An Association of an Ant, a Mealy Bug, and an Understory Tree from a Costa Rican Rain Forest

Biotropica ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Stout
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
Mealy Bug ◽  
Understory Tree

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.

Total species count in a Costa Rican tropical rain forest

1985 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. C. Whitmore ◽  
R. Peralta ◽  
K. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Tropical Rain Forest ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
Total Species

Landscape-Scale Environmental and Floristic Variation in Costa Rican Old-Growth Rain Forest Remnants

Biotropica ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven E. Sesnie ◽  
Bryan Finegan ◽  
Paul E. Gessler ◽  
Zayra Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Rain Forest ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Forest Remnants ◽  
Floristic Variation

Prasmodon zlotnicki, a new Neotropical species of the genus Prasmodon Nixon (Braconidae: Microgastrinae) from Costa Rica, with the first host records for the genus

Zootaxa ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 1016 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALEJANDRO A. VALERIO ◽  
JOSEPHINE J. RODRIGUEZ ◽  
JAMES B. WHITFIELD ◽  
DANIEL H. JANZEN
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
Leaf Rolling ◽  
Neotropical Species ◽  
Forest Habitats

Prasmodon zlotnicki, a new Costa Rican species of the genus Prasmodon Nixon, is described and illustrated. In addition, the first host records for the genus are included along with an updated key to differentiate Prasmodon zlotnicki from P. eminens Nixon. Prasmodon is now known to attack several species of leaf-rolling and leaf-webbing Crambidae (Lepidoptera) in rain forest habitats.

The evolution of sexual dimorphism in the lizard Anolis polylepis (Iguania): evidence from intraspecific variation in foraging behavior and diet

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 1238-1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gad Perry
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Competing Hypotheses

Two main explanations, intraspecific niche divergence and sexual selection, have been proposed to explain the origin of sexual size dimorphism. To test these competing hypotheses I studied the ecology, feeding behavior, and diet of the lizard Anolis polylepis in a Costa Rican rain forest. Male A. polylepis were significantly larger and heavier than females but ate smaller food items and had lower stomach volumes, despite possessing longer and wider heads. Males were more sedentary than females or juveniles, chose higher perches, and were more likely to be involved in agonistic interactions. Diets of males, females, and juveniles were also significantly different taxonomically. These data are consistent with the sexual selection origin theory but not with an ecological one. Thus, observed dietary differences probably evolved once dimorphism had been attained through sexual selection.

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