In many farming landscapes, aquatic features such as wetlands, creeks and dams provide water needed for stock and irrigation, while also acting as habitat for a range of plants and animals. Indeed, some species threatened by land use change may otherwise be considerably rarer – or even extinct – in the absence of these habitats. Therefore, a critical issue for the maintenance of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes is the extent to which the management of aquatic systems can help promote the integration of agricultural production and biodiversity conservation. We completed a snapshot cross-sectional study in southern New South Wales (south-eastern Australia) to quantify the efficacy of simple management practices – partial revegetation and stock reduction via fencing – for improving vegetation structure, water quality, and macroinvertebrate assemblages. We found that even short-term livestock exclusion resulted in increased vegetation cover. Relative to dams that were unfenced, those that had been partially or completely fenced for many years were characterized by reduced turbidity and nutrient levels and contained fewer thermotolerant (faecal) coliforms. They also supported increased richness and abundance of macroinvertebrates. In contrast, control (unfenced) dams tended to have high abundance of a few macroinvertebrate taxa. Notably, differences remained between the macroinvertebrate assemblages of fenced dams and nearby ‘natural’ waterbodies. Our results show how management interventions can improve water quality in farm dams and provide a valuable reference and baseline for longer term studies of farm dam improvement.

The coastal heathlands of North-west Europe are valuable cultural landscapes, created and maintained over millennia by a land-use regime involving burning and grazing. These heathlands are now critically threatened throughout their range by land-use change and, increasingly, climatic changes. The climatic change impacts are complex, as the coastal heathland regions are experiencing increased temperature and precipitation, but also increased frequency and severity of extreme events, such as drought. Previous studies reveal that established heathland vegetation, including Calluna, are vulnerable to drought, but also that these vulnerabilities vary throughout the range, and with successional stage after fire. Recruitment from seed is an important regeneration strategy for Calluna heathland vegetation after burning, and our study is the first to assess how the seed germination and early seedling growth of Calluna respond to drought. We will do this in a lab germination experiment, where we will expose Calluna seeds to five different drought treatments, from -0.25 MPa to -1.7 MPa, and measure germination, and record germination percentage, germination rates, and seedling growth, below-ground allocation, and functional traits (Specific Leaf Area, Specific Root Length). To allow assessment of variation in drought responses due to geographic origin, successional stage, and the maternal plants’ drought exposure, we will conduct this experiment on seeds from 540 Calluna plants sampled from across three drought treatments (control, 50%, and 90% coverage), in three successional stages after fire (pioneer, building, mature), in two regions (60N, 65N), using a factorial design.

Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes are the closest extant relative of modern humans, and are often used as a model organism to help understand prehistoric human behavior and ecology. Originally presumed herbivorous, chimpanzees have been observed hunting 24 species of birds, ungulates, rodents, monkeys, and other primates, using an array of techniques from tools to group cooperation. Using the literature on chimpanzee hunting behavior and diet from 13 studies, we aimed to determine the prey preferences of chimpanzees. We extracted data on prey-specific variables such as targeted species, their body weight, and their abundance within the prey community, and hunter-specific variables such as hunting method, and chimpanzee group size and sex ratio. We used these in a generalized linear model to determine what factors drive chimpanzee prey preference. We calculated a Jacobs’ Index value for each prey species killed at two sites in Uganda and two sites in Tanzania. Chimpanzees prefer prey with a body weight of 7.6 ± 0.4 kg or less, which corresponds to animals such as juvenile bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus and guereza colobus monkeys Colobus guereza. Sex ratio in chimpanzee groups appears to drive chimpanzee prey preference, where chimpanzees increasingly prefer prey when in male-dominated groups. Prey preference information from chimpanzee research can assist conservation management programs by identifying key prey species to manage, as well as contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of human hunting behavior.

We sought to generate a preliminary demographic framework for Psammochloa villosa to support of future studies of this ecologically important desert grass species, its conservation, and sustainable utilization. Psammochloa villosa occurs in the Inner Mongolian Plateau where it is frequently the dominant species and is involved in sand stabilization and wind breaking. Here, we characterized the genetic diversity and structure of 210 individuals from 43 natural populations of P. villosa using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. We obtained 1728 well-defined amplified bands from eight pairs of primers, of which 1654 bands (95.72%) were polymorphic.All these values indicate that there is abundant genetic diversity, but limited gene flow in P. villosa. However, an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that genetic variation mainly exists within 43 populations of the species (64.16%), and we found that the most genetically similar populations were often not geographically adjacent. Thus, this suggests that the mechanisms of gene flow are surprisingly complex in the species and may occur over long distances. In addition, we predicted the distribution dynamics of P. villosa based on the spatial distribution modeling and found that its range has contracted continuously since the last inter-glacial period. We speculate that dry, cold climates have been critical in determining the geographic distribution of P. villosa during the Quaternary period. Our study provides new insights into the population genetics and evolutionary history of P. villosa in the Inner Mongolian Plateau, which can be used to design in-situ conservation actions and to prioritize sustainable utilization of germplasm resources.

Quarry operations can have a negative impact on invertebrate biodiversity and threaten local species through a variety of factors, such as habitat loss and pollution. Quarrying is a common practice in Ghana, but little is known about its effects on local insect diversity and abundance. In this study, the relationship between quarry operations and insect communities on an active quarry site, the Mowire quarry site in the Ashanti region of Ghana was assessed. Transect counts, aerial nets, pitfall traps, Flight interception traps (FIT) and fruit baiting (Charaxes) traps were employed to assess arthropod assemblage, specifically insects as a surrogate for arthropod communities. A total of 2,902 individual insects belonging to 56 families and eleven orders were recorded in all transect points across the three sampling zones. Quarry operations had little impact on the relative abundance (N = 974) of insects at Transect point (TP) 400m in the Eastern Zone (EZ), species richness (S = 49) and the highest abundance (N = 302) corresponding with high diversity of flowering plants at this site that are a food source for pollinators and herbivorous insects. Quarry operations negatively affected the relative abundance (N= 541) and richness (S = 37) of insects in the Western zone (WZ), significantly affecting TP 400m in the WZ, corresponding to the low abundance of food plant as well as volumes of dust that settle at the WZ after every blast, as dust travels in the direction of this zone. It is recommended that interventions to prevent biodiversity habitat loss in and around the quarry operational site should focus on policies that ensure and enforce the establishment of a dust control mechanism system in the extractive industry.

Phragmites australis is the dominant species in the Yellow River Delta and plays an important role in wetland ecosystems. Ecological responses of the P. australis community to soil properties were investigated in 96 areas along the coastal-inland regions in the Yellow River Delta of China. The aim was to evaluate the relationship between phenotypic variation and environmental factors, reveal which functional traits could well respond to changes in electrical conductivity and soil water content, and the ecological strategies of P. australis. Within the range of soil water content (9.39–36.92%) and electrical conductivity (0.14–13.29 ms/cm), the results showed that the effects of soil water content and salinity were not equally important for the characterization of the morphological and physiological variability, and that plant functional traits including leaf traits and stem traits responded more strongly to soil salinity than soil water content. Our results suggested that salinity leads to reduced average height, specific leaf area, leaf area, and base stem diameter, but increased leaf water content and leaf thickness. The relationships between functional traits and electrical conductivity were generally linear and logarithmic. The coefficients of variation of morphological traits showed more phenotypic plasticity than the physiological traits. Salinity also led to the stress tolerator/competitor-stress tolerator (S/CS) strategies of P. australis; with the decrease of environmental stress, the main strategy gradually moved to the competitor (C) strategy, making P. australis the dominant species in the Yellow River Delta. KEYWORDS: Soil water content, Electrical conductivity, Functional traits, Plasticity, Life strategies.

The Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis is widely considered to be wrong but is rarely tested against alternative hypotheses. It predicts that soil disturbances and herbivory have identical impacts on species richness via identical mechanisms (reduction in biomass and in competition). An alternative hypothesis is that the specific traits of disturbance agents (small mammals) and plants differentially affects richness or abundance of different plant groups. We tested these hypotheses on a degu (Octodon degus) colony in central Chile. We ask whether native and non-native forbs respond differently to degu bioturbation on runways vs. herbivory on grazing lawns. We ask whether this can explain the increase in non-native plants on degu colonies. We found that biopedturbation did not explain the locations of non-native plants. We did not find direct evidence of grazing increasing non-native herbs either, but a grazing effect appears to be mediated by grass, which is the dominant cover. Further, we provide supplementary evidence to support our interpretation that a key mechanism of non-native spread is the formation of dry soil conditions on grazing lawns. Thus ecosystem engineering (alteration of soil qualities) may be an outcome of disturbances, which each interact with specific plant traits, to create the observed pattern of non-native spread in the colony. Based on these results we propose to extend Jentsch & White’s (2019) concept of combined pulse/ disturbance events to the long-term process duality of ecosystem engineering/ disturbance.

The effects of human disturbance on the stability of alpine meadow communities, their diversity–stability relationship, and the underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood. Here, we performed a 12-year-long (2007–2018) two-factor (2 × 3) controlled experiment on Kobresia humilis on the Tibetan Plateau. The manipulations included three clipping levels (no clipping, NC; moderate clipping, MC; heavy clipping, HC) and two fertilization levels (no fertilization, NF; fertilization, F). Our results revealed that the two clipping manipulations significantly increased the temporal stability of alpine meadow communities, whose significant increase was more pronounced under the MC than HC treatment. Moreover, asynchrony effects, portfolio effects, and facilitation interactions were all present in the communities under the six types of experimental treatment combinations. Additionally, a selection effect was detected in the compound communities, demonstrating characteristics that are common to different mechanisms. There were no significant differences in the effects of these mechanisms on community temporal stability between the NC–NF and MC–NF interactive communities. The portfolio effects predominated when clipping intensity was moderate under both fertilization and non-fertilization conditions. By contrast, in the compound communities, the selection effect predominated. In summary, we conclude that in meadow communities that undergo clipping and fertilization disturbances, facilitation interactions and weak interactions make a greater contribution toward maintaining their temporal stability.

In spring of 2012, we studied the feeding habits of snow leopard using a comprehensive approach that combines fecal genetic sampling, macro and microscopic analysis of snow leopard diets and direct observation of Naur and livestock in Kangchenjunga Conservation Area of east Nepal. Out of collected 88 putative snow leopard scat samples from 140 transects (290 km) in 27 (4*4 km2) sampling grid cells, 83% were confirmed to be from snow leopard. The genetic analysis accounted for 19 individual snow leopards (10 male and 9 female) with a mean population size estimate of 24 (95% CI: 19- 29), and an average density of 3.9 snow leopards/100 km2 within 609 km2. Total available prey biomass of Naur and Yak was estimated at 355,236 kg (505 kg yak/km2 and 78 kg Naur/km2). From the available prey biomass, we estimated snow leopards consumed 7% annually which was comprised of wild prey (49%), domestic livestock (45%), and 6% unidentified items. The estimated 47,736 kg Naur biomass gives a snow leopard-Naur ratio of 1: 59 on a weight basis. The proportion of young Naur was estimated at 17%, with an almost double predation rate at 28%. Predators such as common leopard and wolf share the same habitat and might compete with snow leopard for prey which will likely influence future predator-prey associations in KCA. Along with livestock insurance scheme improvement, there needs to be a focus on improved livestock guarding as well as engaging and educating local people to be citizen scientists on the importance of snow leopard conservation, involving them in long-term monitoring programs and promotion of ecotourism.

1. Phyllostomid bats exhibit great diversity in skull size and morphology that reflects the degree of resource division and ecological overlap in the group. In particular, Stenodermatinae has high morphological diversification associated with cranial and mandibular traits that is associated with the ability to consume the full range of available fruits (soft and hard). In terms of morphology, performance (bite force) appears to play an important role in niche partitioning among bat species, however, very few studies have confirmed these relationships using functional cranial traits. 2. Here, we analyzed craniodental traits and their relationship to the bite force in 308 specimens distributed in seven species of stenodermatine bats with two foraging types: nomadic and sedentary frugivorous bats. We evaluated 19 functional traits of the skull and jaw related to feeding and bite force in live animals by correcting bite force with body size. We used a GLM model and post hoc tests to determine possible relationships and differences between cranial traits, species, and sex. 3. The results showed that there is significant interspecific variation between stenodermatines that are nomadic and sedentary. The greatest variation in bite force within species was explained by the mandibular toothrow length (MANDL) between sexes, which was greater in females. The larger species of Artibeus, together with Platyrrhinus helleri, Uroderma convexum and Sturnira giannae, which have a greater length of the skull, condylo-incisor, condylo-canine, mandibular toothrow and height of the coronoid, exhibit greater bite force. By contrast, the smaller species A. anderseni and A. phaeotis have short skulls and the lowest values of bite force, which suggests that the size of the skull confers a biomechanical advantage. 4. Our results highlight the usefulness of analyzing functional traits related to feeding to establish the performance of bats in terms of the bite force.

1. Stable isotopes represent a unique approach to provide insights into the ecology of organisms. δ13C and δ15N have specifically be used to obtain information on the trophic ecology and food web interactions. The trophic discrimination factor (TDF, Δ13C and Δ15N) describes the isotopic fractionation occurring from diet to consumer tissue and this value is critical to obtain precise estimates within any application of δ13C and δ15N. It is widely acknowledged that metabolism influences the TDF, being responsible for different TDFs between tissues of variable metabolic activity (e.g. liver vs. muscle tissue) or species body size (small vs. large). However, the connection between the variation of metabolism occurring within a single species during its ontogeny and TDFs has rarely been considered. 2. Here, we conducted a 9-month feeding experiment to report Δ13C and Δ15N of muscle and liver tissue for several weight classes of Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis), a widespread teleost often studied using stable isotopes, but without established TDFs for feeding on a natural diet. In addition, we assessed the relationship between the standard metabolic rate (SMR) and TDFs by measuring their oxygen consumption of the individuals. 3. Our results showed a significant negative relationship of SMR with Δ13C, but not with Δ15N of muscle or TDFs of liver tissue. SMR was significantly higher in perch juveniles, which translated to significantly lower Δ13C of muscle tissue. 4. In summary, our results emphasize the role of metabolism in shaping specific TDFs (i.e. Δ13C of muscle tissue), and especially highlight the substantial differences between individuals of different ontogenetic stages within a species. Our findings thus have direct implications for the use of stable isotope data and the applications of stable isotopes in food web studies.

Both termites and large mammalian herbivores (LMH) are savanna ecosystem engineers that have profound impacts on ecosystem structure and function. Both of these savanna engineers modulate many common and shared dietary resources such as woody and herbaceous plant biomass, yet few studies have addressed how they impact one another. In particular, it is unclear how herbivores may influence the abundance of long-lived termite mounds via changes in termite dietary resources such as woody and herbaceous biomass. While it has long been assumed that abundance and areal cover of termite mounds in the landscape remains relatively stable, most data are observational, and few experiments have tested how termite mound patterns may respond to biotic factors such as changes in large herbivore communities. Here, we use a broad tree density gradient and two landscape-scale experimental manipulations—the first a multi-guild large herbivore exclosure experiment and the second a tree removal experiment– to demonstrate that patterns in termite mound abundance and cover are unexpectedly dynamic. Termite mound abundance, but not areal cover not significantly, is positively associated with experimentally controlled presence of cattle, but not wild mesoherbivores (15-1000 kg) or megaherbivores (elephants and giraffes). Herbaceous productivity and tree density, termite dietary resources that significantly affected by different LMH treatments, are both positive predictors of termite mound abundance. Experimental reductions of tree densities are associated with lower abundances of termite mounds. These results reveal a richly interacting web of relationships among multiple savanna ecosystem engineers and suggest that termite mound abundance and areal cover is intimately tied to herbivore-driven resource availability.

To study the effect of the invasion of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus on the functional relationship between woody plants and insect communities, the populations of tree species and insect communities were investigative in the Masson pine forests with different infestation durations of B. xylophilus. In this study, the number of Pinus massoniana began to decrease sharply, whereas the total number of other tree species in the arboreal layer increased gradually with the infestation duration of B. xylophilus. The principal component analysis ordination biplot shows that there was a significant change in the spatial distribution of woody plant species in different Masson pine forest stands. Additionally, a total of 7,188 insect specimens was obtained. The insect population showed an upward trend in stand types with the increase of pine wilt disease infection periods, which demonstrated that the insect community had been significantly affected by the invasion of B. xylophilus. The structure of insect functional groups changed from herbivorous (He) > omnivorous (Om) > predatory (Pr) > parasitic (Pa) > detritivorous (De) in the control stand to He > Pa > Om, De > Pr after B. xylophilus infestation in the forests. The results showed that the populations of He, Pa, and De increased after the invasion of B. xylophilus, but the populations of Pr decreased. Moreover, the redundancy analysis ordination bi-plots reflected the complicated functional relationship between woody plant communities and insects after the invasion of B. xylophilus. The present study provides insights into the changes in the community structure of woody plants and insects, as well as the functional relationship between woody plant communities and insect communities after invasion of B. xylophilus.

Dens are places for cavernicolous animals to hibernate, reproduce, and avoid predators and harsh weather conditions, and thus they have a vital impact on their survival. M. himalayana is the main large cavernicolous rodent on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The analysis of den traits and their ecological functions can reveal mechanisms by which marmots have adapted to their environment, which is important for further understanding the ecological significance of this species. From July to August 2019 (warm season), we used unmanned aerial vehicles to fly at low altitudes and slow speeds to locate 131 marmot burrows (45 on shaded slopes, 51 on sunny slopes, and 35 on flat areas) in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. We then measured the physical characteristics (den density, entrance size, first tunnel length, volume, orientation and plant characteristics near the den entrance) of these dens on site. The physical parameters of the M. himalayana dens showed that they function to protect the marmots from natural enemies and bad weather, provide good drainage, and maintain a stable microclimate around the entrance. This is a result of the marmot’s adaptation to the harsh environment (cold and humidity) of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

In this study our aim was to assess the diversity and distribution of cavity-nesting solitary bees, wasps and the spider-hunting wasps' prey with regards to the influence of landscape context in a study area with relatively low human disturbance. The study took place between May and August 2018 at eight study sites in the hilly-mountainous central part of Romania, where the majority of the landscape is used for extensive farming or forestry. During the processing of the trap nest material, we recorded several parameters regarding the nests of different hymenopteran groups, the spider prey found inside these nests, and also tested the influence of the landscape structure surrounding the sites on both hymenopteran groups and spider prey. The majority of nests was built by the solitary wasp group of Trypoxylon, followed by Dipogon and Eumeninae. Solitary bees were much rarer, with Hylaeus being most common group. The groups showed partially differing size preferences concerning the diameter of the occupied reed stalks. In the nests of Trypoxylon we predominantly found spider prey from the family of Araneidae, followed by representatives from the families of Linyphiidae and Theridiidae. In contrast to Trypoxylon, the wasp group Dipogon preferred spider prey from the family of Thomisidae. Concerning the hymenopteran groups, significant effects of landscape structure were found on the number of both nests and brood cells of Eumeninae and on the number of brood cells of Hylaeus, Osmia and Trypoxylon. We also found that the diversity of Trypoxylon spider prey was significantly positively affected by an increasing proportion of grassland and negatively by an increasing proportion of woodland. Altogether, our study presents several new aspects concerning the diversity and distribution of solitary bees, wasps and the spider-hunting wasps' prey and also the effects of landscape context on these groups.

The mirid bugs Stenotus rubrovittatus and Trigonotylus caelestialium, which cause pecky rice, have become a threat to rice cultivation in Asia. Damage caused by these pests has rapidly become frequent since around 2000 in Japan. Their expansion pattern is not simple, making it difficult to manage them by prediction. Some insects with wide distributions have locally adapted variations in life-history traits. We performed laboratory rearing experiments to assess the geographical scale of intraspecific variations in life-history traits of S. rubrovittatus and T. caelestialium. These were aimed at increasing the accuracy of occurrence estimates and the number of generations per year. These results were compared with previous research, and differences in development rates were observed between populations of different latitudes, but not of the same latitude. Finally, plotting the timing of adult emergence and the potential number of generations per year on maps with a 5-km grid revealed that they differed greatly locally at the same latitude. These maps can be used for developing more efficient methods of managing mirid bugs in integrated pest management.

Identifying factors that influence sea otter (Enhydra lutris) population density can provide insight into why it varies spatially and temporally and when a recovering population has reached an equilibrium density because of food resources (i.e., carrying capacity K). Although food availability is widely recognized as an important extrinsic factor affecting sea otter density, how do we determine when a population has reached K? The goal of this study was to estimate K for Simpson Bay, Alaska by measuring the abundance of edible bivalves, the primary prey for sea otters for over 40 years. We then compared prey abundance and estimated replacement rate (i.e., the mean age of bivalves predated by sea otters) to estimated annual prey consumption based on the mean population density for the past 18 years. On average, 110 adult sea otters (5.2 km−2) have occupied Simpson Bay annually since 2001 consuming an estimated 176,660 kg of bivalves. The total mass (standing stock) of the major bivalves (predominately butter clams and stained macomas) was 785,730 kg, so adult sea otters consumed about 22% annually. Based on these observations and calculations, the estimated annual number of sea otters occupying Simpson Bay appears to be at or near K based on the replacement rate of food resources. However, other intrinsic (e.g., male territoriality and emigration) and extrinsic (e.g., predation, disease, human-related mortality) factors may influence equilibrium density, which varies spatially and temporally, resulting in a mosaic of subpopulations with different densities, rates of growth and discontinuous distributions. Understanding the balance among these factors may be one of the most challenging ecological questions for sea otter conservation and management as populations recover from their range-wide decimation during the Maritime Fur Trade in the late 18th and 19th centuries

Seed dispersal by ants is an important means of migration for plants. Although many 34 myrmecochorous plants have seeds containing elaiosome, a nutritional reward for ants, some 35 non-myrmecochorous seeds without elaiosomes are also dispersed by ant species. However, the 36 mechanism by which seeds without elaiosomes enable efficient dispersal by ants is scarcely 37 investigated. The seeds of the achlorophyllous and myco-heterotrophic herbaceous plant 38 Monotropastrum humile are very small without elaiosomes and require a fungal host for 39 germination and survival. We performed a bioassay using seeds of M. humile and the ant 40 Nylanderia flavipes to demonstrate ant-mediated seed dispersal. We also analyzed the volatile 41 odors emitted from M. humile seeds and conducted bioassays using dummy seeds coated with 42 seed volatiles. Although elaiosomes were absent from the M. humile seeds, the ants carried the 43 seeds to their nests. They also carried the dummy seeds coated with the seed volatile mixture to 44 the nest, and left some dummy seeds inside the nest and discarded the rest of the dummy seeds 45 outside the nest with a bias toward locations with moisture conditions, which might be 46 conducive to germination. We concluded that seeds of M. humile were dispersed by the ants, 47 and that seed odors were sufficient to induce directed dispersal even without elaiosomes. It is 48 probable that the fleshy fruit producing genus Monotropastrum evolved from the related 49 anemochorous genus Monotropa, which produces capsule fruit. This transformation from 50 anemochory to myrmecochory presents a novel evolutionary pathway toward ant-mediated seed 51 dispersal in an achlorophyllous plant.

Many insects possess the plastic ability to either develop directly to adulthood, or enter diapause and postpone reproduction until the next year, depending on environmental cues (primarily photoperiod) that signal the amount of time remaining until the end of the growth season. These two developmental pathways often differ in co-adapted life history traits, e.g. with slower development and larger size in individuals headed for diapause. The developmental timing of these differences may be of adaptive importance: if pathways diverge late, the scope for phenotypic differences is smaller, whereas if pathways diverge early, the risk is higher of expressing a maladaptive phenotype if the selective environment changes. Here we explore the effects of changes in photoperiodic information during life on pupal diapause and associated life history traits in the butterfly Pararge aegeria. We find that both pupal diapause and larval development rate are asymmetrically regulated: while exposure to long days late in life (regardless of earlier experiences) was sufficient to produce nondiapause development and accelerate larval development accordingly, more prolonged exposure to short days was required to induce diapause and slow down pre-diapause larval development. While the two developmental pathways diverged early in development, development rates could be partially reversed by altered environmental cues. Meanwhile, pathway differences in body size were more inflexible, despite emerging late in development. Hence, in P. aegeria several traits are regulated by photoperiod, along subtly different ontogenies, into an integrated phenotype that strikes a balance between flexibility and phenotype-environment matching.

Kauri dieback, caused by Phytophthora agathidicida, is an ecosystem disturbance that poses a recent threat to the survival of kauri (Agathis australis) forests in New Zealand. Throughfall and stemflow play an important role in meeting the nutrient requirements of kauri forests. However, the effects of kauri dieback on canopy nutrient deposition remain unknown. Here we measured throughfall, stemflow and forest floor water yield and nutrient concentrations and fluxes (potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, silicon, sulphur, sodium, iron) of ten kauri trees differing in soil P. agathidicida DNA concentration and health status. We did not observe an effect of soil P. agathidicida DNA concentration on throughfall and stemflow water yield. Throughfall and forest floor nutrient concentrations and fluxes tended to decrease (up to 50%) with increasing soil P. agathidicida DNA concentration. Significant effects were found for potassium and manganese fluxes in throughfall, and calcium and silicon fluxes in forest floor leachate. The decline in nutrient input will have implications on plant nutrition, tree health and susceptibility to future pathogen infection in these ecologically unique kauri forests. Given our findings and the increasing spread of Phytophthora species worldwide, research on the underlying physiological mechanisms linking dieback and plant-soil nutrient fluxes is critical.

Understanding what variables affect ungulate neonate survival is imperative to successful conservation and management of the species. Predation is commonly cited as a cause-specific source of mortality and ecological covariates often influence neonate survival. However, variation in survival estimates related to capture methodology has been documented with opportunistically captured neonates generally displaying greater survival than those captured via aid of vaginal implant transmitters (VITs), likely because of increased left truncation observed in the opportunistically captured datasets. Our goal was to assess if 3- and 6-month survival estimates varied by capture method while simultaneously assessing if capture method affected model selection and interpretation of ecological covariates for white-tailed deer neonates captured from three study sites in North Dakota and South Dakota, USA. We found survival varied by capture method for 3-month neonate survival with opportunistically captured neonates displaying up to 26% greater survival than their counterparts captured via VITs; however, this relationship was not present for 6-month survival. We also found model selection and subsequent interpretation of ecological covariates varied when analyzing datasets comprised of neonates captured via VITs, neonates captured opportunistically, and all neonates combined regardless of capture method. When interpreting results from our VIT only analysis for 3-month survival, we found survival varied by three time intervals and was lowest in the first two weeks of life. Capture method did not affect 6-month survival which was most influenced by total precipitation occurring during 3 – 8 weeks of a neonate’s life and percent canopy cover found at a neonate’s capture site. Our results support previous research that capture method must be accounted for when deriving survival estimates for ungulate neonates as it can impact derived estimates and subsequent interpretation of results.

1. Insects spend energy to function in high temperature environments, and because social insects employ a division of labor, it is likely that thermal tolerance varies among individuals in the colony, based on the tasks that they perform. 2. Foraging workers of the ant Neotropical ant Ectatomma ruidum are known to show temporal differences in thermal tolerance, with greater tolerance in hot afternoons, relative to cool mornings. 3. We developed three hypotheses that can account for temporal differences in thermal tolerance among workers: Thermal Acclimation, Division of Labor, and Circadian Rhythm. 4. We tested these hypotheses with a pair of experiments that involved the measurement of thermal persistence of ants at a constant temperature in time-to-failure assays. The first experiment compared ants with different behavioral roles in colonies, and the second compared colonies subjected to thermal manipulations, then iteratively sampled at daily thermal maxima and minima. 5. We found robust support for the Circadian Rhythm and Thermal Acclimation Hypotheses, and little support for the Division of Labor Hypothesis. Colonies of this species integrate multiple mechanisms of adapting to thermal challenges including time of day, ambient temperature, and the behavioral context of individual workers.

Seed recruitment is a major driver of mangrove restoration globally. It is hypothesized that soil condition and channel hydrology can accelerate seedling recruitment and regeneration after a major disturbance. Species abundance, diversity indices, microbial and chemical concentrations in sand-filled mangrove forest was studied. Eight plots (area = 3902.16 m2) were established with ten transects in each plot in a random block design to investigate the effect of soil conditions on seedling growth. A total of 1, 886 seedlings were physically counted. Seedling abundance was significantly different between red (Rizophora racemosa), white (Laguncularia racemosa) and black (Avicennia germinans) mangroves and nypa palm (nypa fruticans). The most dominant species was black mangroves and the least dominant species was nypa palm. Muddy soils had the most abundant species while sandy soils had the least abundant species. Furthermore, semi-muddy soils had the highest species diversity (H = 0.948) whereas muddy soils had the least species diversity (H = 0.022). The soil metal concentration has no correlation with seed abundance and occur in the order Iron>Nitrate>Copper>Cadmium. Soil with high species diversity had high soil microbial population; however, seedling abundance was correlated with soil nutrients and not heavy metals. Small seeds are easily recruited while good soil condition plus existing hydrological connection facilitated natural seedling regeneration in the disturbed mangrove forest.

Quarry operations cause serious environmental impact on invertebrate communities and contribute negatively to habitat destruction and the species they promote but very little is still known about the response of butterflies to such disturbances in western Africa. The current study provides data from a baseline survey of butterflies at Mowire quarry site in the agroecological zone of Ghana and investigates the effects of ongoing quarry operations on butterfly diversity. Specifically quarry operations were assessed on species abundance and richness. A total of 417 individual butterflies belonging to 67 species from 5 families was recorded in three zones. High relative abundance in the Eastern Zone (EZ) (N = 329) and high species richness (S = 55) may be due to increased flowering plants diversity which contain sweet nectar which attracts and support rich butterfly abundance. Low species richness (S = 22) and relative abundance (N= 41) in the Western Zone (WZ), and Northern Zone (NZ) (S = 21) and low relative abundance (N= 47), was corroborated with low plant diversity. Our results shows that, the EZ received less negative impact from the quarry operations but the operations negatively affected WZ and NZ. More generally our study indicates that state institutions should ensure mandatory environmental impact assessment reports from the quarry companies.