mass determined the mammals’ role in the network. To record frugivory events of mammals with arboreal and terrestrial habits, camera traps were installed at ground and canopy levels. We identified 18 mammal species interacting with seven plant species in 515 frugivory events. Our observations highlight an interaction network with a modular and non-nested topology and the important role of large mammals in the network structure, which reflects the importance of the group in potential seed dispersal. The extinction of large frugivorous mammals can cause several damages to ecosystem services in the Brazilian Cerrado through changes in network structure, especially threatening the survival of plant species with large fruits.

Mimosa luisana is functionally important in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, Mexico, since it is able to create favourable microsites for the establishment of other plant species. The endozoochory of M. luisana seeds by goats was evaluated in terms of excrement deposition pattern, seed survival and germination. The excrement deposition pattern was evaluated by collecting pellets in four plots of 25 × 2 m randomly placed in a grazing area and recording the microhabitat where pellets were found. Seed survival and germination were evaluated by feeding the goats with seeds and collecting dung pellets at 8-h intervals for 80 h. Seeds from goat pellets (treatment) and seeds collected from pods (control) were placed in a germination chamber for 24 d. Goats mainly deposited M. luisana seeds in viable sites (open areas) for growth. Mimosa luisana seeds survived the goat digestive treatment (5.91% ± 2.86%) and most of them (67% ± 25.9%) were recovered 8–32 h after ingestion. Goat gut treatment increased M. luisana final germination (47.5% ingested, 5.83% control) and shortened initial and mean time of germination. Our results indicate that goats may be an efficient disperser of M. luisana seeds.

The tropical dry deciduous forest (TDF) of the semi-arid region of Bajio in Mexico is dominated by successional communities, in which Lysiloma microphyllum is irregularly distributed, however the environmental factors influencing its establishment have been poorly studied. We conducted field experiments to isolate the impact of three factors on the early life-history stages of this tree. Over a 2-y period, we monitored the effects of (1) predation, (2) understorey light and (3) aspect on germination, seed-to-seedling transition (establishment) and seedling survival, and we found that open space negatively affected germination (14.9 ± 1.5% vs 96 ± 1.5% in shade; mean ± SE), while shade increased seedling establishment and survival (36.9 ± 8.2% vs 4.7 ± 3.8% in open sites). Predation decreased survival and was strongest in open conditions (0 vs 62.7 ± 9.4% in shaded exclosures). In contrast, aspect had little influence on germination and survival. The results suggest that shaded microsites positively affect the early life stages of L. microphyllum, a key process in TDF recovery.

Cerberiopsis candelabra Vieill. is a long-lived, monocarpic (= semelparous) and mass-flowering rain-forest tree, endemic to New Caledonia. Population size structures suggest establishment has been episodic, followed by a recruitment gap that might signal population decline. Here, we use age structures based on tree rings to better assess population dynamics and persistence, and investigate influences of tree size, age and growth rate on flowering. Age structures of populations surveyed in 2007–2008 were unimodal, with establishment over c. 15–81 y, followed by a recruitment gap of c. 23–79 y. Seedling mortality was generally high. High densities of flowering trees or large-scale exogenous disturbances may be necessary for in-situ regeneration. There was no evidence of a simple flowering threshold: flowering in 2017 occurred across a wide range of tree size, age and growth rate. Instead, evidence suggested that size and age at flowering may vary among plants depending on their growth trajectory. Environmental triggers of flowering were not identified by dating tree establishment, but the last three mass-flowering events occurred in years of tropical cyclones. Regeneration and persistence might be facilitated if large-scale disturbances trigger flowering, improving reproductive efficiency by synchronising flowering and linking reproduction with environmental conditions that enhance seedling recruitment.

The contribution of vegetative recruitment by non-tree species to the regeneration of tropical forests in man-made clearings or tree-fall gaps tends to be ignored. In a series of field studies near Amacayacu, Colombian Amazonia, we tested if hemiepiphytic aroids quickly colonize such open habitats through seed dispersal, sprouting plant fragments, or lateral invasion of flagellar aroids from the closed forest nearby. A seed germination experiment applying two soil substrates and three shade levels showed that abundant light reduced the germination success of three Philodendron species. A total of 400 cuttings from five Philodendron species were placed in forest clearings and almost 12% of these sprouted within 14 wk. Monitoring more than 2000 aroid plants over 14 mo in different habitats showed that recruitment was low (0.3 plants per 10 m2) compared with initial densities (3.1 plants per 10 m2). Flagellar aroids grew about 2.5 times faster than non-flagellar aroids. In forest edges they reached a mean apical growth of 98 cm in 14 mo. However, non-flagellar aroids were five to six times more abundant than flagellar individuals everywhere. It was concluded that hemiepiphytic aroids colonize open habitats mostly through a post-disturbance survival of plants or plant fragments.

The populations of two dominant isopod species in a Pinus merkusii forest on the southern slope of mount Ungaran in central Java, Indonesia, were periodically sampled during one year using Tullgren extractions from soil cores. The aim of the research was to collect more information about the life-cycles of tropical isopods by analysing size-class distributions of two sympatric isopod species, belonging to the genus Burmoniscus. Biomass of the populations was estimated from length-weight conversions established for each species in the laboratory. The efficiency of the Tullgren extraction method was estimated by comparison to hand sorting; no difference was found between these methods.

The abundance of the two species differed significantly with time. Burmoniscus Sp. A was more abundant during the wet season, whereas the population fluctuations of Burmoniscus Sp. B were more spread over the year. Reproduction of both species took place in the wet season. Burmoniscus Sp. A had one generation per year, while for Burmoniscus Sp. B the situation was unclear due to extensive overlap of size classes. Comparisons were made with isopod abundance in other tropical and temperate forests. The mean density of the two species found in this study was 258 m-2 for Burmoniscus Sp. A and 272 m-2 for Burmoniscus Sp. B, while biomass was 80.4 mg m-2 and 37.6 mg m-2, respectively. The data suggest that densities of isopods in tropical pine forests may be considerably higher than in comparable temperate ecosystems.

The fire regime is essential in creating a mosaic of plant structure and diversity in South American open savannas, especially favouring herbs. However, studies investigating diversity patterns in Neotropical savannas rarely focus on the herb–subshrub layer. This study investigated the variation of the herb–subshrub layer under contrasting fire regimes in the most conserved site within the Cerrado Domain, the Jalapão region, Brazil. We selected four sites of open savanna physiognomy with similar topographic, climatic and edaphic features: three burned every 2 years, while the fourth site has remained unburned for at least the last 10 years. We randomly distributed 15 plots of 4 m2 in each site and identified all herbs and subshrubs in each plot to estimate density, richness, alpha diversity and species composition. The unburned site had lower herb–subshrub density, richness and diversity than the frequently burned sites. Species composition varied between frequently burned and unburned sites, partially explained by the fire frequency across sites. Although other ecological factors may explain the patterns detected, we cannot rule out the importance of fire in structuring plant communities in the Jalapão region. As in other savannas, our study in the Cerrado Domain reinforces the essential role of the fire regimes in modifying and maintaining the diversity of herbaceous plants at the landscape scale.

There are two trade-offs at the levels of leaves and crowns, i.e. assimilation capacity per leaf mass is greater for shorter-lived leaves, and unbranched species grow faster in height by allocating carbon more to trunk than to leaves and branches compared with highly branched species. The hypotheses were tested that the degree of branching (LTB) correlates with leaf traits and that height growth rate is negatively correlated with the degree of branching and leaf life span (LLS) by examining saplings of five canopy and subcanopy species, two shrub species and one invasive subshrub species (Clidemia hirta) in a tropical rain forest, West Java, Indonesia. Of the eight species, the most and least branched species were Castanopsis acuminatissima and Macaranga semiglobosa, respectively. Leaf traits examined were leaf size, LLS, leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf nitrogen concentration per mass (Nmass) and per area. LLS tended to be positively correlated with LMA, and negatively correlated with Nmass. Leaf size was negatively correlated with LTB, but the other leaf traits were not correlated with LTB. The height growth of the eight species was low, irrespective of LTB and LLS, for understorey individuals. The height growth of gap individuals was negatively correlated with LLS for the eight species, and also negatively with LTB for the seven species other than one subshrub species. Thus, the degree of branching was correlated with leaf size only among the five leaf traits, and both leaf life span and the degree of branching affected the height growth of gap individuals, except for the subshrub species.

Phosphorus uptake by grass species from natural South American grasslands can change depending on root and leaf attributes capable of determining higher, or lower, relative growth rate. The aim of the current study is to investigate whether leaf and root attributes capable of determining leaf and root area production in native C4 grass species Axonopus affinis and Andropogon lateralis are related to higher relative growth rate (RGR), P uptake capacity (maximum P influx; Imax) and concentration. Species grown in 2-litre pots with added nutrition solution were subjected to two treatments, namely 5 μM P l−1 and 30 μM P l−1. Solution aliquots (10 ml) were collected for 30 hours at the end of the study to determine P concentrations. RGR was 3.6 and 2.8 times higher in A. affinis than in A. lateralis in treatments with 5 μM P and 30 μM P. Axonopus affinis recorded the highest P concentration in leaf tissue. This outcome was associated with Imax 85% higher in A. affinis. High RGR was associated with larger leaf and root surface area per dry mass unit, as well as with high P influx capacity and with higher affinity transporters. These species often prevail in areas accounting for greater natural fertility and are more responsive to phosphate fertilization.

The structure of ecological communities is thought to be mainly driven by competition processes between species. One special case of resource shaping community dynamics is the acoustic space. However, the acoustic communities have been rarely described for tropical birds. Here, we aimed at estimating acoustic competition between the iconic species Pharomachrus mocinno and the other bird species occupying the same habitat. An acoustic survey was conducted in a cloud forest in Guatemala for 17 days in six simultaneous recording sites. All species occurring in the same frequency bandwidth were identified, and the acoustic overlapping between P. mocinno and these species was estimated. Eighteen species were identified as acoustic competitors. Ecological traits and phylogenetic distance were defined for all species. The rate of acoustic competition between P. mocinno and other species was related to different ecological traits and competition for resources. The acoustic overlap was high with species competing for similar food resources and phylogenetically close species and low with predator species and phylogenetically distant species. These unique observations provide new behavioural and ecological information that might be useful for the knowledge of this species and the cloud forest.

We used all 167 typhoon warnings issued by the Taiwanese Central Weather Bureau from 1958–2006 to assess the long-term effect of cyclone disturbance on vascular epiphytes. Tracks and eyes of past typhoons were plotted as circles with radii of Beaufort scale 7 and 10, and the frequency of each cohort in 1-km2 grid cells was calculated. The presence of vascular epiphytes in the same grid cells was predicted using species distribution models (SDMs). First, we used herbarium specimens and other sources to compile a comprehensive georeferenced vascular epiphyte database that contained 39084 records in 331 species. Next, we assigned each epiphyte record to a cell in the same 1-km2 grid as above. Finally, we used SDMs (MaXent), based on 30 environmental variables except typhoon frequency, to predict the potential presence of each species in the grid cells. For our analysis we only considered cells east of the central mountain ridge where typhoons hit with full force. After elimination of rare species and species that could not be validated in the SDMs, we were left with 156 epiphyte species in 10725 1-km2 cells. The number of projected species in the cells was 36.5 on average, varying between two and 82 species. Correlation analyses showed that, over time, typhoons led to a decrease in epiphyte richness at Beaufort scale 7 and 10 (Pearson's r = −0.07 and −0.08 respectively). Ferns, orchids, hemiepiphytes and dicotyledons generally showed the same pattern, except hemiepiphytes that showed a positive correlation at B7 (Pearson's r = 0.15). A partial canonical correspondence ordination analysis showed that, independent of temperature- and rainfall-related variables, Beaufort scale 7 and 10 typhoons also had significant influence on the species composition of the vascular epiphyte communities in the landscape. We recommend in situ monitoring of epiphytes over a long period to corroborate the suggestion from this indirect study that typhoons have a long-term effect on the distribution of epiphytes in Taiwan.

In humid forests tree buttresses and tree trunks are used as diurnal resting sites by phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae). When several species are present on the same buttress, the sandfly species are spatially segregated resulting in a pattern of vertical stratification on the buttress within 100 cm of ground level. A change in the distribution of one species induces a change in the distribution of an adjacent species. This is demonstrated under both natural and experimental conditions. Observations of sandflies at dawn and dusk have revealed that the buttress is used as a swarming site; this behaviour provides our favoured explanation for the patterns of vertical stratification on tree buttresses.

Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) is a shrub of Neotropical origin that has spread to at least 60 countries (Day et al. 2003), and its ability to rapidly occupy disturbed habitat has led to it being named one of the ten worst weeds on the planet (Cronk & Fuller 1995, Sharma et al. 2005). A number of traits may have contributed to its success as an invasive species. For example, L. camara increases the available soil nitrogen in otherwise nitrogen-poor ecosystems (Sharma & Raghubanshi 2009), it is extremely resilient to disturbance (Gentle & Guggin 1997a, Hiremath & Sundram 2005), it is allelopathic to native plants (Achhireddy & Singh 1984, Gentle & Duggin 1997b) and its fruits are dispersed by a variety of birds (Mandon-Dalger et al. 2004, Swarbrick et al. 1998). A potentially unappreciated aspect of L. camara biology that may also contribute to its invasiveness relates to pollination ecology.

We investigated trophic resource partitioning in seven syntopic anurans from low- and mid-elevation stream habitats of a tropical riparian ecosystem by utilising stomach content analysis (SCA) and stable isotope analysis (SIA). Our SCA data revealed dietary similarities, narrow trophic niche breadth, and low dietary niche overlap in Ansonia muelleri, Limnonectes magnus, Occidozyga laevis, Megophrys stejnegeri, Pulchrana grandocula, Sanguirana mearnsi, and Staurois natator which could be attributed to these anurans’ selection of available local prey items. We confirmed ant-specialisation (myrmecophagy) of the Mindanao island endemic bufonid A. muelleri based on our temporal SCA dietary data. Our SIA estimates of assimilation of potential prey sources confirmed that L. magnus, P. grandocula, and O. laevis are generalist predators, opportunistically feeding on locally abundant insect prey items. This study on trophic resource partitioning in syntopic anurans provides the first picture of trophic interactions, i.e., predation and competition in stream communities in tropical riparian zones of a watershed ecosystem in northeast Mindanao of the southern Philippines.