The natural 15N abundance method for estimating symbiotic biological N2-fixation was tested on legume trees from two rain forests on contrasting soils (oxisols and spodosols) in French Guiana. When possible, the significance of N2-fixing species in the plant community was evaluated in terms of density, biomass and contribution of N2-fixation to the building up of the total nitrogen mass in the leaves. Of the two sites, the rain forest on spodosols was the less favourable for application of the δ15N method: the available soil nitrogen was isotopically similar to fixed-N2. Hence, the results showed that a reliable estimate of N2-fixation could not be obtained. A substantial contribution of fixed-N2 to the nitrogen nutrition of legumes was found on oxisols, with an average value of 54 % Ndfa (Nitrogen derived from the atmosphere). The contribution of the N2-fixing legumes to the biomass of the stand was estimated to be 2 t ha−1 for the leaf biomass and 136 t ha−1 for the total above-ground plant biomass. With 7.5 % of trees in the stand able to fix N2 (462 out of 6156), N2-fixation was estimated to be 7 kg ha−1 y−1. These results are the first use of the δ15N method to estimate nitrogen input by N2-fixing legumes to a natural rain forest. The inter-site variability observed in the δ15N of the non-fixing plants suggested different nitrogen-cycling processes in the two soils. The δ15N of the non-N2-fixing plants could be related to the soil nitrogen availability and be used as an indicator of efficient or non-efficient nitrogen-cycling rain forests. The spatial variability of the δ15N in the plant-available soil nitrogen pool and the nitrogen balance in tropical rain forests are discussed.

The dispersal of seeds by howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) and the role of dung beetles in determining the fate of the dispersed seeds were studied at Nouragues Station, French Guiana, during three 2-mo periods (April–May, 1995–97). Howler monkeys were observed to disperse seeds of 47 plant species. Monkey dung attracted 57 species of dung beetles (Scarabaeidae), including tunnellers (maximum size 37 mm) and ball rollers (12.6 mm). The rate of seed burial was negatively correlated with seed size (10 plant species) and positively correlated with dung beetle size (six species of tunnellers). More than 80% of small seeds (< 5 mm) and 30% of large seeds (22 mm), were buried by the largest tunnellers. Dung beetles buried 13 to 23% of seeds ranging 8–13 mm in width. The maximum average depth of burial was 28 cm and varied according to the species of dung beetle. The rate of disappearance of large dung clumps varied during the day and was completed by nocturnal dung beetles. Seeds of Chrysophyllum lucentifolium (Sapotaceae) buried at 5 and 10 cm depths did not suffer predation, but showed low germination success compared to seeds left at the soil surface. Dung beetles affected the survival and distribution of a portion of the seeds dispersed by monkeys, and their relative importance in shaping seed fate depended on seed and beetle size.

The flowering and fruiting phenology, floral biology, pollination ecology, and breeding system of the emergent tree Ceiba pentandra were studied in the Brazilian Central Amazon. Of the 21 trees studied, 17 flowered once or twice during the 6-y study period. The mass flowering and relatively high production of nectar per flower (mean of 310 μl) resulted in a high nectar production (over 200 l per tree per season). Flowers were visited by a wide range of nocturnal (bats, marsupials, night monkeys, hawk moths) and diurnal (bees, wasps, hummingbirds) animals, but only phyllostomid bats, especially Phyllostomus hastatus and Phyllostomus discolor, played a relevant role promoting cross-pollination. Pollinations which occurred in the early morning by diurnal floral visitors were ineffective since pollen tubes did not traverse the style and reach the ovary before stylar abscission. Despite the apparently normal growth of the self-pollen tubes, controlled pollinations carried out in one tree revealed no fruit set by selfing and 16.8% fruit set by crossing. Progeny analysis from this ‘self-incompatible’ tree using isozyme markers showed that fruits resulting from mixed-pollination (i.e., 50% self- plus 50% cross-pollen on the stigma) set only 1.6% of selfed seeds. The percentage of outcrossed seeds in fruits resulting from open-pollination in two neighbouring planted trees, which flowered in isolation and concomitantly, was estimated at 91% and 71%. Two isolated trees did not set any fruits despite massive flowering, whereas two others set large quantities of seed, supporting data in the literature stating that variable degrees of self-fertility may occur in this species.

RESUMO. A fenologia de floração e de frutificação, a biologia floral, a ecologia de polinização e o sistema reprodutivo da árvore emergente Ceiba pentandra foram estudados na Amazônia Central Brasileira. Dezessete das 21 árvores estudadas (doze nativas e nove plantadas de sementes de procedência desconhecida) floriram uma ou duas vezes cada uma durante os seis anos do estudo. A maior parte das árvores nativas floriu massivamente somente em 1993 e 1996, enquanto que algumas das árvores plantadas floriram massivamente somente em 1992 e 1997. A floração massiva e a relativamente alta produção de néctar por flor (média de 310 μl de néctar secretado por flor por noite) resultaram em uma alta produção de néctar por árvore (mais

de 200 l de néctar por árvore por estação de floração). As flores de C. pentandra foram visitadas por uma grande variedade de animais noturnos (morcegos, marsupiais, macacos-da-noite, mariposas) e diurnos (abelhas, vespas, beija-flores), mas somente morcegos, especialmente Phyllostomus hastatus e Phyllostomus discolor, parecem exercer papel relevante promovendo a polinização cruzada. Não foram detectadas diferenças na capacidade dos tubos polínicos originados do auto-pólem e do pólem cruzado de se desenvolverem até o ovário e penetrarem nos óvulos. Polinizações que ocorreram no início da manhã foram inefetivas, uma vez que os tubos polínicos não tiveram suficiente tempo para atravessarem o estilete antes da sua abscisão. Apesar do aparente desenvolvimento normal dos tubos polínicos oriundos do auto-pólem, polinizações controladas executadas em uma árvore resultaram em nenhuma produção de frutos em flores auto-polinizadas e em 16,8% de produção de frutos nas flores que sofreram polinização cruzada. A produção natural de frutos (polinização aberta) na mesma árvore foi estimada em 0,7%. O uso de marcadores isoenzimáticos na análise genética da progênie dessa mesma árvore ‘auto-incompatível’ revelou que, em frutos resultantes de polinizações mistas (isto é; uma mistura contendo 50% auto-pólem e 50% pólem cruzado, depositada no estigma), apenas cerca de 1,6% das sementes foram originadas por eventos de auto-fecundação. A proporção de sementes originadas por fecundação cruzada em frutos formados naturalmente em duas árvores plantadas e vizinhas, que floriram isoladamente e concomitantemente em 1992, foi de 91% e 71%, respectivamente. Duas árvores isoladas não produziram frutos, apesar de intensa floração, enquanto que outras duas também isoladas frutificaram em abundância. Essas observações reforçam dados da literatura que indicam a ocorrência de níveis muito variáveis de auto-fertilidade entre as árvores dessa espécie.

Changes in density, structure and species composition of the woody component of the two predominant savanna types in Tarangire National Park, northern Tanzania, during a period of 25 y were investigated. The park is known for its large, increasing elephant numbers and high frequency of fires. In 1996 a study on woody species density, composition and age structure, which was first performed in 1971, was repeated, using the same transects and method. Access to the original data of 1971 allowed for a full comparison of the changes and an investigation whether these could be related to changes in elephant numbers and fire frequency. The total tree density declined during the 25 y, but the decline was not evenly distributed over the different height classes. Although the density of trees taller than 5 m declined significantly, the greatest decline occurred in the density of trees shorter than 1 m. The density of trees in the intermediate height class of 1–5 m did not decline. Although damage to trees by elephants increased during the 25-y period, c. 25% showed no browse damage and, except for some severely damaged trees, elephant damage was not found to reduce tree vigour. Elephants affected the size distribution of the savanna woody component much more than the density, while the data suggest no significant effect of fire on changes in tree density. The large decline in density of small trees was attributed to a severe drought in 1993. Based on large numbers of elephants during the past decades and on relatively low elephant impact on the total tree density, the present study suggests that the current elephant number of 2300 can be sustained in the park without causing detrimental effects, provided that their current range is maintained.

The abundance, richness and species composition of frog, reptile, bird and mammal faunas varied along an extensive gradient from 470 to 1406 mm annual rainfall, and between three contrasting soil types (clay, loam and sand) in northern Australia. Patterns varied between and within vertebrate classes. In general, the most fertile soils in the highest rainfall sites supported the greatest species richness and abundance, but this association with fertility broke down at lower rainfall sites. Frogs were richest and most abundant at high rainfall sites, especially on clay soils, presumably because these had greatest water availability. Clay soils supported few reptile species, but these were often at relatively high abundance. High rainfall sites supported the richest reptile faunas. On sand and loam soils, bird species richness varied little along the rainfall gradient, but richness declined very substantially on clay soils. This was probably largely due to the far more marked vegetation structural change on clay soils than on other substrates. Few mammals were reported, and no clear trends were associated with either rainfall gradient or soil texture. Turnover in species composition along the rainfall gradient was gradual and limited on sand and loam soils, but far more marked on clay soils. There were few cases of replacements of ecologically comparable species along the gradient. These patterns reflect the disparate history, fragmentation and landscape positioning of clay soil environments, relative to the far more homogeneous eucalypt-dominated vegetation on sand and loam soils. Although comparable studies are lacking on other continents, patterns revealed here may be idiosyncratic due to the virtual monopolisation by eucalypts of the environment across the very extensive rainfall gradient.

Frugivorous butterflies were studied in a set of forested islands (0.1 to 1.15 ha) in a reservoir in eastern Venezuela to investigate the effects of fragmentation and the resulting isolation on their abundance, diversity and species composition. While some islands showed reduced abundance and species diversity in comparison to unfragmented (or control) sites, others did not. Isolation status affected both butterfly abundance and diversity. Islands located close to their colonizing sources (0.1–1 km) tended to support similar densities of butterflies but lower numbers of species in comparison to control sites. Far fragments (1–3 km from their colonizing sources) tended to harbour lower butterfly densities in comparison to control sites but undiminished numbers of species. Species composition varied significantly between control sites and islands and amongst control sites, near islands and far islands. Interspecific differences were observed in species' responses to fragmentation. Charaxines, medium-sized satyrines, morphines and brassolines may be vulnerable to extinction after habitat fragmentation while small-sized satyrines may be relatively resistant. Observations during the dry season indicate that butterfly species may exist as mainland-island metapopulations in Lago Guri, in which small habitat fragments require recolonization every year from source populations in large islands and mainland habitat.

Subsamples of termite mound soil used by chimpanzees for geophagy, and topsoil never ingested by them, from the forest floor in the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania, were analysed to determine the possible stimulus or stimuli for geophagy. The ingested samples have a dominant clay texture equivalent to a claystone, whereas the control samples are predominantly sandy clay loam or sandy loam, which indicates that particle size plays a significant role in soil selection for this behaviour. One potential function of the clays is to bind and adsorb toxins. Although both termite mound and control samples have similar alkaloid-binding capacities, they are in every case very high, with the majority of the samples being above 80%. The clay size material (<2 μm) contains metahalloysite and halloysite, the latter a hydrated aluminosilicate (Al2Si2O4·nH2O), present in the majority of both the termite mound soil and control soil samples.Metahalloysite, one of the principal ingredients found in the pharmaceutical Kaopectate™, is used to treat minor gastric ailments in humans. The soils commonly ingested could also function as antacids, as over half had pH values between 7.2 and 8.6. The mean concentrations of the majority of elements measured were greater in the termite mound soils than in the control soils. The termite mound soils had more filamentous bacteria, whereas the control soils contained greater numbers of unicellular bacteria and fungi.

The ant communities of the leaf litter were studied along an elevational gradient on Mount Kinabalu in primary rain forest systems ranging from dipterocarp hill forest to dwarf forest of the highest altitudes (560, 800, 1130, 1360, 1530, 1740, 1930, 2025, 2300, 2600 m a.s.l.). The litter ant fauna along the gradient included 283 species of 55 genera. The number of ant species in the leaf litter decreased exponentially without evidence of a peak in species richness at mid-elevations. This result is in contrast to many findings on altitudinal gradients in ants and other animal groups. Most ant species have a very limited altitudinal range leading to high turnover values when comparing communities of different altitudes. Of the ant species, 74% were even restricted to one site. As evident from this study, altitudinal ranges of species are very narrow. Elevational gradients are therefore extremely species-rich and might serve as a prime example of hot spots of biodiversity. This fact is of great concern when implementing conservation strategies.

Vegetative regeneration is an important component of forest recovery after disturbance. This study focused on the role of resprouting, both as root suckers and above-ground sprouts in comparison to seed regeneration (plants 30–130 cm tall), under different disturbance regimes, pattern with successional age and importance in mature forest. Differently aged forest fallows, a fire-degraded stand (Paraguay), differently aged logged stands (Venezuela) and mature forest in both sites were selected. In Paraguay, the percentage of resprouts declined from 76% in the young forest fallows (2–5-y old) to 48 and 14%, respectively, in the older forest fallows (10 and 15-y old) and mature forest. In Venezuela, by contrast, the proportion of resprouts from the youngest logged stand (5-y old) to the oldest logged stand (19-y old) and mature forest slightly increased from 10 to 16% and 17%, respectively. Root suckers were more common than above-ground sprouts in any of the sampled stands. In forest fallows, 38% of all species possessed both modes of regeneration, while 20 and 18%, respectively, were either found with above-ground sprouts or root suckers. In the fire-degraded stand, most resprouting species were observed with root suckers (28%), whereas species represented with either above-ground sprouts or both modes of vegetative regeneration were less common (7 and 14%, respectively). In logged stands, species reproducing by both means of vegetative regeneration were more frequent (20%) than the other groups (14 and 8%, respectively). In the mature stands in Paraguay and Venezuela, 42 and 14% of the species, respectively, were found with either or both modes of vegetative regeneration. In both sites, significant differences in the ability to resprout between growth forms were found. Of 301 resprouting individuals in Paraguay, 114 were found to be uncut stems, of these 108 produced root suckers andsix above-ground sprouts.

Fruit biomass and frugivore abundance were quantified over 3 y in a rain forest of the south Western Ghats, India. Fruit biomass was estimated by sampling fruit fall in the primary forest, and frugivore abundance by a 2.5-km transect. A total of 645 kg ha−1 of fruit was produced annually in the forest. Only 49% of this is edible to the frugivores and the remaining 51% is in the form of non-edible husks. Mammalian frugivores outnumbered avian frugivores and the majority of the mammals were seed predators. The total fruit biomass produced at Kakachi is lower than in the lowland forest and mountain forests in the neotropics but higher than in the wet sclerophyll forest of Australia. Lower diversity of trees and edaphic factors at Kakachi could be some of the reasons for these differences. On the other hand, paucity of fleshy fruits, low density of trees producing fleshy fruits and irregular fruiting of these species, account for the low number of obligate avian frugivores at Kakachi.

Recent studies have shown that western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla Savage & Wyman) are highly frugivorous and expel in their dung viable seeds of many fruit species they consume. As part of a wider study of their role as seed dispersers in tropical rain forest, the importance of gorillas as consumers of three species of tropical tree was investigated. The species studied were Ganophyllum giganteum (Sapindaceae), Cola lizae (Sterculiaceae) and Uapaca guineensis (Euphorbiaceae). Gorillas swallowed large quantites of seeds of these species whenever they were available, and removed a considerable proportion of the crop from trees they visited. The differences in abundance and distribution of these trees, and their varied dispersal strategies influenced the quantity of seeds that was removed by gorillas. Uapaca can be seen as having a generalist fruiting strategy, with a wide range of consumers, whereas the other species are more specialist, gorillas being the principal dispersers. Compared to other consumers, this study showed that gorillas provided potentially high quality dispersal because: (i) they were reliable visitors to trees of these species; (ii) they swallowed and dispersed large numbers of seeds; (iii) they treated seeds benignly and often deposited them in sites favourable for establishment.

A new method for investigating the age structure of the patch mosaic of a tropical forest by utilizing radiocarbon dating techniques on fallen trees is proposed. Aboveground nuclear explosions in the early 1960s, before the nuclear test ban treaty, created a spike in the 14C concentration content of the atmosphere. The amount of radiocarbon in the outer layers of wood collected from trunks of trees that had died in known years (1970–1989) on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) and Gigante Peninsula (Panama) was analysed to test the hypothesis that radiocarbon concentration was predictive of year of tree death. The date of tree death was negatively related to the level of 14C, following a trend similar to published data on tree rings from German and Amazonian trees. Combining our data with these data in a statistical analysis revealed a significant predictive effect of radiocarbon on year. Analysis of covariance showed that there was no significant difference among the slopes of the three groups of data, but there was significant heterogeneity among the intercepts. The differences suggest a need for site-specific calibration and refinement of field protocols. The technique shows promise and suggestions are made to improve its usefulness for future studies.

Evidence is presented for the importance of western lowland gorillas as seed dispersers in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon. The survival and growth of seedlings of three tree species, growing from dung deposited at gorilla nest sites, were monitored for up to 2 y after deposition. A comparison was made between this and seeds (i) deposited in dung on gorilla feeding trails, (ii) dropped (spat out) under conspecific canopies, and (iii) scatter-dispersed (spat out) by other consumers away from conspecific trees but under intact forest canopy. The highest survival and the best performance of seedlings was always at a gorilla nest site, although not every site was favourable for survival or growth. Seedling performance was related to the surrounding vegetation conditions: better performance was observed in seedling clumps with less vegetation cover. Gorillas at Lopé apparently provide high quality seed dispersal for these species, not just because they consume large quantities of seeds, but because the pattern of seed deposition, especially in nest sites, can result in the enhanced survival and growth of seedlings.

The spatial patterns presented by the marsupial Micoureus demerarae were studied through capture–mark–recapture in two small Atlantic Forest fragments (areas 7.1 and 8.8 ha). The study took place from March 1995 to August 1997. Considering all captures of each individual, males did not have larger home ranges within the fragments than did females. A negative correlation was found between home range sizes and population densities. For males, home ranges overlapped often, and were larger during the breeding season. For females, home ranges did not overlap except for a short period when there were many individuals present, and home range sizes were not significantly larger in the breeding season. Five movements between the two forest fragments were detected, across 300 m of open vegetation. All the movements were performed by males during the reproductive season. M. demerarae in the small fragments therefore displays a metapopulation structure, although possibly an atypical one where only males disperse.

All dead trees ≥ 20 cm DBH were counted in the first 6 mo of 1994 in 10 ha of wet lowland rain forest, in the Hoja Blanca Hills, western Ecuador. The trees were classified by their mode of death. Thirty-four per cent of the trees were uprooted, 35% had snapped, 15% had died standing and 16% were unclassified. Regression analyses found that slope position and whether an individual was a dicotyledonous tree or a palm (Iriartea deltoidea) to be both strongly related to the mode of death. Slope, altitude and the presence of buttresses also influenced the mode of tree death. Tree diameter, however, was not found to have any effect. Dicotyledonous trees predominantly uprooted and snapped while Iriartea mostly died standing and snapped. Uprooted and snapped trees were significantly spatially clumped while trees which died standing were distributed at random. It was concluded that the predominance of uprooting and snapping in Hoja Blanca mostly resulted from the steep terrain and high precipitation (c. 5000 mm y−1) as well as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) downpours. The implications of mode of death are discussed. The different modes created different types of gaps and could thereby potentially influence forest regeneration.

The spatial and temporal variation in litter disturbance by a medium-sized bird, the chowchilla (Orthonyx spaldingii Ramsay, Orthonychidae) was documented, and its potential impacts on tree seed germination and early seedling survival in an Australian tropical rain forest experimentally investigated. Chowchilla disturbances occurred on ridges, slopes and drainages in all four seasons surveyed. In some areas litter was completely turned over as frequently as every 5 wk. Tethered seeds exposed to disturbance were moved farther and experienced significantly greater variation in litter cover than those protected from disturbance. When seeds of two canopy trees were placed in litter environments simulating those created by chowchillas, the seeds of one species showed significant effects of litter treatment on germination while those of the other showed no significant effects. Seedling cohorts of four tree species were followed for 6 wk soon after germination and all showed higher survival in vertebrate exclosures. The two most abundant species suffered 68% and 35% mortality in six wks, with the majority of that unambiguously due to chowchillas. It is argued that litter-disturbing birds increase litter heterogeneity and significantly impact early seedling mortality. These effects could be important in maintaining evenness and diversity of the seedling community.

Strangler fig density varied considerably in the evergreen forest of Karian Shola National Park, southern India, with 11 individuals ha−1 in an open trail area and 5.6 individuals ha−1 within the primary forest area. The index of light level was assessed by estimating the percentage of upper canopy cover along the longitudinal centre of ten, 500-m × 20-m plots in each of the two areas of the evergreen forest. However, the increase in strangler fig density was not correlated to light levels but was significantly correlated to the numbers of their main host species in the two areas. In Karian Shola National Park, strangler figs occurred predominantly on a few host species with 20 and 50% of strangler figs growing on Vitex altissima, Diospyros bourdilloni and Eugenia/Syzygium spp. in the primary forest and trail areas respectively. Both young and established strangler figs were recorded mainly on larger individuals of their host trees indicating that older host trees are likely to be more suitable for the germination and establishment of strangler figs. The reason for the above could be the higher incidence of humus-filled and decaying regions in the older host trees which would provide an assured supply of nutrients for the establishing strangler fig.

The energy budget of all fish populations was estimated in two small tributaries of the Paraná River (Paraná, Brazil). Total energy consumed by fish in the Caracu and the Agua do Rancho Rivers was 4.1 and 1.8 MJ m−2 y−1, and food items consumed were 2284 and 994.5 g wet weight m−2 y−1, respectively. The gross (K1) and net (K2) ecological efficiency coefficients were very low, but 43.2 and 59.6% of the total fish diet in these two streams, respectively, consisted of plant detritus. In both fish communities, omnivorous (opportunist) species dominated and specialists were rare. Although the Caracu River was more affected by human activity than was the Agua do Rancho, ecological efficiency coefficients calculated for the dominant fish populations were not significantly different.

Seed density and seed bank species composition were determined by germination trials on soils collected during the initial phase of deforestation in a Mexican tropical deciduous forest. The reference forest, pre-burn, 1-d post-burn, and 1-y post-burn soils contained 700, 1000, 70 and 3500 germinating seeds m−2, of 30, 30, 8 and 13 species, respectively. A total of 43 dicotyledonous species were identified. Percentages of herbs, vines, shrubs and small trees/shrubs were similar in reference forest, pre-burn, and 1-d post-burn soils; herbs were the most common growth form. Pasture conversion greatly altered seed bank species composition; 81% of the species that germinated from the seed bank before burning were absent from the seed bank 1 d after the fires. One-year post-burn soil was dominated by monocots; only 3% of the seedlings were herbs; no vines, small trees/shrubs or trees germinated. The reference forest and the pre-burn soils had 18 dicot species in common and the highest similarity index, 0.43; six of the shared species were herbs. One-day and 1-y post-burn soils had the lowest similarity index, 0.05. Burning the slashed forest and conversion to cattle pasture depleted the original seed bank, replacing it by one dominated by pasture grasses.

Fruiting phenology, habitat types and proximity to conspecific fruiting adults may influence the degree of escape from pre- and post-dispersal seed predators. Successful predator escape by means of satiation is considered to be especially important for selection of masting and monocarpic reproduction in trees, such as exhibited by Tachigali versicolor, a tropical canopy tree. How pre- and post-dispersal predation rates varied with dispersal timing and among trees in T. versicolor was examined in young and old forests on Barro Colorado Island in Panama during a 4-mo period. Seeds were collected from above-ground traps to assess predispersal predation by bruchid beetles, and from quadrats on the ground to record predation and removal by terrestrial mammals. Proportion of seeds aborted varied greatly among trees (range 6–30 %, mean 16 %), and was especially high for trees on the edge of the island with fruiting conspecifics nearby during the early part of fruiting season. The proportion of seeds killed by bruchid beetles varied less among trees (14–25 %, mean 20 %), and remained constant throughout the fruiting season. Seeds on the ground were attacked mostly by rodents, and possibly by deer (26 % of all seeds and 43 % of intact dispersed seeds). The post-dispersal predation level was higher in the young forest than in the old forest (61 and 26 % of intact dispersed seeds, respectively), and was unaffected by the proximity of fruiting conspecifics. Temporal satiation of seed predators was evident only for post-dispersal mammalian predators in the old forest.