scholarly journals Foraging and Nesting Ecology of Acromyrmex octospinosus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a Costa Rican Tropical Dry Forest

1998 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
James K. Wetterer ◽  
Daniel S. Gruner ◽  
Jorgé E. Lopez ◽  
Jorge E. Lopez
PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilbert Barrantes ◽  
Diego Ocampo ◽  
José D. Ramírez-Fernández ◽  
Eric J. Fuchs

Deforestation and changes in land use have reduced the tropical dry forest to isolated forest patches in northwestern Costa Rica. We examined the effect of patch area and length of the dry season on nestedness of the entire avian community, forest fragment assemblages, and species occupancy across fragments for the entire native avifauna, and for a subset of forest dependent species. Species richness was independent of both fragment area and distance between fragments. Similarity in bird community composition between patches was related to habitat structure; fragments with similar forest structure have more similar avian assemblages. Size of forest patches influenced nestedness of the bird community and species occupancy, but not nestedness of assemblages across patches in northwestern Costa Rican avifauna. Forest dependent species (species that require large tracts of mature forest) and assemblages of these species were nested within patches ordered by a gradient of seasonality, and only occupancy of species was nested by area of patches. Thus, forest patches with a shorter dry season include more forest dependent species.


Ecosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cho‐ying Huang ◽  
Sandra M. Durán ◽  
Kai‐ting Hu ◽  
Hsin‐Ju Li ◽  
Nathan G. Swenson ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne F. Morrison ◽  
Peter S. Harlow ◽  
J. Scott Keogh

Tropical dry forest (TDF) ecosystems occur throughout tropical and subtropical zones and one of their primary characteristics is that they are structurally and functionally constrained by seasonal fluctuations in moisture levels. Organisms within them synchronize growth and reproduction with water availability and many exhibit adaptations to drought conditions. We examined the previously unknown nesting ecology of the Critically Endangered Fijian Crested Iguana Brachylophus vitiensis a TDF specialist, on the Fijian island of Yadua Taba over two field seasons. In Fiji, the TDF and the endemic Crested Iguanas are threatened on a national level by anthropogenic factors and Yadua Taba Island remains the only protected site. Evaluation of adult female reproductive status revealed that only 52% of adult females reproduced in a given year. We suggest that female Crested Iguanas have adopted a biennial mode of reproduction in response to resource limitation.We found no evidence for communal nesting or nest site defence by females. All nest burrows were constructed on the forest floor in shaded areas. Mean nest temperatures (24.5�C), levels of site openness (10.9%) and total incident radiation (2.57 MJ m2 day) recorded at nest sites were less than those reported for other Iguaninae. Mean egg size (17.9 g) was large relative to most Iguaninae and was independent of the small mean clutch size (2.9 eggs). Mean incubation period was extremely long (256 days) and spanned the eight-month dry season. Mean hatching success also was high (87%). We examine reproductive strategy in relation to the environmental conditions of the TDF habitat on Yadua Taba. This research provides a broader understanding of Crested Iguana nesting ecology and is a step towards the successful implementation of the Species Recovery Plan for this species.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilbert Barrantes ◽  
Diego Ocampo ◽  
José D. Ramírez-Fernández ◽  
Eric J Fuchs

Deforestation and land use change have reduced the tropical dry forest in the northwestern region of Costa Rica into isolated fragments. We examined the effect of fragment area and length of the dry season (seasonality) on nestedness for the community (entire species matrix), assemblages (forest fragments), and species occupancy across fragments for the native avifauna, and for a subset of forest dependent species. Area or distance between fragments did not correlate with species richness across fragments. Similarity in bird community composition between fragments was related with habitat structure; fragments with similar forest structure have higher similarity in their avifaunas. Fragment area determined the pattern of nestedness of the bird community and species occupancy, but not the nestedness of assemblages across fragments in northwestern Costa Rican avifauna. Forest dependent species (species that require large tracts of mature forest) and assemblages of these species were nested along forest fragments ranked by seasonality gradient, but only occupancy of species nested by fragment area.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilbert Barrantes ◽  
Diego Ocampo ◽  
José D. Ramírez-Fernández ◽  
Eric J Fuchs

Deforestation and land use change have reduced the tropical dry forest in the northwestern region of Costa Rica into isolated fragments. We examined the effect of fragment area and length of the dry season (seasonality) on nestedness for the community (entire species matrix), assemblages (forest fragments), and species occupancy across fragments for the native avifauna, and for a subset of forest dependent species. Area or distance between fragments did not correlate with species richness across fragments. Similarity in bird community composition between fragments was related with habitat structure; fragments with similar forest structure have higher similarity in their avifaunas. Fragment area determined the pattern of nestedness of the bird community and species occupancy, but not the nestedness of assemblages across fragments in northwestern Costa Rican avifauna. Forest dependent species (species that require large tracts of mature forest) and assemblages of these species were nested along forest fragments ranked by seasonality gradient, but only occupancy of species nested by fragment area.


2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (8) ◽  
pp. 749-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra T.E. Koziak ◽  
Felipe Chavarria Diaz ◽  
Joel Diaz ◽  
Maria Garcia ◽  
Daniel H. Janzen ◽  
...  

Nematoctonus (Hyphomycetes) and Hohenbuehelia (Agaricales, Pleurotaceae) are the names for the asexual and sexual stages of a genus of nematode-destroying fungi (Basidiomycota). Six morphospecies of Nematoctonus, all previously described, were isolated from fruiting bodies of Hohenbuehelia and from 439 samples of soil and organic debris collected in all 12 Holdridge life zones in Costa Rica. Nematoctonus was recorded in all but three life zones at the lowest and highest altitudes: tropical dry forest, tropical moist forest, and subalpine rain paramó. Isolates of Nematoctonus were identified by the micromorphology of their conidia and adhesive knobs, which are usually an hourglass-shaped secretory cell surrounded by a drop of mucilage. Adhesive knobs were found either exclusively on hyphae in predatory species ( Nematoctonus robustus F.R. Jones), exclusively on germinated conidia in parasitoid species ( Nematoctonus leptosporus Drechsler, Nematoctonus pachysporus Drechsler, and Nematoctonus tylosporus Drechsler) or on both hyphae and germinated conidia in a group we term “intermediate predators” ( Nematoctonus angustatus Thorn & G.L. Barron, Nematoctonus geogenius Thorn & G.L. Barron, and one monokaryotic isolate of N. robustus). Teleomorph–anamorph connections, made by culturing the anamorph from a teleomorph fruiting body, were made for N. angustatus (Hohenbuehelia angustata (Berk.) Singer), N. geogenius (Hohenbuehelia petalodes (Fr.) Schulz.), N. leptosporus (an unidentified Hohenbuehelia), and N. robustus ( Hohenbuehelia grisea (Peck) Singer).


2020 ◽  
Vol 287 ◽  
pp. 107913
Author(s):  
Roman M. Link ◽  
Sebastian Fuchs ◽  
Dagoberto Arias Aguilar ◽  
Christoph Leuschner ◽  
Marvin Castillo Ugalde ◽  
...  

1990 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore H. Fleming ◽  
Charles F. Williams

ABSTRACTWe studied the seed dispersal ecology of the Neotropical pioneer tree Cecropia peltata L. (Moraceae) in tropical dry forest by documenting its (1) fruiting phenology, (2) rates of visitation by vertebrate frugivores, and (3) rate of recruitment of juveniles in different habitats at Santa Rosa National Park in northwestern Costa Rica.At Santa Rosa, C. peltata is a common but patchily-distributed plant. Fruiting in females is seasonal, and fruit availability peaks in June through August (the early wet season). Females bear a few ripe fruit per day over a 4–5 month, fruiting period. At least 28 vertebrate species (15 diurnal and 13 nocturnal species) eat Cecropia fruit; equal numbers of ripe fruit are removed during the night and day. Owing to their more gentle treatment of seeds in the gut, birds and bats probably are more effective dispersal agents than monkeys. The recruitment rate of juveniles into already established populations was about 0.8 ha−1 y−1 compared with a rate of 176 ha−1 y−1 during the colonization of a cleared roadside.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 045001 ◽  
Author(s):  
S M Castro ◽  
G A Sanchez-Azofeifa ◽  
H Sato

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