Arthropod Distribution in a Tropical Rainforest: Tackling a Four Dimensional Puzzle

Quantifying the spatio-temporal distribution of arthropods in tropical rainforests represents a first step towards scrutinizing the global distribution of biodiversity on Earth. To date most studies have focused on narrow taxonomic groups or lack a design that allows partitioning of the components of diversity. Here, we consider an exceptionally large dataset (113,952 individuals representing 5,858 species), obtained from the San Lorenzo forest in Panama, where the phylogenetic breadth of arthropod taxa was surveyed using 14 protocols targeting the soil, litter, understory, lower and upper canopy habitats, replicated across seasons in 2003 and 2004. This dataset is used to explore the relative influence of horizontal, vertical and seasonal drivers of arthropod distribution in this forest. We considered arthropod abundance, observed and estimated species richness, additive decomposition of species richness, multiplicative partitioning of species diversity, variation in species composition, species turnover and guild structure as components of diversity. At the scale of our study (2km of distance, 40m in height and 400 days), the effects related to the vertical and seasonal dimensions were most important. Most adult arthropods were collected from the soil/litter or the upper canopy and species richness was highest in the canopy. We compared the distribution of arthropods and trees within our study system. Effects related to the seasonal dimension were stronger for arthropods than for trees. We conclude that: (1) models of beta diversity developed for tropical trees are unlikely to be applicable to tropical arthropods; (2) it is imperative that estimates of global biodiversity derived from mass collecting of arthropods in tropical rainforests embrace the strong vertical and seasonal partitioning observed here; and (3) given the high species turnover observed between seasons, global climate change may have severe consequences for rainforest arthropods.     

Vertical stratification of rainforest collembolan (Collembola: Insecta) assemblages: description of ecological patterns and hypotheses concerning their generation

We describe a complex vertical stratification of collembolan assemblages from rainforest leaf litter samples and identify distinct assemblages associated with forest floor, lower canopy and upper canopy samples. Leaf litter samples were collected from the forest floor and deposits of leaf litter suspended in epiphytes in the canopy of a subtropical rainforest site at Lamington National Park in southeast Queensland. The patterns of relationship among assemblages of Collembola extracted from these samples were examined using a variety of analyses of a matrix of similarities between samples. The results of ANOSIM analyses showed that forest floor, lower canopy and tipper canopy samples formed discrete groups. These results permit a discussion of these groups as three distinct collembolan assemblages. Analysis of the dissimilarities between these assemblages revealed a gradient of similarity from the forest floor through the lower to the upper canopy. This gradient represents a more complex vertical stratification than has previously been identified in rainforest canopy arthropods. We suggest that limitations on the dispersal of some forest floor species into the canopy may be responsible for this pattern. We also identify a second gradient of similarities among these assemblages. We show that dissimilarity among samples from forest floor is significantly lower than dissimilarity among samples from within the lower canopy, and that the level of dissimilarity between samples from within the upper canopy is significantly higher again. We suggest that dispersal barriers and higher probabilities of extinction in upper canopy collembolan colonies may be responsible for higher heterogeneity of species composition and abundance among samples from the upper canopy. We outline a number of testable hypotheses aimed at determining the importance of these processes in producing the patterns we have observed.     

车八岭山地常绿阔叶林冰灾后土壤节肢动物群落的多样性

2008年初车八岭山地常绿阔叶林受到中国南方80年一遇的冰灾的重创。为了揭示灾后林冠开度的梯度对土壤节肢动物多样性与分布的影响, 在受冰灾影响的车八岭山地常绿阔叶林设置2 ha固定样地, 按照冠层受损程度选取17个20 m×20 m的样方, 用半球面影像技术获取林冠开度, 并分凋落物层、0–10 cm和10–20 cm的矿质土层采集凋落物及土壤样品, 分析土壤节肢动物多样性。利用双向聚类分析(two-way cluster analysis)对凋落物层的土壤节肢动物和样地进行聚类, 以典范对应分析(canonical correspondence analysis)研究冠层开度、土壤有机质、电导率以及自然含水量与0–10 cm表土层土壤节肢动物的关系。结果表明土壤节肢动物的多度、丰富度和多样性随土壤层的加深而下降, 具有明显的表聚性; 林冠开度与凋落物层的土壤节肢动物类群数量呈负相关; 甲螨亚目、中气门亚目和前气门亚目动物对光照的适应范围广; 膜翅目、鞘翅目幼虫、综合纲和伪蝎目动物具有明显的避光性; 土壤节肢动物类群的分布与林冠开度、土壤自然含水量、电导率和有机质关系密切。因此可以推论, 冰灾对车八岭山地常绿阔叶林冠层的破坏及土壤因子的变化会进一步影响土壤节肢动物群落的组成和分布。本项研究还表明, 土壤节肢动物群落能有效地表征它们所栖息的生态系统的特点, 可用于监测冰灾后森林恢复和演替动态。而双向聚类分析和典范对应分析对于揭示土壤节肢动物的空间异质性及其与环境因子的相互关系具有理想的效果。     

Wasp community responses to habitat complexity in Sydney sandstone forests

Abstract Habitat structure and complexity affect the diversity and composition of fauna in a number of systems. We investigated patterns in wasp species richness, abundance and composition and also their associations with habitat complexity in Sydney sandstone forests, Australia. Pitfall and flight‐intercept traps collected dissimilar wasp assemblages. High complexity habitats supported greater abundance and species richness and a dissimilar composition of pitfall‐trapped wasps to low complexity habitats. Soil moisture, tree canopy cover, ground herb cover and shrub canopy cover all had significant positive associations with the species richness of pitfall‐trapped wasps. Although the five most abundant families of wasps we trapped are endoparasitoids of other arthropods, they showed a variety of preferences for habitat variables. The mechanisms driving associations between habitat complexity and patterns in wasp communities may also provide a basis for understanding factors influencing the regulation of arthropod assemblages by wasps in agricultural and natural landscapes.     

A Canopy Trimming Experiment in Puerto Rico: The Response of Litter Invertebrate Communities to Canopy Loss and Debris Deposition in a Tropical Forest Subject to Hurricanes

Hurricanes cause canopy removal and deposition of pulses of litter to the forest floor. A Canopy Trimming Experiment (CTE) was designed to decouple these two factors, and to investigate the separate abiotic and biotic consequences of hurricane-type damage and monitor recovery processes. As part of this experiment, effects on forest floor invertebrate communities were studied using litterbags. Canopy opening resulted in increased throughfall, soil moisture and light levels, but decreased litter moisture. Of these, only throughfall and soil moisture had returned to control levels 9 months after trimming. Canopy opening was the major determinant of adverse changes in forest floor invertebrate litter communities, by reducing diversity and biomass, irrespective of debris deposition, which played a secondary role. Plots subjected to the most disturbance, with canopy removed and debris added, had the lowest diversity and biomass. These two parameters were higher than control levels when debris was added to plots with an intact canopy, demonstrating that increased nutrient potential or habitat complexity can have a beneficial effect, but only if the abiotic conditions are suitable. Animal abundance remained similar over all treatments, because individual taxa responded differently to canopy trimming. Mites, Collembola, and Psocoptera, all microbiovores feeding mainly on fungal hyphae and spores, responded positively, with higher abundance in trimmed plots, whereas all other taxa, particularly predators and larger detritivores, declined in relative abundance. Litterbag mesh size and litter type had only minor effects on communities, and canopy trimming and debris deposition explained most variation between sites. Effects of trimming on diversity, biomass, and abundance of some invertebrate taxa were still seen when observations finished and canopy closure was complete at 19 months. This suggests that disturbance has a long-lasting effect on litter communities and may, therefore, delay detrital processing, depending on the severity of canopy damage and rate of regrowth.     

Area size mediates the role of arthropods on ecosystem functioning

Several impacts arising from anthropogenic activities hinder ecosystem properties, but the effects of habitat area size on ecosystem functioning remain little known. We aimed to evaluate the effects of area size, and the associated abundance and species richness of collembola, oribatid mites and other arthropods on litter decomposition, phosphorus and nitrogen release within tropical forests. We designed a natural mesocosm experiment with plots varying in area size (0.16 – 3.24 m²), with both a control and a faunal limitation treatment (naphthalene addition). After 240 days we found lower litter decomposition and higher phosphorus release (both about 30%) in litterbags from the faunal limitation treatment. However, variations on these ecosystem properties were not related to area size, arthropod richness or abundance in this treatment, likely because of the loss of key species. Conversely, plots without faunal limitation showed a positive linear effect of area size on decomposition, and interactive effects among area size and collembolan richness, abundance and other arthropod richness. The larger the area, the smaller the positive role of collembola and other arthropod richness on decomposition, while the opposite pattern occurred for collembolan abundance. The indirect effects of arthropods on decomposition have a more significant role within smaller areas, which have a restricted microbial community with a lower array of fungal enzymes and foraging strategies available. As far as we know, this is the first evidence that the role of arthropods in decomposition may be mediated by area size, but only when arthropod biodiversity has not been reduced. We highlight the need for further assessments of these relationships in larger scales, while also measuring microbial communities, as the impact of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning may be even greater when coupled with habitat loss.     

Species diversity in spatial and temporal dimensions of fruit-feeding butterflies from two Ecuadorian rainforests

To test the hypotheses that butterflies in an intact lowland rainforest are randomly distributed in space and time, a guild of nymphalid butterflies was sampled at monthly intervals for one year by trapping 883 individuals of 91 species in the canopy and understory of four contiguous, intact forest plots and one naturally occurring lake edge. The overall species abundance distribution was well described by a log-normal distribution. Total species diversity (γ-diversity) was partitioned into additive components within and among community subdivisions (α-diversity and β-diversity) in vertical, horizontal and temporal dimensions. Although community subdivisions showed high similarity (l-β-diversity/γ-diversity), significant β-diversity existed in each dimension. Individual abundance and observed species richness were lower in the canopy man in the understory, but rarefaction analysis suggested that the underlying species richness was similar in both canopy and understory. Observed species richness varied among four contiguous forest plots, and was lowest in the lake edge plot. Rarefaction and species accumulation curves showed that one forest plot and the lake edge had significantly lower species richness than other forest plots. Within any given month, only a small fraction of total sample species richness was represented by a single plot and height (canopy or understory). Comparison of this study to a similar one done in disturbed forest showed diat butterfly diversity at a naturally occurring lake edge differed strongly from a pasture-forest edge. Further comparison showed that species abundance distributions from intact and disturbed forest areas had variances that differed significandy, suggesting mat in addition to extrapolation, rarefaction and species accumulation techniques, the shapes of species abundance distributions are fundamental to assessing diversity among sites. This study shows the necessity for long-term sampling of diverse communities in space and time to assess tropical insect diversity among different areas, and the need of such studies is discussed in relation to tropical ecology and quick surveys in conservation biology.     

Terrestrial Invertebrate Community Structure as an Indicator of the Success of a Tropical Rainforest Restoration Project

Rainforest restoration is a relatively new endeavor, and few attempts have been made to assess the success of such restoration efforts in terms of the reestablishment of an ecosystem. Small plantings of rainforest tree species have been carried out adjacent to mature rainforest at Lake Barrine National Park in North Queensland, Australia, since 1988. The aim of this project was to assess the leaf litter invertebrate fauna of these plantings as indicators of the success of the restoration process. Plots planted in 1988, 1989, and 1990, as well as adjacent mature rainforest, were sampled in the wet and dry seasons of 1994. Invertebrates were extracted from leaf litter samples with Berlese Funnels and sorted to order. Diversity, the abundance of different size classes and orders of invertebrates, and the abundance of different functional groups were examined. In most respects the 1988 plot was found to differ little from the mature rainforest plots, whereas the 1990 plot lacked small and predatory invertebrates, especially in the dry season. The 1989 plot was intermediate in invertebrate abundance and diversity. The use of partially deciduous trees in the 1989 and 1990 plots, resulting in lower canopy cover at the driest time of the year, may have contributed significantly to the differences found between the early and later plantings. It is recommended that trees that provide good canopy cover year-round be used as dominant species in plantings to facilitate the development of a leaf litter ecosystem that can be sustained throughout the year.     

土壤微生物多样性通过共现网络复杂性表征高寒草甸生态系统多功能性

土壤微生物多样性在生态系统功能的维持方面发挥着至关重要的作用,但是土壤生物多样性与生态系统功能（Biodiversity-ecosystem function,BEF）关系仍存在争议。以往的研究多基于简单多样性指标（如物种数、香浓多样性指数等）对BEF关系进行探究,忽略了物种间复杂的相互作用在BEF关系中的重要性。以青藏高原米拉山高寒草甸为研究对象,使用Illumina MiSeq高通量测序技术测定了6个海拔高度（3755 m、3994 m、4225 m、4534 m、4900 m、5120 m）土壤细菌和真菌群落特征,分析了简单微生物多样性指标（物种数）和共现网络复杂性与生态系统多功能性（Ecosystem multifunctionality,EMF）的关系,以期进一步揭示微生物多样性与EMF的关系。共现网络分析表明,表征土壤细菌和真菌网络复杂性的节点（Node）和边（Link）沿海拔高度的升高显著下降（P<0.05）。土壤细菌和真菌的多样性和网络复杂性均沿海拔的升高显著下降（P<0.05）,而且网络复杂性比相应的多样性下降明显。在未控制环境因素时,真菌和细菌的多样性和网络复杂性均与EMF显著正相关（P<0.05）;其中真菌和细菌网络复杂性对EMF的解释度高于相应多样性对EMF的解释度。通过偏回归分析（Partial least squares regression,PLSR）控制年降水、年均温、黏粒含量、盐基离子和酸性离子等气候及土壤环境因子影响后,土壤细菌和真菌物种多样性与EMF的显著正相关关系变为不相关（P>0.05）,而网络复杂性与EMF的显著正相关关系（P<0.05）仍然存在。利用方差分解分析（Variance partition analysis,VPA）将环境因子纳入对EMF的影响后发现,土壤微生物网络复杂性和环境因子对EMF变化的解释度可达80%,高于土壤微生物多样性与环境因子对EMF变化的解释度。结构方程模型（Structural equation model,SEM）分析进一步显示,土壤细菌多样性和真菌多样性通过促进对应共现网络的复杂性,间接对EMF产生正向影响。综上所述,相较于简单的多样性指标,土壤微生物网络复杂性对EMF具有更好的解释度和预测性,微生物多样性主要通过促进网络复杂性间接正向影响EMF。研究结果扩展了BEF关系的研究,证明微生物物种多样性主要通过促进对应的网络复杂性维持EMF。     

Past Human Disturbance Effects upon Biodiversity are Greatest in the Canopy; A Case Study on Rainforest Butterflies

A key part of tropical forest spatial complexity is the vertical stratification of biodiversity, with widely differing communities found in higher rainforest strata compared to terrestrial levels. Despite this, our understanding of how human disturbance may differentially affect biodiversity across vertical strata of tropical forests has been slow to develop. For the first time, how the patterns of current biodiversity vary between three vertical strata within a single forest, subject to three different types of historic anthropogenic disturbance, was directly assessed. In total, 229 species of butterfly were detected, with a total of 5219 individual records. Butterfly species richness, species diversity, abundance and community evenness differed markedly between vertical strata. We show for the first time, for any group of rainforest biodiversity, that different vertical strata within the same rainforest, responded differently in areas with different historic human disturbance. Differences were most notable within the canopy. Regenerating forest following complete clearance had 47% lower canopy species richness than regenerating forest that was once selectively logged, while the reduction in the mid-storey was 33% and at ground level, 30%. These results also show for the first time that even long term regeneration (over the course of 30 years) may be insufficient to erase differences in biodiversity linked to different types of human disturbance. We argue, along with other studies, that ignoring the potential for more pronounced effects of disturbance on canopy fauna, could lead to the underestimation of the effects of habitat disturbance on biodiversity, and thus the overestimation of the conservation value of regenerating forests more generally.     

Predator–prey ratios on cocoa along a land-use gradient in Indonesia

Tropical landscapes are dominated by agroecosystems, but the potential value of agroecosystems for the survival of species is often overlooked. In agroecosystems, species conservation is especially important when functional groups such as predators are affected. In Central Sulawesi, we sampled arthropods on cocoa in a gradient of land-use intensity from extensively used forest gardens to intensively used agroforestry systems. The abundance and diversity of all arthropods did not correlate with land-use intensity, so human impact was not followed by high species losses. However, the number of species and abundance of the phytophagous arthropods increased and that of the entomophagous arthropods decreased with land-use intensity. The reduced predator–prey ratio in intensified systems can be related to their reduced species richness of shade trees and the changed microclimate (increased temperature, decreased humidity and canopy cover). In conclusion, transformation of traditional into intensified agroforestry systems had a great impact on arthropod community structure on cocoa. Since predator–prey ratios decreased with increasing land-use intensity, local farmers should have least pest problems in the traditionally diversified agroforestry systems.     

A New Design and some Preliminary Results for a Flight Intercept Trap to Sample Forest Canopy Arthropods

With increasing interest in describing the arthropod fauna of rainforest canopies, there is also a need for different trapping techniques which, in combination, will allow a greater proportion of the fauna to be sampled. We describe the design of a flight intercept trap which can be suspended in the rainforest canopy for long periods of time. the flying invertebrate fauna was sampled over 5 months at differing heights in rainforest of northern Queensland using this trap. Invertebrate abundance and higher taxon richness was greatest at the ground level compared to 5 and 10 m above the ground. Similar results were obtained for dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) which were sorted to species. These results contrast with those of other studies using light traps for which insect diversity and abundance was greatest in the rainforest canopy.     

Stratification and diel activity of arthropods in a lowland rainforest in Gabon

The abundance, activity and species richness of arthropods, particularly of insect herbivores, were investigated in the upper canopy and understorey of a lowland rainforest at La Makandé, Gabon. In total 14 161 arthropods were collected with beating, flight interception and sticky traps, from six canopy sites, during the day and at night, from mid-January to mid-March 1999. The effects of stratum were most important, representing between 40 and 70% of the explained variance in arthropod distribution. Site effects represented between 20 and 40% of the variance and emphasized the néed for replication of sampling among canopy sites. Time effects (diel activity) explained a much lower percentage of variance (6–9%). The density and abundance of many arthropod taxa and species were significantly higher in the upper canopy than in the understorey. Arthropod activity was also higher during the day than at night. In particular, insect herbivores were 2.5 times more abundant and twice as speciose in the upper canopy than in the understorey, a probable response to the greater and more diverse food resources in the former stratum. Faunal overlap between the upper canopy and understorey was low. The most dissimilar herbivore communities foraged in the understorey at night and the upper canopy during the day. Further, a taxonomic study of a species-rich genus of herbivore collected there (Agrilus , Coleoptera Buprestidae) confirmed that the fauna of the upper canopy was different, diverse and very poorly known in comparison to that of the understorey. Herbivore turnover between day and night was rather high in the upper canopy and no strong influx of insect herbivores from lower foliage to the upper canopy was detected at night. This suggests that insect herbivores of the upper canopy may be resident and well adapted to environmental conditions there.     

Seasonal variation in populations of panamanian litter frogs and their prey: A comparison of wetter and drier sites

Summary Various species of frogs and toads, belonging to the genera Bufo, Atelopus, Dendrobates, Colostethus, and Eleutherodactylus, occur in the leaf litter in rainforest in Panamá. This study compares the litter communities at two sites in Panamá: Pipeline Road, the drier site, and Carti Road, the wetter site. At both sites, frog abundance is greater in the dry season, when abundance of their prey, the litter arthropods, is greater. Species diversity does not change seasonally at either site; however, species diversity differs strikingly between sites, with Carti Road having the greater species diversity. Similarity in diet does not vary consistently with seasonal changes in food abundance at a single site or with differences in species diversity between sites. These results suggest that neither moisture nor food abundance alone influences the abundance or the diversity of litter frogs at these two sites in Panamá.     

Leaf-Litter Arthropods in Restored Forests in the Colombian Andes: A Comparison Between Secondary Forest and Tree Plantations

Tree monocultures of native and exotic species are frequently used as tools to catalyze forest recovery throughout the tropics. Although plantations may rapidly develop a canopy cover, they need to be evaluated as habitat for other organisms. We compared samples of leaf‐litter arthropods from two elevations in restored forest in the Colombian Andes. At the upper elevation (2,430 m), we compared native Andean alder (Alnus acuminata) plantation and secondary forest, and at the lower elevation (1,900 m) exotic Chinese ash (Fraxinus chinensis) plantation and secondary forest. Samples were obtained in two periods, March–April and September 1995. Species richness and abundance of arthropods were highest in secondary forest at the lower elevation. There were no differences in richness between both plantations and high‐elevation forest. Arthropod richness and abundance increased in the second sampling period in both secondary forest types and the ash plantation but not in the alder plantation, reflecting population recovery after the dry season. Alder leaf litter apparently buffered seasonal variations in arthropod richness and abundance. Composition of morphospecies was different among forest types. Although arthropod richness was lower in ash plantations compared to secondary forest, plantations still provided habitat for these organisms. On the other hand, the alder plantation was not different from secondary forest at the same elevation. At our site, plantations are embedded in a forested landscape. Whether our results apply to different landscape configurations and at different spatial scales needs to be established. The use of plantations as a restoration tool depends on the objectives of the project and on local conditions of forest cover and soils.     

Dynamics of the Leaf-Litter Arthropod Fauna Following Fire in a Neotropical Woodland Savanna

Fire is an important agent of disturbance in tropical savannas, but relatively few studies have analyzed how soil-and-litter dwelling arthropods respond to fire disturbance despite the critical role these organisms play in nutrient cycling and other biogeochemical processes. Following the incursion of a fire into a woodland savanna ecological reserve in Central Brazil, we monitored the dynamics of litter-arthropod populations for nearly two years in one burned and one unburned area of the reserve. We also performed a reciprocal transplant experiment to determine the effects of fire and litter type on the dynamics of litter colonization by arthropods. Overall arthropod abundance, the abundance of individual taxa, the richness of taxonomic groups, and the species richness of individual taxa (Formiciade) were lower in the burned site. However, both the ordinal-level composition of the litter arthropod fauna and the species-level composition of the litter ant fauna were not dramatically different in the burned and unburned sites. There is evidence that seasonality of rainfall interacts with fire, as differences in arthropod abundance and diversity were more pronounced in the dry than in the wet season. For many taxa the differences in abundance between burned and unburned sites were maintained even when controlling for litter availability and quality. In contrast, differences in abundance for Collembola, Formicidae, and Thysanoptera were only detected in the unmanipulated samples, which had a lower amount of litter in the burned than in the unburned site throughout most of our study period. Together these results suggest that arthropod density declines in fire-disturbed areas as a result of direct mortality, diminished resources (i.e., reduced litter cover) and less favorable microclimate (i.e., increased litter desiccation due to reduction in tree cover). Although these effects were transitory, there is evidence that the increasingly prevalent fire return interval of only 1–2 years may jeopardize the long-term conservation of litter arthropod communities.     

Tree diversity drives diversity of arthropod herbivores,but successional stage mediates detritivores

The high tree diversity of subtropical forests is linked to the biodiversity of other trophic levels. Disentangling the effects of tree species richness and composition, forest age, and stand structure on higher trophic levels in a forest landscape is important for understanding the factors that promote biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Using a plot network spanning gradients of tree diversity and secondary succession in subtropical forest, we tested the effects of tree community characteristics (species richness and composition) and forest succession (stand age) on arthropod community characteristics (morphotype diversity, abundance and composition) of four arthropod functional groups. We posit that these gradients differentially affect the arthropod functional groups, which mediates the diversity, composition, and abundance of arthropods in subtropical forests. We found that herbivore richness was positively related to tree species richness. Furthermore, the composition of herbivore communities was associated with tree species composition. In contrast, detritivore richness and composition was associated with stand age instead of tree diversity. Predator and pollinator richness and abundance were not strongly related to either gradient, although positive trends with tree species richness were found for predators. The weaker effect of tree diversity on predators suggests a cascading diversity effect from trees to herbivores to predators. Our results suggest that arthropod diversity in a subtropical forest reflects the net outcome of complex interactions among variables associated with tree diversity and stand age. Despite this complexity, there are clear linkages between the overall richness and composition of tree and arthropod communities, in particular herbivores, demonstrating that these trophic levels directly impact each other.     

Could the Canopy Structure of Bryophytes Serve as an Indicator of Microbial Biodiversity? A Test for Testate Amoebae and Microcrustaceans from a Subtropical Cloud Forest in Dominican Republic

The mechanisms that ultimately regulate the diversity of microbial eukaryotic communities in bryophyte ecosystems remain a contentious topic in microbial ecology. Although there is robust consensus that abiotic factors, such as water chemistry of the bryophyte and pH, explain a significant proportion of protist and microcrustacean diversity, there is no systematic assessment of the role of bryophyte habitat complexity on such prominent microbial groups. Water-holding capacity is correlated with bryophyte morphology and canopy structure. Similarly, canopy structure explains biodiversity dynamics of the macrobiota suggesting that canopy structure may also be a potential parameter for understanding microbial diversity. Canopy roughness of the dominant bryophyte species within the Bahoruco Cloud Forest, Cachote, Dominican Republic, concomitant with their associated diversity of testate amoebae and microcrustaceans was estimated to determine whether canopy structure could be added to the list of factors explaining microbial biodiversity in bryophytes. We hypothesized that smooth (with high moisture content) canopies will have higher species richness, density, and biomass of testate amoebae and higher richness and density of microcrustaceans than rough (desiccation-prone) canopies. For testate amoebae, we found 83 morphospecies with relative low abundances. Species richness and density differed among bryophytes with different bryophyte canopy structures and based on non-metric multidimensional scaling, canopy roughness explained 25% of the variation in species composition although not as predicted. Acroporium pungens (low roughness, LR) had the lowest species richness (2 ± 0.61 SD per gram dry weight bryophyte), and density (2.1 ± 0.61 SD individual per gram of dry weight bryophyte); whereas Thuidium urceolatum (high roughness) had the highest richness (24 ± 10.82 SD) and density (94 ± 64.30 SD). The fact that the bryophyte with the highest roughness had the highest levels of diversity for testate amoebae suggests that moisture levels at the level of the bryophyte canopy may not represent a biodiversity driver in a cloud forest with high relative humidity; however, high roughness could generate a dynamic and fluctuating moisture environment with concomitant alternating microbial communities. A total of 26 microcrustacean morphospecies were found across 11 bryophytes; however, no bryophyte canopy effect was detected on their richness and density. Microcrustacean mean density was low ranging from less than one individual per 50 cm2 of bryophyte in Leucobryum (LR) to a maximum of 6 ± 3.37 SD individuals/50 cm2 in Monoclea (LR). This lack of pattern suggests that possible explanatory variables may be related to larger scale processes than those examined in this study.     

Bamboo dominance reduces tree regeneration in a disturbed tropical forest

Human disturbance may change dominance hierarchies of plant communities, and may cause substantial changes in biotic environmental conditions if the new dominant species have properties that differ from the previous dominant species. We examined the effects of bamboos (Bambusa tulda and Cephalostachyum pergracile) and their litter on the overall woody seedling abundance, species richness and diversity in a mixed deciduous forest in northeastern Thailand. These bamboo species are gaining dominance after human disturbance. Our results show that seedling abundance and species richness were reduced by bamboo canopies. Seedling abundance and species diversity under bamboo canopies were affected by bamboo litter, whereas seedling abundance and species diversity outside bamboo canopies did not respond to the mixed-tree litter manipulation. Removal of bamboo litter increased seedling abundance and species diversity. However, bamboo litter addition did not affect seedling abundance or species diversity compared to either control or litter removal. This may indicate that the effect of natural amount of bamboo litter is as high as for litter addition in preventing seedling establishment by woody species and hence in minimizing resource competition. We conclude that undergrowth bamboos and their litter affect tree seedling regeneration differently from mixed-tree litter, causing changes in plant community composition and species diversity. Increased human disturbance, causing a shift in dominance structure of these forests, may result in a concomitant reduction in their overall woody species abundance, richness and diversity. Thus, management of bamboos by controlling their distribution in areas of high bamboo density can be an important forest restoration method.     

Leaf litter inputs reinforce islands of nitrogen fertility in a lowland tropical forest

The role of lowland tropical forest tree communities in shaping soil nutrient cycling has been challenging to elucidate in the face of high species diversity. Previously, we showed that differences in tree species composition and canopy foliar nitrogen (N) concentrations correlated with differences in soil N availability in a mature Costa Rican rainforest. Here, we investigate potential mechanisms explaining this correlation. We used imaging spectroscopy to identify study plots containing 10–20 canopy trees with either high or low mean canopy N relative to the landscape mean. Plots were restricted to an uplifted terrace with relatively uniform parent material and climate. In order to assess whether canopy and soil N could be linked by litterfall inputs, we tracked litter production in the plots and measured rates of litter decay and the carbon and N content of leaf litter and leaf litter leachate. We also compared the abundance of putative N fixing trees and rates of free-living N fixation as well as soil pH, texture, cation exchange capacity, and topographic curvature to assess whether biological N fixation and/or soil properties could account for differences in soil N that were, in turn, imprinted on the canopy. We found no evidence of differences in legume communities, free-living N fixation, or abiotic properties. However, soils beneath high canopy N assemblages received ~ 60% more N via leaf litterfall due to variability in litter N content between plot types. The correlation of N in canopy leaves, leaf litter, and soil suggests that, under similar abiotic conditions, litterfall-mediated feedbacks can help maintain soil N differences among tropical tree assemblages in this diverse tropical forest.