The expansion of human settlements and primary-sector activities (agriculture and forestry) has resulted in the fragmentation of forests, but the impacts of this are still poorly understood. We examined the effect of patch size on the presence of plant functional groups along an edge–interior gradient. Plant species were classified based on a two-way indicator species analysis in order to determine their establishment thresholds and vulnerability along the gradient, while detrended correspondence analyses and canonical correspondence analyses were performed to identify environmental gradients related to vegetation distribution. Two groups of plant species were recognized in all patch sizes: one commonly found towards the edge and the other in the interior zone. The incidence of these groups was correlated with environmental factors associated with the edge–interior gradient, mainly with humidity, soil moisture and light (canopy opening and global site factor) in the edge zone and with litter cover, depth of litter, slope and soil and air temperature in the interior zone. Identifying the species’ threshold responses to fragmentation is key, as they provide tools to prevent the potential local extinction of species.

The semiarid Espinal in central Argentina, being recently transformed from natural semiarid grasslands into agriculture, represents an interesting scenario to understand the early stages of weed community assembly and its relationship with crop identity and management. Our aim was to characterize the weed communities in corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], the main crops of the Espinal region, under the dominant rainfed conditions. Weed surveys were carried out in 53 fields, and farmers were interviewed to collect information about crop management. Floristic composition was compared within and between crops by calculating the additive partition of the abundance-based Bray-Curtis dissimilarity. We compared the frequency and mean cover of functional groups between crops through generalized linear models. Finally, canonical correspondence analysis was carried out to analyze the associations between floristic composition and agronomic variables. Mean alpha and gamma diversity was greater in corn (10.0 and 80 species, respectively) than in soybean (7.6 and 46 species, respectively). Furthermore, species composition of weed communities was more similar among soybean fields than among either cornfields or fields of both crops. Hence, floristic differences between crops are potentially the result of different microenvironmental heterogeneity above- and belowground, with corn likely to be more permissive to weed establishment compared with soybean. The higher frequency of annual, dicotyledonous, and native species, and the high proportion of rare species, mostly native, suggest a strong legacy of the original vegetation that thrived in these recently cultivated systems. The functional composition was also affected by agronomic management, with sulfur, nitrogen, and grass herbicide application being the most important factors related to the floristic composition of weed communities. This early description can be used as a starting point for studies concerning trajectories, mechanisms, and processes of weed communities related to environment and management.

Sampling of the demersal ichthyofauna of Guanabara Bay was conducted bimonthly for 2 years at 10 stations distributed along a hydrobiological gradient. A total of 16,081 Tetraodontiformes specimens were collected, representing 10 species distributed among Ostraciidae, Monacanthidae, Tetraodontidae and Diodontidae. Tetraodontiformes appear to be well adapted to hydrological variations and inhospitable conditions prompted by intense eutrophication. However, abiotic factors traditionally considered important in estuarine community structure play a secondary role in the distribution of Tetraodontiformes. The type of sediment appears to be the most important physical factor but acts only as an indicator of ecological domain. The low explanatory power of physicochemical variables, in addition to the relative stability of the bay's ichthyofauna, suggests an influence of biological parameters. The species exhibited wide variation in their use of Guanabara Bay and utilized it as a resting, feeding and growing area. Among the species captured, Stephanolepis hispidus, Lagocephalus laevigatus, Sphoeroides greeleyi, Sphoeroides testudineus, Sphoeroides tyleri, Chilomycterus reticulatus and Chilomycterus spinosus were categorized as marine estuarine opportunists, and Aluterus heudelotii and Aluterus schoepfii were classified as marine stragglers. Acanthostracion sp. could not be categorized. The boom of C. spinosus indicates an ecological misbalance and must be carefully investigated.

Environmental complexity and spatial heterogeneity are important factors influencing the structure of ant species assemblages. This paper documents the effect of different vegetation and environmental factors on ant community structure and functional group composition in different habitat patches. Ants were sampled at 16 sites distributed across five habitat types in the Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary. Sampling was performed 10 times over a 2-y period using pitfall traps. A total of 100 species belonging to 41 genera were collected during the study. Ant species richness was best explained by a combination of percentage grass cover, percentage litter cover and number of saplings whereas percentage litter cover and soil nitrogen concentration significantly explained the variation in ant species abundance. Dominant Dolichoderinae were present only at forest edge and were found to be associated positively with percentage bare ground cover and negatively with percentage litter cover. Generalized Myrmicinae, subordinate Camponotini and tropical climate specialists were prevalent in shaded forest habitats whereas opportunists were more common in two types of open habitat. Our study underpins the influence of vegetational complexity, litter and soil chemical properties on the structure and composition of ant species assemblages and various functional groups across forested habitats in this little-studied region.

For a long time, agriculture and recurrent fires have been the main factors promoting diversity changes in Mediterranean areas. We examined the effect of irrigated and non-irrigated crops and fires on the epiphytic lichen diversity of holm oak trees in the Vall d'Albaida region (Valencia, Spain). Lichen diversity was studied by calculating the LDV (Lichen Diversity Value) and the proportion of functional groups. No significant differences were observed between areas located near irrigated or non-irrigated crops. Fire-affected areas tended to harbour lower LDV and species richness than those influenced by agriculture. By using lichen functional groups, it has been shown that eutrophication tolerance, substratum pH affinity and, to some extent, thallus growth form are the main factors driving epiphytic lichen diversity in this rural area.

This study was conducted in the Knuckles Forest Region in central Sri Lanka, and investigated how termite species richness, abundance and functional group diversity vary in different montane forest types and identified the likely causes of this pattern. Termite diversity declined with increased elevation, with upper montane forests recording a single endemic species, Postelectrotermes militaris Desneux. Transect sampling in lower montane forests yielded 26 species, with a higher number from dry forests (22 species) than from wet forests (15 species). Species specificity also was high in dry forests (11 species) compared with wet forests (four species). Termite abundance did not show a distinct trend in dry and wet forests. Live-wood termites were present only in upper montane and high-altitude lower montane dry forests. Wet forests had a higher relative abundance (78%) but not species richness (40%) of soil and soil–wood interface feeders. In dry forests, both species richness (82%) and abundance (88%) of fungus-growing wood feeders were higher. The study suggests that key drivers of the species distribution pattern are low temperature and differing forest floor conditions. In the upper montane forest floor where earthworms dominate, wet soil and damp, woody litter riddled with beetles are not favourable for termites. In lower montane wet forests, moist, thick decomposing leaf litter and in dry forests, drier, relatively undecomposed leaf litter with many dry sticks and branches support species with specific food habits.

This review is a first attempt to combine and compare spatial distribution of the three main water sources, rain, dew and humid air, with water-related traits of mainly epiphytic macrolichens in a conceptual and functional model. By comparing climatic and lichenological knowledge, various effects of dewfall, rainfall and humid air on epiphytic lichen morphology and function are analyzed to search for traits and patterns. Although dew, rain and humid air cause lichen hydration and activate photosynthesis, these atmospheric hydration sources influence and shape lichens differently. In order to visualize hydration patterns, dew, rain and humid air are shown as corners in a triangle exhibiting the various combinations of these hydration sources. The sources of hydration vary on temporal scales, and on the spatial scales: regional, landscape, stand and tree. Lichen growth form, photobiont type, water-holding capacity (WHC) and suprasaturation depression show clear patterns within the hydration triangle. For most lichen species, one average pre-dawn dewfall approximately fills their average internal WHC. This suggests that lichens are optimally designed to utilize dew rather than rain, consistent with literature emphasizing dew as a driver for annual C-assimilation in chlorolichens. However, rain is needed to fill their external WHC and to fully hydrate most cyanolichens. Including the sources of hydration and internal lichen variables, such as water-holding capacity, will improve modelling of local and global future scenarios on lichen distribution and biomass production.

The frequency of selection of functional groups and plant species by free-ranging cattle foraging in a diverse environment and its changes during the dry and the following prehumid seasons were investigated using direct observations and bite counting. The study was conducted at two sites in the Bolivian–Tucuman montane forests in southern Bolivia, by including datasets of a total of 16 animals. Across both study sites and the entire observation period (May to October/November), the cattle were found to select a broad spectrum of plant species from different functional groups. However, just a limited number of species made up a considerable contribution to overall plant selection. The functional group of the graminoids was selected most frequently, but their contribution to plant selection decreased significantly from 63.5% of total bites in May to 15.9% in September/October, in accordance with a decrease in availability. Selection of woody plants (shrubs and tree parts, the latter mainly in the form of leaf litter and fruits) increased with time, reaching its peak at the beginning of the prehumid season, while the herbs showed a curvilinear pattern of selection which was highest in August. Plant species belonging to the functional groups of ferns, climbers and epiphytes were also selected by the cattle, but generally at low relative proportions. Plant selection might be influenced by temporal differences in nutritional quality and availability of the preferred plant species and functional groups. Sampling behaviour seems to be the most likely reason for the inclusion of a broad range of plant species with overall low contribution to plant selection.

Fishing can have major impacts on the structure of coral reef ecosystems. Overfishing of herbivores is particularly detrimental, as it makes the coral system more likely to undergo shifts to macroalgal dominance in the event of coral mass mortality. Knowing when important processes, such as herbivory, are becoming brittle is important because it can provide an opportunity for managers to avoid undesirable ecosystem-level changes. This study investigates the impact of artisanal fishing on three important functional groups of herbivores (grazers, scrapers and excavators) on five coral-dominated reefs outside Zanzibar (Tanzania). There was a negative correlation between fishing pressure and fish biomass, abundance, diversity and species richness. Moreover, fishing had a negative influence on the demographic structure of functional groups, particularly excavators, manifesting itself as a skewness towards smaller individuals within populations. Artisanal fishing can have significant impacts on key functional groups of herbivorous reef fishes which may increase the vulnerability of coral reefs to undesirable ecosystem shifts.

Although habitats of hard emergent macrophyte beds, including reed beds (Phragmites australis), are very common in the littoral zones of stagnant waters in central Europe, research investigating their macroinvertebrate communities is still lacking. In this study, the spatial distribution of macroinvertebrates was studied within large reed beds in the littoral zone of a lowland fishpond (Nesyt, SE Moravia, Czech Republic). Using a hand net, horizontal line transects in the reed bed leading from the marginal area with the open water towards the shore were sampled. The results of NMDS ordination and PERMANOVA test proved that the taxonomic composition of the macroinvertebrate assemblage changed significantly along the investigated horizontal transect from the open water towards the shore, together with gradual changes in some environmental factors. The taxa diversity was found to be the highest in the areas closest to the shore. In the reed bed areas near open water, corixids, aquatic insects larvae, leeches, water mites, some naidids and tubificids, which represented free-swimming invertebrates with tracheal gill breathing, ectoparasites, gatherers/collectors and taxa preferring pelal and inorganic substrates, were more abundant compared with the interiors of reed beds. On the other side, in the shallow dense interior of reed beds close to the shore, gastropods, water slaters, some naidids and enchytraeids, aquatic beetles and dipteran larvae were characteristic taxa, which belonged especially to grazers and scrapers, shredders and invertebrates preferring phytal and POM (particulate organic matter) microhabitats. Different predators were recorded in areas near open water and near the shore. This invertebrate spatial distribution probably reflects changes in microhabitat and environmental conditions along the investigated horizontal transect. The results of this study proved that extensive reed beds serve as refuges for many groups of aquatic macroinvertebrates within lowland fishpond ecosystems.

Herbivory is one of the most important biological processes influencing coral reefs. In the highly diverse Indo-Pacific reef fish communities, different herbivores can have strikingly different functions. We investigated the extent of functional diversity among herbivorous parrotfish of the more species-depauperate Caribbean Sea. We carried out observations of seven species of parrotfish (Scarus taeniopterus, Sc. vetula, Sc. iserti, Sparisoma viride, Sp. aurofrenatum, Sp. rubripinne and Sp. chrysopterum) on four Barbadian coral reefs to collect information on foraging techniques, rates, and targets, and found marked interspecific variation. Species of the genus Scarus had higher foraging rates than those of the genus Sparisoma. Different species took varying amounts of live coral, turf algae and macroalgae. A functional categorization based first on foraging technique (contact or no contact with the substratum) and secondarily on the more conventional criterion of foraging target (macroalgae, turf algae and live coral) allowed us to classify Sc. taeniopterus and Sc. iserti as ‘scrapers’, Sp. aurofrenatum, Sp. rubripinne and Sp. chrysopterum as ‘grazers’, Sp. viride as a ‘bioeroder’ and Sc. vetula as a ‘bioeroder/scraper’. This functional group affiliation, together with species-specific foraging rates, allows us to predict the role of Caribbean parrotfish on major coral reef processes and their impact on coral reef benthic communities.

We studied the effect of climate on the plant-pollinator communities in the West Indies. We constructed plots of 200 m × 5 m in two distinct habitats on the islands of Dominica, Grenada and Puerto Rico (total of six plots) and recorded visitors to all plant species in flower. In total we recorded 447 interactions among 144 plants and 226 pollinator species. Specifically we describe how rainfall and temperature affect proportional richness and importance of the different pollinator functional groups. We used three measures of pollinator importance: number of interactions, number of plant species visited and betweenness centrality. Overall rainfall explained most of the variation in pollinator richness and relative importance. Bird pollination tended to increase with rainfall, although not significantly, whereas insects were significantly negatively affected by rainfall. However, the response among insect groups was more complex; bees were strongly negatively affected by rainfall, whereas dipterans showed similar trends to birds. Bird, bee and dipteran variation along the climate gradient can be largely explained by their physiological capabilities to respond to rainfall and temperature, but the effect of climate on other insect pollinator groups was more obscure. This study contributes to the understanding of how climate may affect neotropical plant-pollinator communities.

Five forest plots of differing disturbance levels were sampled qualitatively for termites in the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve, southern Cameroon, using 100 m belt transects. Results showed a large reduction in species richness in two severely disturbed plots compared with a Near Primary plot, but little difference in two less disturbed regenerating plots; there is some evidence for a slight increase in species richness in the regenerating plots. Soil-feeders predominate in the primary and regenerating plots, but are greatly reduced in the severely disturbed plots. Wood-feeders appear to be more resilient to disturbance than soil-feeders, although their species richness is low in the most disturbed plots. The Termitinae are the dominant taxonomic group in the Near Primary plot, the Apicotermitinae in the less disturbed regenerating plots and the Macrotermitinae in the clear felled areas. There appears to be no secondary invasion of plots by savanna-associated species, and the small apparent increase in species richness in the less disturbed regenerating plots appears to be due to the influx of forest species usually associated with natural gaps.

The macroinvertebrate fauna of twenty-one ponds (thirteen temporary and eight permanent) located in four protected areas in Central Italy were studied in March, May and June 2002, with the aim to bring out relationships between environmental variables and the functional characteristics (functional feeding groups, habits and resistance to drought) of communities. Macroinvertebrates were collected in three mesohabitat types (macrophyte beds, littoral sediments, central sediments). Overall, the functional attributes of temporary and permanent pond communities did not differ greatly. However, at the mesohabitat scale, collector-gatherers, burrowers and permanent residents capable of passive dispersal were more abundant in sediments. Scrapers and shredders, sprawlers and climbers, swimmers and divers, and organisms capable of active dispersal which lack drought resistance were more abundant in macrophyte beds. Although hydroperiod is the main driving factor affecting community structure, our results suggest that it remains an unimportant factor in controlling functional traits, which appeared to be more influenced by substratum types. Moreover, the positive relationship between taxonomic and functional diversity metrics indicates that an increase in taxonomic richness induces a satisfactory partitioning of the ecological resources among taxa, thus maintaining the ecological complexity of the ponds regardless of their hydroperiod length.

Aphid predators are a systematically disparate group of arthropods united on the basis that they consume aphids as part of their diet. In Europe, this group includes Araneae, Opiliones, Heteroptera, chrysopids, Forficulina, syrphid larvae, carabids, staphylinids, cantharids and coccinellids. This functional group has no phylogenetic meaning but was created by ecologists as a way of understanding predation, particularly for conservation biological control. We investigated whether trait-based approaches could bring some cohesion and structure to this predator group. A taxonomic hierarchy-based null model was created from taxonomic distances in which a simple multiplicative relationship described the Linnaean hierarchies (species, genera, etc.) of fifty common aphid predators. Using the same fifty species, a functional groups model was developed using ten behavioural traits (e.g. polyphagy, dispersal, activity, etc.) to describe the way in which aphids were predated in the field. The interrelationships between species were then expressed as dissimilarities within each model and separately analysed using PROXSCAL, a multidimensional scaling (MDS) program. When ordinated using PROXSCAL and then statistically compared using Procrustes analysis, we found that only 17% of information was shared between the two configurations. Polyphagy across kingdoms (i.e. predatory behaviour across animal, plant and fungi kingdoms) and the ability to withstand starvation over days, weeks and months were particularly divisive within the functional groups model. Confirmatory MDS indicated poor prediction of aphid predation rates by the configurations derived from either model. The counterintuitive conclusion was that the inclusion of functional traits, pertinent to the way in which predators fed on aphids, did not lead to a large improvement in the prediction of predation rate when compared to the standard taxonomic approach.

In mixed tropical landscapes, savanna and rain-forest vegetation often support contrasting biotas, and this is the case for ant communities in tropical Australia. Such a contrast is especially pronounced in monsoonal north-western Australia, where boundaries between rain forest and savanna are often extremely abrupt. However, in the humid tropics of north-eastern Queensland there is often an extended gradient between rain forest and savanna through eucalypt-dominated tall open forest. It is not known if ant community structure varies continuously along this gradient, or, if there is a major disjunction, where it occurs. We address this issue by sampling ants at ten sites distributed along a 6-km environmental gradient from rain forest to savanna, encompassing the crest and slopes of Mt. Lewis in North Queensland. Sampling was conducted using ground and baited arboreal pitfall traps, and yielded a total of 95 ant species. Mean trap species richness was identical in rain forest and rain-forest regrowth, somewhat higher in tall open forest, and twice as high again in savanna woodland. The great majority (78%) of the 58 species from savanna woodland were recorded only in this habitat type. MDS ordination of sites based on ant species composition showed a continuum from rain forest through rain-forest regrowth to tall open forest, and then a discontinuity between these habitat types and savanna woodland. These findings indicate that the contrast between rain forest and savanna ant communities in tropical Australia is an extreme manifestation of a broader forest-savanna disjunction.

Although co-infection is the norm in most human and animal populations, clinicians currently have no practical tool to assist them in choosing the best treatment strategy for such patients. Given the vast range of potential pathogens which may co-infect the host, obtaining such a practical tool may seem an intractable problem. In ecology the joint concepts of functional groups and guilds have been used to conceptually simplify complex ecosystems, in order to understand how their component parts interact and may be manipulated. Here we propose a mechanism by which to apply these concepts to pathogen co-infection systems. Further, we describe how these groups could be incorporated into a mathematical modelling framework which, after validation, could be used as a clinical tool to predict the outcome of any particular combination of pathogens co-infecting a host.

Changing land use has a major impact on lichen diversity. This study attempts to identify patterns or trends of lichen functional groups along a land use gradient, ranging from natural forests to open agricultural landscape. In eight countries, covering six main European biogeographic regions, lichen vegetation was assessed according to a standardized scheme. Data on reproductive, vegetative and ecological traits was compiled and relative species richness for all classes of all traits calculated. Relationships between the land use gradient and relative species richness of trait classes were analysed. Open and intensively managed landscapes harbour more fertile species while sterile species are relatively more important in forests. This finding is also supported by analyses of different classes of dispersal propagules. The importance of species with the principal photobiont Trebouxia s.l. increases linearly with intensification of land use. A converse pattern is revealed by species with Trentepohlia. Concerning substratum specialization only generalists show an effect along the land use intensity gradient. Their relative species richness decreases from landscapes dominated by forests to open agricultural landscape. A considerable decline in the rare lichen species richness as a result of land intensification is predicted.

This study provides a community-level analysis of how regeneration requirement and adult stature are related to tree allometry (diameter, height and crown size) throughout post-seedling ontogeny on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Comparing 65 species, gap species are taller, have higher diameter growth rates and occupy more low-canopy sites (≤10 m canopy height) than shade species at small diameters (≤10 cm dbh). For trees >10 cm dbh, diameter-height relationships and growth rates no longer differ between gap and shade species, but shade species have larger, particularly deeper, crowns than gap species. Species with tall adult stature have more slender stems with larger crowns compared with treelet and mid-canopy species starting at 5 cm dbh. From 10 to 40 cm dbh, diameter growth rate is also significantly greater for tall species. The consistent allometric differences between functional groups on a community level will, in part, determine vertical and horizontal stand structure.