Length-mass relationships among an assemblage of tropical snakes in Costa Rica

1990 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Guyer ◽  
Maureen A. Donnelly
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Morphological Diversity ◽  
Relative Mass ◽  
Mass Measurements ◽  
La Selva

ABSTRACTLength-mass relationships within an assemblage of tropical snakes are used to describe morphological groups. We report patterns of body size based on length and mass measurements of 603 individual snakes of 27 species captured at La Selva, Costa Rica from March 1982 through August 1984. This assemblage of snakes is composed of at least four morphological groups each of which consists of species with similar habitat preferences. These groups are heavy-bodied terrestrial forms, light-bodied arboreal forms, long-tailed leaf-litter forms, and forms of unextreme relative mass and tail length. This tropical snake assemblage is more diverse in species richness and morphological diversity than a temperate assemblage.

scholarly journals Exquisitely Preserved Fossil Snakes of Messel: Insight into the Evolution, Biogeography, Habitat Preferences and Sensory Ecology of Early Boas

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agustín Scanferla ◽  
Krister T. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
New World ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Sensory Ecology ◽  
Morphological Diversity ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Upper Jaw ◽  
Spectrum Evaluation ◽  
Insight Into

Our knowledge of early evolution of snakes is improving, but all that we can infer about the evolution of modern clades of snakes such as boas (Booidea) is still based on isolated bones. Here, we resolve the phylogenetic relationships of Eoconstrictor fischeri comb. nov. and other booids from the early-middle Eocene of Messel (Germany), the best-known fossil snake assemblage yet discovered. Our combined analyses demonstrate an affinity of Eoconstrictor with Neotropical boas, thus entailing a South America-to-Europe dispersal event. Other booid species from Messel are related to different New World clades, reinforcing the cosmopolitan nature of the Messel booid fauna. Our analyses indicate that Eoconstrictor was a terrestrial, medium- to large-bodied snake that bore labial pit organs in the upper jaw, the earliest evidence that the visual system in snakes incorporated the infrared spectrum. Evaluation of the known palaeobiology of Eoconstrictor provides no evidence that pit organs played a role in the predator–prey relations of this stem boid. At the same time, the morphological diversity of Messel booids reflects the occupation of several terrestrial macrohabitats, and even in the earliest booid community the relation between pit organs and body size is similar to that seen in booids today.

scholarly journals Mammal Species Richness at a Catena and Nearby Waterholes during a Drought, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 387
Author(s):  
Beanélri B. Janecke
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Feeding Guilds ◽  
Feeding Guild ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Seasonal Movement ◽  
Herbivore Species ◽  
Small Mammal Species

Catenas are undulating hillslopes on a granite geology characterised by different soil types that create an environmental gradient from crest to bottom. The main aim was to determine mammal species (>mongoose) present on one catenal slope and its waterholes and group them by feeding guild and body size. Species richness was highest at waterholes (21 species), followed by midslope (19) and sodic patch (16) on the catena. Small differences observed in species presence between zones and waterholes and between survey periods were not significant (p = 0.5267 and p = 0.9139). In total, 33 species were observed with camera traps: 18 herbivore species, 10 carnivores, two insectivores and three omnivores. Eight small mammal species, two dwarf antelopes, 11 medium, six large and six mega-sized mammals were observed. Some species might not have been recorded because of drought, seasonal movement or because they travelled outside the view of cameras. Mammal presence is determined by food availability and accessibility, space, competition, distance to water, habitat preferences, predators, body size, social behaviour, bound to territories, etc. The variety in body size and feeding guilds possibly indicates a functioning catenal ecosystem. This knowledge can be beneficial in monitoring and conservation of species in the park.

scholarly journals Assessing the role of habitat and species interactions in the population decline and detection bias of Neotropical leaf litter frogs in and around La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria D. Vera Alvarez ◽  
Christopher Fernandez ◽  
Michael V. Cove
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Population Trends ◽  
Detection Bias ◽  
La Selva ◽  
Biological Station ◽  
La Selva Biological Station

Worldwide, amphibian populations have been declining rapidly. This decline can be attributed to many factors including climate change, pesticide exposure, and emerging infectious diseases, among other important factors, but few studies have examined the influence of species interactions. In this study, we examined how habitat factors and co-occurring avian and mammalian species, as well as humans, exert direct and indirect effects on Neotropical amphibian population dynamics. We further examined how these habitat and species interactions could affect our ability to reliably detect amphibian presence to robustly estimate population trends. We conducted amphibian visual encounter surveys at 26 randomly selected sites in the La Selva Biological Station, in northeastern Costa Rica, as well as 26 sites across five additional forest fragments in the region. Furthermore, we used camera traps to collect data on avian and mammalian communities and human visitation at those amphibian survey plots. From these data, we were able to estimate species occupancy probabilities for leaf litter frogs across sites and their relationships to habitat and interspecific species interaction covariates. We also conducted an experiment with plastic model frogs to estimate detection probabilities when a population is known to occur at a site with certainty. Our results suggested that strawberry poison dart frog (Oophagapumilio) occupancy was positively related to secondary forest and their detection was negatively related to increasing air temperatures at the times of the surveys. Leaf litter frog occupancy was negatively related to core La Selva sites and human detections at sites, yet their detection was positively related to human trail presence, which might be related to reduced leaf litter cover due to heavy trampling. Our experimental surveys suggested that Neotropical leaf litter frog communities are difficult to detect when present and future studies should explicitly account for this detection bias to effectively monitor population trends.

scholarly journals Local and Landscape Drivers of Carabid Activity, Species Richness, and Traits in Urban Gardens in Coastal California

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy M. Philpott ◽  
Simone Albuquerque ◽  
Peter Bichier ◽  
Hamutahl Cohen ◽  
Monika H. Egerer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Functional Group ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Wing Morphology ◽  
Activity Density ◽  
Landscape Factors

Urban ecosystems, as mosaics of residential, industrial, commercial, and agricultural land, present challenges for species survival due to impervious surface, degradation, fragmentation, and modification of natural habitat, pollution, and introduced species. Some urban habitats, such as community gardens, support biodiversity and promote ecosystem services. In gardens, local factors (e.g., vegetation, groundcover) and landscape surroundings (e.g., agriculture, built or impervious cover) may influence species abundance, richness, and functional traits that are present. We examined which local and landscape factors within 19 community gardens in the California central coast influence ground beetle (Carabidae) activity density, species richness, functional group richness, and functional traits—body size, wing morphology, and dispersal ability. Gardens with higher crop richness and that are surrounded by agricultural land had greater carabid activity density, while species and functional group richness did not respond to any local or landscape factor. Gardens with more leaf litter had lower carabid activity, and gardens with more leaf litter tended to have more larger carabids. Changes in local (floral abundance, ground cover) and landscape (urban land cover) factors also influenced the distribution of individuals with certain wing morphology and body size traits. Thus, both local and landscape factors influence the taxonomic and functional traits of carabid communities, with potential implications for pest control services that are provided by carabids.

A new species of the subgenus Scheloribates (Topobates) (Acari: Oribatida: Scheloribatidae) from Panama

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-283
Author(s):  
S.G. Ermilov
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Oribatid Mite ◽  
Neotropical Region ◽  
Large Body Size ◽  
First Time ◽  
A New Species

The oribatid mite subgenus Scheloribates (Topobates) Grandjean, 1958, is recorded from the Neotropical region for the first time. A new species of this subgenus is described from the leaf litter collected in Cayo Agua Island, Panama. Scheloribates (Topobates) panamaensis sp. nov. differs from its related species by the very large body size and presence of a strong ventrodistal process on the leg femora II–IV.

Correlates of Species Richness in Mammals: Body Size, Life History, and Ecology

2005 ◽  
Vol 165 (5) ◽  
pp. 600
Author(s):  
Nick J. B. Isaac ◽  
Jones ◽  
Gittleman ◽  
Purvis
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Body Size

scholarly journals Biodiversity hanging by a thread: the importance of fungal litter-trapping systems in tropical rainforests

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake L. Snaddon ◽  
Edgar C. Turner ◽  
Tom M. Fayle ◽  
Chey V. Khen ◽  
Paul Eggleton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Habitat Complexity ◽  
Tropical Rainforests ◽  
Dramatic Reduction ◽  
Experimental Removal ◽  
Crucial Component ◽  
High Species Richness ◽  
Vital Resource

The exceptionally high species richness of arthropods in tropical rainforests hinges on the complexity of the forest itself: that is, on features such as the high plant diversity, the layered nature of the canopy and the abundance and the diversity of epiphytes and litter. We here report on one important, but almost completely neglected, piece of this complex jigsaw—the intricate network of rhizomorph-forming fungi that ramify through the vegetation of the lower canopy and intercept falling leaf litter. We show that this litter-trapping network is abundant and intercepts substantial amounts of litter (257.3 kg ha −1 ): this exceeds the amount of material recorded in any other rainforest litter-trapping system. Experimental removal of this fungal network resulted in a dramatic reduction in both the abundance (decreased by 70.2 ± 4.1%) and morphospecies richness (decreased by 57.4 ± 5.1%) of arthropods. Since the lower canopy levels can contain the highest densities of arthropods, the proportion of the rainforest fauna dependent on the fungal networks is likely to be substantial. Fungal litter-trapping systems are therefore a crucial component of habitat complexity, providing a vital resource that contributes significantly to rainforest biodiversity.

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