Data from three and half years’ nightly light-trap catches of 25 Afrotropical ant species were examined by Fourier analysis. Between 8 and 72 % of the seven-day-moving-average logarithmically transformed catches were accounted for by two to four terms. All 25 species showed significant annual periodicity and all, but Dorylus fulvus and Camponotus foraminosus, six monthly. Four species had wavelengths of between two and four years, and Tapinoma melanocephalum of 289 days. Twenty-three species showed two peak catches annually, contemporaneous with the two rainy seasons, with the higher peak corresponding with the main rains for 21 of them, while D. fulvus and C. foraminosus had single annual peaks during the main rains. Catches of 14 species with lunar periodicities were lowest around full moon and highest near new moon, contrasting with Hypoponera dulcis and Plagiolepis brunni whose catches were highest at full moon, and near the first quarter, respectively. Gynes and males of eight species were sufficiently numerous for comparisons of their separate responses to lunar illuminance. Catches of males peaked ca. six and three days later than gynes for Tapinoma cf. carininotum and Tetramorium aculeatum, respectively; whereas males of Crematogaster africana, Cr. depressa, Tetramorium sericeiventre, Oecophylla longinoda, Tapinoma melanocephalum, and Technomyrmex andrei peaked from ca. one to six days earlier than their respective gynes.

Wildlife movements within a landscape are influenced by environmental factors such as food availability and, as human-modified landscapes continue to expand, the risks associated with encountering people. For Asian elephants Elephas maximus, human-dominated landscapes can be a risky but also rewarding habitat. When elephants share space with people, negative human–elephant interactions are common, sometimes resulting in injuries or deaths of both people and elephants. We monitored elephant movements in and out of a forest reserve in central Sri Lanka to test four predictions regarding elephant behaviour: (1) visits to agricultural areas occur at times of the year when crops are plentiful, (2) elephants exploit these areas by night to avoid interactions with people, (3) increased nocturnal illumination reduces use of agricultural areas, and (4) males make greater use of anthropogenic food sources than family groups. Analysis of camera-trap data confirmed that elephants visited human-dominated areas mostly at night. The frequency of such incursions was not influenced by moon phase for males, but there was a weak effect of moon phase for family groups. Males moved more frequently into human-dominated landscapes than family groups, and their movements showed a distinct seasonal pattern, peaking at times of rice and fruit harvest. Our findings suggest that elephants primarily venture into human-dominated areas to consume crops. Encouraging farmers in areas frequented by elephants to adapt land-use practices (e.g. guarding crops, fencing villages, planting orange/citrus fences) and establish early warning systems could help limit the damage caused by elephants.