Ecological Studies in Four Contrasting Lowland Rain Forests in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak: III. Decomposition Processes and Nutrient Losses from Leaf Litter

1983 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 503 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Anderson ◽  
John Proctor ◽  
H. W. Vallack
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
National Park ◽  
Nutrient Losses ◽  
Ecological Studies ◽  
Rain Forests ◽  
Decomposition Processes

Ants accelerate litter decomposition in a Costa Rican lowland tropical rain forest

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 437-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terrence P. McGlynn ◽  
Evan K. Poirson
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
Tropical Rain Forests ◽  
Rain Forests ◽  
Food Web Structure ◽  
Litter Bags ◽  
Lowland Rain Forest

Abstract:The decomposition of leaf litter is governed, in part, by litter invertebrates. In tropical rain forests, ants are dominant predators in the leaf litter and may alter litter decomposition through the action of a top-down control of food web structure. The role of ants in litter decomposition was investigated in a Costa Rican lowland rain forest with two experiments. In a mesocosm experiment, we manipulated ant presence in 50 ambient leaf-litter mesocosms. In a litterbag gradient experiment, Cecropia obtusifolia litter was used to measure decomposition rate constants across gradients in nutrients, ant density and richness, with 27 separate litterbag treatments for total arthropod exclusion or partial arthropod exclusion. After 2 mo, mass loss in mesocosms containing ants was 30.9%, significantly greater than the 23.5% mass loss in mesocosms without ants. In the litter bags with all arthropods excluded, decomposition was best accounted by the carbon: phosphorus content of soil (r2 = 0.41). In litter bags permitting smaller arthropods but excluding ants, decomposition was best explained by the local biomass of ants in the vicinity of the litter bags (r2 = 0.50). Once the microarthropod prey of ants are permitted to enter litterbags, the biomass of ants near the litterbags overtakes soil chemistry as the regulator of decomposition. In concert, these results support a working hypothesis that litter-dwelling ants are responsible for accelerating litter decomposition in lowland tropical rain forests.

Leaf litter copepods from a cloud forest mountain top in Honduras (Copepoda: Cyclopidae, Canthocamptidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 3630 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANK FIERS ◽  
MERLIJN JOCQUE
Keyword(s):  
Central America ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
National Park ◽  
New World ◽  
Cloud Forest ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Distributional Range ◽  
Litter Sample ◽  
Forest Mountain

Five different species of Copepoda were extracted from a leaf litter sample collected on the top (at 2000 m a.s.l.) of a cloud forested mountain in El Cusuco National Park, Honduras. Three of them, one Cyclopidae and two Canthocamptidae are new to science, and are described herein. Olmeccyclops hondo sp. nov. is the second representative thus far known of this New World genus. Moraria catracha sp. nov. and Moraria cusuca sp. nov. are the first formally described members of the genus occurring in Central America. The concept of a “Moraria-group” is considered to be an artificial grouping and is limited here to the genera Moraria and Morariopsis only. The distributional range of this group is essentially Holarctic, with the mountainous regions inHonduras, and probably in westNicaragua, as the southernmost limits in theNew World.

scholarly journals Conservation in Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

Oryx ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse C. Hillman
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Ecological Studies ◽  
Management Plans

Ethiopia does not often receive publicity for its wildlife conservation work, but there have been a commendable number of achievements over the last 15 years or so. For the last two years the author has been carrying out ecological studies to formulate management plans in the Bale Mountains area, which is in the process of being established as a national park. As a result of the developments and protection already afforded, numbers of the endemic mountain nyala have increased considerably.

A new species of leaf-litter inhabiting Georissus from Borneo (Coleoptera: Hydrophiloidea: Georissidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3316 (1) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN FIKÁČEK
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
National Park ◽  
Cloud Forest ◽  
Riparian Zones ◽  
Terrestrial Habitats ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Forest Leaf Litter ◽  
A New Species

Georissus (Neogeorissus) smetanai sp. nov. is described from Mt. Kinabalu National Park, Sabah, Malaysia. Long series of thisspecies has been sifted from cloud forest leaf litter in contrast to most species of the genus, which are most frequently collectedin riparian zones. The species is compared with G. lateralis Delève, 1967 and G. inflatus Delève, 1972, which were collected under similar circumstances and the leaf-litter habits of the three species are briefly discussed.Keywords. Georissus, new species, leaf litter, terrestrial habitats, aptery, Malaysia, Borneo, Sri Lanka, Republic of the Congo

scholarly journals First records of occurrence for two species of Bats in the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
I. L Rautenbach ◽  
I. W Espie
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Ecological Studies

The Kruger National Park (KNP), Republic of South Africa, is one of the most intensively studied areas of Africa. Underlying the management practices for such a Park as well as broad-based ecological studies, is a thorough knowledge of the diversity and distribution of the fauna and flora under conservation.

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