Although the seeds of various Orchidaceae members can be readily germinated on sterile nutrient media, numerous species exhibit complete asymbiotic germination failure. Also, while seed morphology in orchids has been previously linked to dispersal, associations with germinability have not been widely explored. We compiled seed morphometric and germination data for 203 orchid species globally, drawing from international literature and our lab's unpublished findings. Based on (a) final germination percentage and (b) pre-treatment duration, two distinct groups of asymbiotic germination behaviour emerged – termed compliant and defiant, respectively. Additionally, a statistically significant relationship between germinability and the embryo-to-seed (E:S) length ratio was observed. E:S values tended to be lower in species with defiant germination and higher in those with compliant germination. We further correlated seed morphometric and germination data with phylogenetically and ecologically significant parameters (subfamily, growth form, mycoheterotrophy level, climatic zone and habitat shadiness). Notably, lower E:S values and defiant germination predominate in orchids of shaded habitats, while compliant germination is more prevalent in open habitats. Lastly, considering the mycoheterotrophy continuum, we propose that the reduction in the E:S ratio is linked to the adaptation of various orchid lineages to shaded habitats through both an increased dispersal ability and their greater reliance on fungal symbiosis.

Galba truncatula is one of the most distributed intermediate hosts of Fasciola hepatica across Europe, North Africa and South America. Therefore, understanding the environmental preferences of this species is vital for developing control strategies for fascioliasis and other trematodes such as Calicophoron daubneyi. This systematic literature review evaluates the current understanding of the snail's environmental preferences to identify factors which might aid control and areas where further research is needed. Searches were conducted using Google Scholar and PubMed and included papers published up to August 2023. After filtration, 198 papers with data from 64 countries were evaluated, and data regarding habitat type and habitat pH were noted, along with any other information pertaining to the snail's environmental preferences. The results show that G. truncatula can survive in a diverse range of climates and habitats, generally favours shallow slow-moving water or moist bare mud surfaces, temperatures between 10 and 25°C and was found in habitats with a water pH ranging from 5.0 to 9.4. However, there is limited understanding of the impact of several factors, such as the true optimum pH and temperature preferences within the respective tolerance limits or the reason for the snail's apparent aversion to peatland. Further research is needed to clarify the impact of biotic and abiotic factors on the snail to create robust risk assessments of fluke infection and assess opportunities for environmental control strategies, and for predicting how the snail and fluke transmission may be impacted by climate change.

The Puerto Rican Nightjar Antrostomus noctitherus is an endemic Caprimulgid found in dry coastal and lower montane forests of south-western Puerto Rico. Information on the species (e.g. abundance, nesting biology) has been mostly restricted to forest reserves (i.e. Guánica Forest and Susúa Forest) with limited information available from private lands. We collected stand-level vegetation structure and geographical information from forest reserves and private lands to model habitat suitability and distribution for the Nightjar. Results of the stand-level model indicated forest type and midstorey vegetation density best predicted Nightjar habitat. Our spatial model predicted considerably more Nightjar habitat (17,819.64 ha) located outside protected areas than previously reported. Further, the model highlighted several localities of importance for the species across southern Puerto Rico, all located within private lands. We used a patch occupancy approach to assess regions identified by the landscape-level model as suitable for the Nightjar and documented the presence of the species in 32 of 55 sites, located in 12 of 18 municipalities across southern Puerto Rico. The protection and restoration of forest across the southern coast of Puerto Rico would help to ensure the long-term persistence of the Nightjar across a considerable portion of its range. Addressing habitat needs may be the single most effective mechanism to achieve recovery of the species.

Although the impacts of intensive agriculture on biodiversity and strategies for mitigating these effects have been widely described, small-scale, diversified farms and the opportunities they present for bird conservation have been less thoroughly examined. This omission is potentially significant, because this form of agriculture represents a growing sector of the industry in the populous northeastern USA, and the diverse habitats on these farms contrast with larger, structurally homogeneous intensive agriculture. To evaluate bird-habitat associations and conservation opportunities for supporting species of conservation concern on these small, diversified farms, we conducted avian point count and vegetation surveys across 23 farms in western Massachusetts during the summers of 2017 and 2018. We used Poisson-binomial mixture models and canonical correspondence analysis to assess the effects of a suite of microhabitat-, field- and landscape-scale (1 km buffer around the field) variables on the abundance of bird species. Our results confirmed that shrubland birds, a group of species of elevated conservation concern, accounted for 52% of the total observations, including song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), gray catbird (Dumatella carolinensis), common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) and American goldfinch (Spinus tristis). Species–habitat relationships were diverse; however, smaller field sizes, and increased cover of tall, dense, woody or non-productive vegetation types were associated with higher abundance of shrubland species as well as lower abundance of crop pests such as European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and house sparrow (Passer domesticus). These findings support the hypothesis that small, diversified farms are supporting birds of high conservation concern, and we provide species-specific guidelines for farmers interested in conserving birds on their land.

Growing urban expansion can alter ecological processes within trophic networks. Predation on herbivores is known to vary with the size of the area covered by vegetation, successional stage, altitude and predator community structure; however there are gaps in understanding how this occurs in urban and suburban environments. The purpose of this study was to determine whether predation pressure on artificial models of caterpillars varied with the degree of urbanisation and type of substrate. Artificial caterpillars were placed on two types of substrates (leaf vs. stem) in two areas of the city (urban vs. suburban). Total predation was measured as the number of models with evidence of attack by predators, with the predation rate estimated on a weekly basis. Predation was affected by the degree of urbanisation, being higher in urban (x̄ = 9.88%; SD = 4.09%, n = 8) than suburban areas (x̄ = 5.75%, SD = 4.21%, n = 8). Attack marks were observed in 23.8% (n = 125) of artificial caterpillars. The weekly predation rate on leaves (x̄ = 9.63%, SD = 5.95%, n = 8) was higher than that on stems (x̄ = 6%, SD = 4.2%, n = 8). These results suggest that the incidence of predation might vary with the degree of urbanisation and by the type of substrate on which prey organisms are found.

A Copper Age settlement and cemetery was fully excavated at Rákóczifalva-Bivaly-tó Site 1/C in 2005-2007, making it possible to compare the use of its material culture in closely related, coeval, but different archaeological contexts. Such a rare set of circumstances allows the authors to highlight methodological issues associated with the distorting effect of archaeological finds made on sites where only settlement or burial data are available, and on the importance of choosing appropriate analytical units.

Tick-borne pathogens pose a significant risk to livestock, wildlife and public health. Host-seeking behaviours may depend on a combination of infection status and environmental factors. Here, we assessed the effects of habitat type and pathogen infection on host-seeking behaviour (questing) in the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum. Ticks were collected using a tick drag from two different habitat types: xeric hammock and successional hardwood forests. Using a standardized assay, we recorded the likelihood of questing for each tick, the average height quested and total time spent questing and then tested each tick for the presence of Rickettsia spp. and Ehrlichia spp. using conventional polymerase chain reaction. We did not detect Ehrlichia in any ticks, although 30% tested positive for Rickettsia amblyommatis, a member of the Rickettsia spotted fever group. Ticks infected with R. amblyommatis spent less time questing compared to uninfected ticks, with infected ticks spending 85 s on average questing and uninfected ticks spending 112 s. Additionally, ticks collected from xeric hammock habitats spent over twice as long questing compared to ticks from successional hardwood forests. Ticks from xeric hammock spent 151 s on average questing while ticks from successional hardwood forest spent only 58 s during a 10-min observation period. These results demonstrate that habitat type and infection status can influence tick host-seeking behaviours, which can play a pivotal role in disease dynamics.

In seasonal wet Neotropical forests, many studies have suggested that species-rich terrestrial frog assemblages are regulated bottom-up by the abundance of leaf litter. However, terrestrial frogs are prey to a diverse community of predators, and no studies have tested for top-down effects of predators on this or other anuran assemblages. Here, we used an extensive field dataset to model the relative contribution of food resources, microhabitat resources and predators towards the occupancy and detection of two frog species (Craugastor bransfordii and Oophaga pumilio) at La Selva, Costa Rica. Frog occupancy was most strongly influenced by predatory spiders and secondarily influenced by the abundance of leaf litter. Predators exerted stronger effects on frogs than food resources, and frogs avoided predators more as leaf litter decreased. Detection probability was elevated when predators were present. We found support for bottom-up effects of leaf litter on the terrestrial frog assemblage, but top-down effects by predators exerted stronger effects on frog occupancy and detection. Because predator avoidance varied along a resource gradient, predator and resource effects appear to be dependent, supporting interactions between top-down and bottom-up mechanisms. Climate-driven decreases in leaf litter may drive decreased availability of frog refugia and increased interactions between frogs and predators.