Cascading effects of high trophic levels onto lower trophic levels have been documented in many ecosystems. Some studies also show evidence of extended trophic cascades, in which guilds dependent on lower trophic levels, but uninvolved in the trophic cascade themselves, are affected by the trophic cascade due to their dependence on lower trophic levels. Top-down effects of large mammals on plants could lead to a variety of extended trophic cascades on the many guilds dependent on plants, such as pollinators. In this study, floral-visitor and floral abundances and assemblages were quantified within a series of 1-ha manipulations of large-mammalian herbivore density in an African savanna. Top-down effects of large mammals on the composition of flowers available for floral visitors are first shown, using regressions of herbivore activity on metrics of floral and floral-visitor assemblages. An extended trophic cascade is also shown: the floral assemblage further altered the assemblage of floral visitors, according to a variety of approaches, including a structural equation modelling approach (model with an extended trophic cascade was supported over a model without, AICc weight = 0.984). Our study provides support for extended trophic cascades affecting floral visitors, suggesting that trophic cascades can have impacts throughout entire communities.

In tropical regions the extent of agricultural land is increasing rapidly at the expense of natural forest, with associated losses of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Agroforestry has long been proposed as a more sustainable agricultural system, conserving biodiversity while providing significant local livelihoods. In this context, camera traps were deployed to compare communities of large mammals between natural forest (22,272 hours across 24 deployments) and extensively managed coffee forest (19,059 hours, 23 deployments) for the first time in the south-west Ethiopian highlands. Mammal communities in the two forest types were similar in species richness and Shannon diversity but differed in community composition. Significant indicator species of coffee forest were the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata and the Ethiopian hare Lepus fagani, whereas leopards Panthera pardus and civets Civettictis civetta had a preference for natural forest. The number of detections of mammals was higher in coffee forest, where activity patterns were predominantly crepuscular and nocturnal, which may be a direct adaptation to frequent human disturbance. In natural forest, mammal activity peaked during daytime. Despite the high mammal diversity in extensively managed coffee forest, it cannot fully replace natural forest as a habitat for large mammals. We suggest that a balanced landscape mosaic of coffee and natural forest may be a valuable combination for both conservation and coffee cultivation.

Constancy in predator/prey ratio (PPR) is a controversial issue in ecological research. Published reports support both constancy and inconstancy of the ratio in animal communities. Only a few studies, however, specifically address its course through time. Here we study the course of predator/prey ratio in communities of large Plio-Pleistocene mammals in Italy. After controlling for taphonomic biases, we find strong support for PPR inconstancy through time. Extinction, dispersal events, and differences in body size trends between predators and their prey were found to affect the ratio, which was distributed almost bimodally. We suggest that this stepwise dynamic in PPR indicates changes in ecosystem functioning. Prey richness was controlled by predation when PPR was high and by resources when PPR was low.

The contribution of protected areas to biodiversity conservation is well attested but many taxa in many regions remain dependent on the unprotected wider landscape. To develop conservation plans for large mammals such as the Endangered pygmy hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis of West Africa's Upper Guinea Forests it is critical to understand the importance of unprotected land. Despite being a conservation priority, little is known about the habitat associations of this species, or its distribution across its range. Through a combination of field surveys, species distribution models and community questionnaires we investigated the use of unprotected areas by the pygmy hippopotamus in the Sierra Leone–Liberia border region. We found signs of the species in 128 of 525 1-km2 cells surveyed. Our analysis suggested that the species is reasonably widespread in this region and is associated with major rivers. It occurred close to, but rarely within, large areas of intact forest, and 80.4% of pygmy hippopotamus signs were recorded outside protected areas. The expansion of the protected area network in this area is unrealistic in Sierra Leone and to some extent in Liberia, mainly because of anthropogenic pressure and the overlap of proposed protected areas with mining and logging concessions. Thus pygmy hippopotamus conservation activities in the region need to include programmes on community lands while maintaining a robust network of protected forests. Community-based conservation of the pygmy hippopotamus may prove valuable for other threatened and endemic species that are not confined to protected areas in this region.

Secondary forests account for 40% of all tropical forests yet little is known regarding their suitability as habitat for diurnal large mammals and game birds. This is especially so for second-growth that develops on large areas of degraded land. We address this by investigating assemblages of large-bodied birds and mammals in extensive patches of secondary forest in the Jarí region of the north-eastern Brazilian Amazon, comparing species richness and abundance against that of adjacent undisturbed primary forests. We conducted 184 km of line-transect censuses over a period of 3 mo, and found that although primary and secondary forests held a similar abundance of large vertebrates, the species composition was very different. Secondary forests supported a high abundance of ungulate browsers (0.85 vs 0.44 indiv. per 10 km) and smaller-bodied primates (15.6 vs 4.6 indiv. per 10 km) compared with primary forests. However, large prehensile-tailed primates were absent (black spider monkey Ateles paniscus) or at very low abundance (Guyanan red howler monkey Alouatta macconelli) in secondary forest. The abundance of large frugivorous/granivorous birds was also low in secondary forests compared with primary forests (22.6 vs 37.1 individuals per 10 km, respectively). Faunal assemblages appear to reflect food resource availability. Concurrent vegetation surveys indicated that secondary forests had high levels of terrestrial and understorey browse. Fruit production was largely restricted to pioneer trees such as Bellucia and Inga spp. Although these regenerating forests were an important habitat for large mammals and birds, they were limited in terms of faunal richness, particularly dispersers of large-seeded plants.

We are privileged to publish this interim report on the discovery of open settlement sites of the early Palaeolithic in the Paris basin. The early occupation areas were defined beside the river Yonne at Soucy during gravel-quarrying, which were to produce flint bifaces and débitage and the bones of elephant, rhinoceros, horse and a wealth of other mammals. The sites differed from each other, both in their assemblages and in their location with respect to the old river channels. In the author's analysis this demonstrates signs of subsistence strategy and spatial organisation in the buried valley between 365 and 345 000 years ago.

The forests of the Cameroon-Nigeria transboundary region have been highlighted as a high conservation priority, yet many of the extant forest remnants remain relatively unknown, particularly with regard to the occurrence of large mammals. Between 2002 and 2004 we surveyed the large mammal fauna of the Mone and Ejagham Forest Reserves and the Upper Banyang, Nkwende Hills and Etinde forests of south-west Cameroon. Our objective was to document the extant large mammal species as an important step in the review of government priorities to identify key sites within the region for conservation and management. We reviewed the available literature on mammal distribution and then surveyed the forests for mammal and human signs. Despite a growing illegal commercial trade in wildlife, particularly for bushmeat, many sites retain populations of one or more threatened and locally rare large mammal species of significant conservation importance. Moreover, the sites collectively complement each other in terms of their representation of the threatened large mammal fauna. An emphasis on the enforcement of wildlife legislation and minimizing logging impact are of primary importance for the conservation of large mammals in these and other forest remnants in south-west Cameroon. In addition, at some sites, there already exists community interest in active wildlife management.

A domestic dog was used in two experiments to elucidate the role of epizoochorous seed dispersal of forest plants. First, the dog was walked through forest vegetation at different times of year and its coat analysed for seeds retained within it. The seed content of the coat was compared to seed frequencies in the vegetation. Secondly, seeds of 11 plant species were placed in different positions on the dog, and their persistence in the coat analysed with respect to distance subsequently travelled. The experiments demonstrate that seeds with morphological adaptations to seed dispersal and small seeds of tall species can be caught effectively by a dog’s coat. The morphologically adapted seeds can be dispersed over large distances as long as the dog moves steadily along a road. The same is true for species with small and smooth seeds if they are deposited on the back of the dog, but not if they are placed on its side. Comparisons of these results with the distribution of forest species in a fragmented landscape, indicated that tall species with small seeds and species with morphological adaptations for epizoochorous dispersal are good at colonizing new forest habitats.