Preferential Edge Habitat Colonization by a Specialist Weevil, Rhinoncomimus latipes (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1466-1473 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Hough-Goldstein ◽  
E. Lake ◽  
V. D'Amico ◽  
S. H. Berg
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 117-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaofei Fan ◽  
Shaoyang Yang ◽  
Xia Liu

AbstractChinese tallowtree [Triadica sebifera(L.) Small] has reached unprecedented prevalence in coastal landscapes in the Gulf of Mexico, especially along edge habitat with low competition and abundant resource (e.g., light) availability. This study investigated the spatiotemporal patterns and mechanisms ofT. sebiferaspread along roadways and fire lines.Triadica sebiferaindividuals and landscape and community features were surveyed in equally spaced, spatially mapped plots. AllT. sebiferaindividuals were felled to determine tree age and status (seed trees or non-seed bearing trees), andT. sebiferaseed and seedling (≤2 yr old) densities and community and landscape features (over- and understory conditions, distance to seed trees) were measured. A zero-inflated negative binomial model was used to evaluate factors affectingT. sebiferaseed dispersal and seedling recruitment contributing to the observed spatiotemporal patterns. Introduced into the Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge around 30 yr ago,T. sebiferatrees distribute in clustered patterns along roadways and fire lines and exhibit an exponential growth in density. HighT. sebiferaseed and seedling densities mainly occurred in sites that are ≤250 m from seed trees or have sparse overstory and high understory grass/herb coverage. With respect to the avian seed dispersal mechanism, the spatiotemporal patterns ofT. sebiferaspread along roadways and fire lines could be simply characterized by using landscape and community features that influence avian behaviors, including distance to seed trees, overstory tree density, and ground grass/herb coverage.


2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 1171-1179 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Vasconcellos-Neto ◽  
Lidiamar Barbosa de Albuquerque ◽  
Wesley Rodrigues Silva

The aim of this study was to analyse seed dispersal and establishment of Solanum thomasiifolium in an area of "nativo" vegetation in Espirito Santo state on the southeastern Brazilian coast. Ten species of birds, the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), and one species of lizard (Tropidurus torquatus) fed on S. thomasiifolium fruits and dispersed viable seeds in their faeces. The proportional contribution of each of these groups to seed dispersal was 77% (birds), 19% (crab-eating fox) and 4% (lizards). Ants also contributed to seed dispersal. More seeds were deposited in vegetation islands than in the surrounding open areas. Germination rates of seeds collected directly from fruit (control), bird droppings, the faeces of crab-eating foxes and lizards were, respectively, 64, 64, 53, and 80 %. Differences among these rates were all significant, except between birds and control. Lizards were important as seed carriers between nearby islands and they expelled a higher proportion of viable seeds. Birds and the crab-eating foxes did not enhance seed germination, but promoted seed dispersal over a wider area. Plant architecture, fruit productivity, fruit characteristics and the diversity of frugivores are important for the success of S. thomasiifolium in habitat colonization.


1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris R. Pavey

I examined habitat use by eastern horseshoe bats, Rhinolophus megaphyllus, in a fragmented woodland mosaic in south-east Queensland, Australia. I predicted that the species would forage within the remaining woodland remnants in the mosaic, because its flight pattern and auditory system are adapted for locating and capturing prey in cluttered habitat (i.e. close to and within vegetation). I studied habitat use by light-tagging and radio-tagging bats that roosted in a disused mine in a large woodland fragment. I observed bats within an area of 95 ha, which was composed of grassland (71% of area), woodland (14%), and edge habitat (boundary of woodland and grassland, and isolated trees in grassland – 15%). Bats foraged in woodland and edge habitat but not over grassland, and used woodland significantly more often than expected by its availability. Commuting bats left the woodland fragment in which the roost was located by one of two routes, both of which led into riparian woodland. One route was entirely within woodland, whereas the other route crossed 250 m of open ground. The study indicates that R. megaphyllus should respond negatively to the fragmentation of woodland and forest because this process will reduce the availability of its preferred foraging habitat.


2017 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
Graham P. Dixon-MacCallum ◽  
Katie A.H. Bell ◽  
Patrick T. Gregory

Understanding habitat requirements of species is fundamental for their conservation and urban parks can provide key habitat for species in otherwise disturbed settings. Northwestern Gartersnakes (Thamnophis ordinoides) are common in parks in Saanich, British Columbia, but their specific habitat requirements are poorly understood. Based on previous studies and thermoregulatory needs of snakes, we predicted that edges, particularly field margins, would be heavily used by active snakes. We therefore used surveys that focused on edges to find snakes and measured edge-habitat use by comparing habitat variables at locations where snakes were found to the same variables at nearby random locations. Habitat variables included composition and structure of vegetation, substrate temperature, aspect, and slope. Overall, litter depth, canopy cover, a lack of bare ground and woody vegetation were the most important habitat variables for determining where snakes were found. our results provide a preliminary assessment to improve our understanding of habitat use for this species. The abundance of snakes found while surveying edges supports our initial assumption that edges are important habitat features but more work is required using multiple survey methods to further test this hypothesis.


2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Jackson ◽  
J. Levine ◽  
E. Hilborn

2006 ◽  
pp. 475-475
Author(s):  
David Slaney ◽  
Philip Weinstein

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samik Bhattacharya ◽  
Katja Sperber ◽  
Barış Özüdoğru ◽  
Gerhard Leubner-Metzger ◽  
Klaus Mummenhoff

Abstract Plasticity in plant dispersal traits can maximise the ability of a plant species to survive in stressful environments during colonization. Aethionema arabicum (Brassicaceae) is a dimorphic annual species that is hypothesized to survive stressful conditions during colonization due to adaptive plasticity in life-phase (vegetative vs sexual) and fruit morph (dehiscent [DEH] vs indehiscent fruits [IND]). We tested for adaptive plasticity in life-phase and fruit morphs along laboratory environmental stress gradients found in the natural habitats of Ae. arabicum. We considered optimal environmental conditions (750–2000 m above sea level) to be those that resulted in the following fitness parameters: higher biomass and a higher total number of fruits compared to stressful habitats. We found evidence of plasticity in life-phase and fruit-morph along a stressful environmental gradient. High hydrothermal stress proportionally increased the number of dehiscent morphs and non-dormant seeds germinating in autumn. This offsets natural phenology towards dry and cold winter (less hydrothermal stress), yielding fewer fruits that dehisce in the next generation. We conclude that the plastic responses of Ae. arabicum to natural stress gradients constitute a strategy of long-term adaptive benefits and favouring potential pathways of colonisation of the optimal habitat.


1999 ◽  
Vol 236 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B Eggleston ◽  
Ward E Elis ◽  
Lisa L Etherington ◽  
Craig P Dahlgren ◽  
Martin H Posey

2011 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 180-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Hillen ◽  
Thorsten Kaster ◽  
Jasmine Pahle ◽  
Andreas Kiefer ◽  
Ortwin Elle ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 20170034
Author(s):  
Ethan G. Staats ◽  
Salvatore J. Agosta ◽  
James R. Vonesh

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