Harvestmen (Opiliones) community structure varies across forest-meadow ecotones in a biodiverse karst region

Heterogeneity in millipede communities (Diplopoda) within a forest–forest edge–meadow habitat complex

Insect pollinator communities are thought to transition from bee-dominated communities at low elevations to fly-dominated communities at high elevations. We predicted that increased tree canopy cover and a subsequent decrease in meadows and flowering plants would limit bees but not flies at higher elevations. We tested and supported this prediction by examining changes in both abundance and species richness for 128 bee species and 96 fly species at key points along an elevational gradient in Northern Arizona represented by distinct vegetation life zones. In addition to an increase in fly species and abundance relative to bees with increasing elevation, there were changes in community structure). To better understand factors that might influence this transition we examined how tree canopy cover changed along the elevational gradient and how this influenced the change in insect pollinator communities. While bee communities were progressively divergent between forest and meadow habitats with increasing elevation and tree canopy cover, there was no significant pattern with flies between meadow and forest habitats. However, fly abundance did increase with increasing elevation relative to bees. Along a comparable elevational gradient on an adjacent mountain with no tree canopy cover (i.e., a fire burned mountain), the bee-to-fly transition did not occur; bees persisted as the dominant pollinator into the highest life zone. This suggests that tree canopy cover can in part explain the transition from bee-to fly-dominated communities. In conclusion, this is the first study in North America to document a bee-fly transition for both abundance and species richness and show that tree canopy cover may play a role in determining pollinator community composition, by restricting bees to open meadow habitats.

Some urbanising rural (i.e. ‘amenity’) landscapes have seen an increase in forest cover over recent decades. Small-acreage landowners are key stakeholders in this forest recovery and its future ecological trajectory. Using 17 qualitative case-studies of small-acreage properties located in the Noosa hinterland in south-east Queensland, this study explores the types and condition of forests on these properties, the landholder’s differing forest management perspectives, practices and outcomes, and the implications for local biodiversity conservation. The properties contained a diverse mix of managed and un-managed natural and planted forests. Invasive weed species were a common component. Protecting and enhancing the ecological values of amenity landscapes will require an increase in active, best-practice forest management on small-acreage properties. Small-acreage landowners will require greater access to labour support and other subsidised resources to implement recommended practices. Such practices include controlling and reducing the spread of invasive weeds and soil erosion, reducing fire hazards, and positively influencing the rate and pathway of succession in regrowth forests. Peer-mentoring programs incorporating guided tours of ‘model’ small-acreage forests, and supporting landowners to establish their own small native plant nurseries and engage with local community nurseries (i.e. supplying seeds, volunteering labour), could help to increase small-acreage landowners’ forest management interests, knowledge, skills and activity. Long-term cooperative, cross-boundary forest management projects with on-going monitoring and adaptive management guided or implemented by skilled professionals are needed in amenity landscapes, particularly to increase the success of restoration interventions in weed-dominated regrowth forests. There is also a need for long-term socio-ecological analyses of amenity landscapes’ diverse and evolving small-acreage forests to better inform their future management.

Ecosystems with forest and grassland patches as alternative stable states usually contain various closed, semi‐open and open habitats, which may be aligned along a vegetation cover gradient. Taxonomic diversity usually peaks near the middle of the gradient, but our knowledge on functional and phylogenetic diversity trends along gradients is more limited. We investigated the eight main habitats of Hungarian forest‐grassland mosaics, representing various vegetation cover values, and compared their species composition as well as their taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity. We found a compositional gradient ranging from large forest patches through smaller‐sized forest patches and edges to closed and open grasslands. Species richness peaked at the middle of the gradient (at edges). Shannon diversity was high near the middle and at the open end of the gradient. Functional diversity was high throughout woody habitats (in forests and at edges) and was significantly lower in grasslands. When considering all species, phylogenetic diversity tended to peak at north‐facing forest edges. When excluding non‐angiosperms, this peak disappeared. The high taxonomic diversity at the middle of the gradient is in line with the edge‐effect theory. Our results suggest that community assembly in grasslands may be dominated by environmental filtering, while competition may be decisive in woody habitats. The low phylogenetic diversity of grassland habitats can be explained by their young evolutionary age compared to forests. Synthesis. Functional and phylogenetic diversity do not necessarily coincide with taxonomic diversity along vegetation cover gradients. In ecosystems where forest and grassland patches represent alternative stable states, the trends of taxonomic diversity may be similar to those revealed here, but functional diversity patterns may be more system‐specific for some traits. Trends in phylogenetic diversity may vary according to the evolutionary age of the habitats.

The habitat-specific effects of highway proximity on ground-dwelling arthropods: Implications for biodiversity conservation

We experimentally examined edge effects and movement patterns of the butterfly Parnassius smintheus in two habitat types, its preferred meadow habitat, and intervening forest matrix habitat. We followed the movement of 46 butterflies released at either 5 or 20m from a forest edge in either forest or meadow habitat. In contrast to theoretical predictions, we found that butterflies flew less frequently, shorter distances, and at lower rates in matrix habitat than they did in meadow habitat. Distance from the edge had little effect on these aspects of movement. Flight was strongly influenced by light levels with butterflies flying more readily at higher light levels. Light levels were higher in meadows than in forest explaining much of the difference in movement patterns. Turning angles showed that butterflies flying in meadow habitat avoided forest edges and that this effect extended nearly 25 m into meadows. Analysis of net displacement from the forest edge reinforced this result and showed that there may be attraction to the meadow for butterflies flying within forest.

The Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania and Kenya are one of 35 global biodiversity hotspots. The Eastern Arc forests are, as are many other tropical biodiversity hotspots, highly fragmented. Understanding the impact of habitat fragmentation (i.e., habitat loss and subdivision) on the spatial structure of the Eastern Arc forests is important because forest spatial structure highly influences species richness, persistence, and extinction debt. Here we examine the impact of habitat fragmentation on the spatial structure of the Eastern Arc forests at a patch scale using very high resolution aerial imagery having a spatial resolution of 0.5–1.5 m. Forest area across the 13 Eastern Arc Mountains is 405,852 ha and is distributed into 311 fragments ≥ 10 ha in size with a median fragment size of 84 ha. The 18 largest forest fragments in the Eastern Arc Mountains contain greater than three-quarters of total forest area. Average fragment isolation, as assessed by median distance to nearest fragment and median distance to the nearest larger fragment, is 867 and 1533 m, respectively. Of total forest area, 14% is < 100 m from the forest edge and 33% is < 300 m from the forest edge. Establishing forested linkages among the largest and closest forest fragments through forest regeneration and protection of secondary regenerating forest as well as providing protected area status to the remaining non-protected forest including unprotected smaller forest fragments are important to enhancing the long-term persistence of many plant and animal species here.

This study characterized rainforest economic tree species composition and indices of diversity in Delta State, South-southern Nigeria: Implications for biodiversity conservation. The study area was stratified into 25 divisions based on the existing Local Government Areas (LGA). From each LGA, one larger fragment (&gt;15,000m²) and one smaller (≤15,000m²) fragment were selected, making a total of 50 fragments from which data were collected on the size of rainforest fragment, population of individual tree species, and the species of trees of the rainforest origin using standard approaches in quadrats of 15m×15m. Data analysis involved the descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as Simpson’s index of tree species diversity. Results revealed that larger fragments have higher population of trees than smaller fragments. The mean population values of tree species were 306.40 and 80.88 for the larger and smaller fragments; with paired mean, standard deviation, and standard error of mean values of 225.52, 103.89 and ±20.78 respectively. With P (0.000) &lt; 0.05, and t-value of 10.85, the observed mean differences in the population of trees between the larger and smaller rainforest fragments was significant at 0.05 level of confidence. The mean population density values of 0.013 and 0.006 for the larger and smaller fragments were observed; with paired mean, standard deviation, and standard error of mean values of 0.0069, 0.003 and ±0.0005 respectively. With P (0.000) &lt; 0.05, and t-value of 14.11, the observed mean differences in the population density of trees between the larger and smaller rainforest fragments was significant at 0.05 level of confidence. Piptadeniastrum africanum was the most dominant tree species in the study area. Effective biodiversity conservation is recommended to prevent the extinction of rainforest tree species of economic importance in the study area.

Urban forest fragmentation can highly influence pollinator-plant interactions in close contrasting habitats of a local herb, Ajuga decumbens (Labiatae)

Forest management practices creating small‐scale forest edge habitats in managed forests have substantial impacts on the formation of beetle assemblages. In 2021, we conducted research in a managed oak woodland in Central Slovakia using three flight interception traps (FITs) to study beetle assemblages. Two FITs were installed at the forest edge, facing both, the clearing and the closed‐stand forest, while the third FIT was positioned 100 m within the closed‐canopy forest. We employed a novel methodological approach, which involved separately collected subsamples within the ecotone using FITs differentiated as ‘ecotone inwards’ and ‘ecotone outwards’ to capture distinct directional movements at the edge. We recorded 5.997 beetle specimens, encompassing 417 species across 284 genera and 58 families. We found that the species diversity and abundance of beetles were not significantly different between the FITs. However, the species composition was significantly different. The partial detrended canonical correspondence analysis suggests that these compositional differences might be closely associated with the distribution of trophic guilds, indicating varied responses to habitat modifications induced by forest edge creation. The results of our study showed that phloephagous, saproxylophagous, xylomycetophagous, xylophagous and zoophagous beetles exhibited a positive association with the forest edge, while mycophagous, phytophagous and saprophagous groups were distinctly associated with the closed‐canopy forest. Our analyses indicated that the ‘ecotone outward’ part of forest edges of managed forest may attract higher number of trophic groups, while the ‘ecotone inward’ part of the forest edge hosted high abundances of phloephagous and xylomycetophagous species.

Forest edges are key features in human-dominated landscape. Located between forest and non-forest habitats, edges induce biotic and abiotic changes, which may have profound consequences on vegetation diversity. Recent studies suggest the importance of different edge types in the modulation of edge-related responses. However, edge effect on the spatial dynamic of vegetation, from forest to non-forest habitats, remains unclear. Our aim was to compare the species richness and diversity of vegetation communities between forest and open habitats with their respective edges, in high-contrast versus low-contrast situations. The degree of contrast was defined according to the disturbance regimen of non-forest habitats. We surveyed vascular vegetation along transects in forest and open habitats and in their respective edges, in three regions of France. We showed that edge effects occur on plant diversity, whatever the region, but asymmetrically. Edge effect tends to be greater on the open side than on the forest side of the border. Species richness and diversity were generally higher in open edge than in open habitat, whereas no significant difference was observed between forest edge and forest habitat, whatever the contrast situation encountered. This study shows that the edge effects detected along a forest–edge–exterior habitat gradient may depend in large part on the disturbance regimen in open habitats as well as the vegetation pool size. We highlighted the need to carefully consider the edge types, e.g. their contrast with adjoining non-forest habitat, in further studies to identify the relevant factors and mechanisms behind edge-related response patterns of biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes.

Edge effects in forest patches surrounded by native grassland are also dependent on patch size and shape

Boundaries between habitats are usually accompanied by transitions in the diversity and structural complexity of insect as- semblages. Edge effects on carabid beetle assemblages across forest-meadow ecotones in Dinaric beech-fir forests were determined in the Gorski Kotar region of western Croatia. Carabid beetles were sampled using pitfall traps set along gradients extending 60 m from the forest edge into its interior and 60 m into the meadow. Embedded forest edges were greater than 100 years old and had a similar composition and structure of vegetation to that in the adjacent forest. A total of 20,526 individuals belonging to 66 carabid beetle spe- cies were recorded. Carabid assemblages in the ecotones were more similar to those in the forest interiors than those in the meadows. The classical edge effect hypothesis was not supported, since the ecotones were less diverse than the meadows, while the carabid as- semblages of the forest interiors were the least diverse. Soil temperature, soil humidity and light intensity did not differ significantly between the ecotones and the forest interior. Therefore, embedded forest edges reduced the microclimate edge effect by providing stable microclimatic conditions for carabid assemblages similar to those in the forest interior. In addition, this enabled forest specialists and generalists to occur right up to the forest edge and maintain stable populations in the ecotone. On the other hand, ecotones acted as filters for certain forest generalist species and true barriers for most open-habitat species. This study confirmed that the structure and ages of the vegetation at edges may play a key role in determining the spatial pattern of carabid beetles across forest-meadow ecotones.

Chimpanzees (<i>Pan troglodytes ellioti</i>) in ethno-primatological practices among the indigenous people and the implications for biodiversity conservation in the Kimbi-Fungom National Park (K-FNP) and Kom-Wum Forest Reserve (K-WFR), was undertaken to investigate indigenous people perceptions of human-chimpanzee interactions and the effects on wildlife sustainability and biodiversity conservation. Data collections were obtained with the help of interviewer-administered questionnaire, informal interview using unstructured script, palaces/markets gathering discussion and direct field observations of trade. Surveys were carried out in twenty two villages purposefully selected based on their locations and human activities within the proximity of the park and reserve. A total of 288 interviewers were completed during the study. Most of the respondents 94%, 72% and 98% reported that chimpanzee’s body parts/meats are used for medicinal value, rituals and as food in special occasion respectively. About 36 diseases/conditions were randomly reported to be treated by 22 different chimpanzee’s body parts/meat. The usual price of a matured chimpanzee was reported to be in between 75,000-250,000 francs.cfa. Equally, the unsustainable hunting of chimpanzees for body parts/meat was explored to be cause by loss of traditional taboos and totemic beliefs, influx of new cultural practices from Nigeria and within, poverty increment that hinders modern health assurance couple with the fact that protective laws are both less well known and less appreciated. As such, it is imperative that strategies should be put in place to effectively get rid of human activities that negatively impact on biodiversity conservation of chimpanzees in the vicinity of the park and reserve.

ABSTRACT. We compared the movement of Pontia occidentalis in forest and meadow habitat. We hypothesized that flight distances and overall movement would be greater in forested habitat than in meadow habitat. This hypothesis was based on forging theory predicting that organisms should spend less time in areas where resources are scarce than where they are abundant. Because this species is a generalist in its use of open habitat and regularly encounters forest when dispersing and hilltopping, we also hypothesized that forested habitat would not impose a physiological limitation on their flight. To test this hypothesis we released 68 butterflies in either forest or alpine meadow habitat and followed their movement. Contrary to our hypothesis, the total distance moved, mean flight distance, and rate of flight were all lower in forest relative to meadow habitat. Forest habitat did not exert an edge effect for Pontia occidentalis flying in meadow habitat. Contrary to our second hypothesis, differences in moveme...