Composition, richness and nestedness of gallery forest bird assemblages in an Amazonian savanna landscape: lessons for conservation

Gallery forests are important to the maintenance of a substantial portion of the biodiversity in neotropical savanna regions, but management guidelines specific to this forest type are limited. Here, we use birds as study group to assess if: (1) functional traits can predict the abundance and occupancy of forest species within a savanna landscape, (2) habitat structures influence the taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of forest assemblages, and (3) less diverse gallery forest assemblages are a nested subset of more diverse assemblages living near continuous forests. Then, we propose strategies on how gallery forests can be managed to maintain their species assemblages amidst the fast expansion of human activities across tropical savanna landscapes. We studied 26 sites of gallery forests in an Amazonian savanna landscape and found that: (1) habitat specificity is the only functional trait that predicts species abundance and occupancy across a landscape; (2) phylogenetic diversity is negatively correlated with understory foliage density; (3) the percentage of forests and savannas around sites is positively correlated with both phylogenetic and functional diversity; (4) increasing human activities around gallery forest negatively influences taxonomic and functional diversity; and (5) forest bird assemblages are not distributed at random across the landscape but show a nested pattern caused by selective colonization mediated by habitat filtering. Our combined findings have three implications for the design of conservation strategies for gallery forest bird assemblages. First, maintaining the connectivity between gallery forests and adjacent continuous forests is essential because gallery forest bird assemblages are derived from continuous forest species assemblages. Second, because most species use the savanna matrix to move across the landscape, effectively managing the savanna matrices where gallery forests are embedded is as important to maintaining viable populations of forest bird species as managing the gallery forest themselves. Third, in savanna landscapes planned to be used for agriculture production, protecting gallery forests alone is not enough. Instead, gallery forests should be protected with surrounding savanna buffers to avoid the detrimental effects (edge effects and isolation) of human activities on their biodiversity.

Structure of Plants across Habitat Types in Amurum Forest Reserve, Plateau State Nigeria

The Amurum Forest Reserve is one of the nature reserves in Plateau State North central Nigeria. Strict Nature reserve is prominent among the methods for in situ conservation of biodiversity in Nigeria and also the world at large. A study was conducted in the Forest across three habitat types in order to measure tree height and diameter at breast height (dbh) of trees. 50m x 50m plots were marked across the habitat types by simple random sampling technique. Trees and shrubs were identified to species level. Measurement were limited to all woody plants with diameter at breast height (dbh) of ≥ 10cm. Data collected was analyzed in excel. A total of 397 woody species were identified during the study period. 87.7 of the plants were shrubs while 12.3% were trees. The gallery forest had the highest diameter class(30-35cm) followed by the savanna(25-30cm) and lastly the rocky outcrop with the diameter class of 20-25cm.The rocky outcrop had the highest number of trees with the lowest dbh (10-15cm) while the gallery forest had more trees in the highest diameter class (30-35) (Figure 2). The highest mean height distribution in the Gallery forest shows that the plant communities in this habitat type has grown over the years without disturbance since the place is a protected site. Therefore, other surrounding bushes should be protected in order to preserve species from local extinction.

Fungal diversity in high Andean ecuadorian forest soil

The Andes range in Ecuador presents high biodiversity and characteristic altitudinal gradients, which are frequently threatened by deforestation and farming. In particular, forest have developed in the high inter-Andean alley on volcanic soils forming a unique ecoregion. Little is known on the fungal biodiversity of soil in such high Andean gallery forest submitted to strong degradation pressures. Therefore, in this study we evaluated wether the soil mycobiome was associated with altitudinal gradients during the dry season. Three representative locations were selected based on altitude: A (3,309 meters above the sea level, masl), B (3,809 masl) and C (4,409 masl). High performance sequencing (NGS) of the ITS region of ribosomal DNA genes with Illumina technology was used to explore the fungal taxonomic composition in the soil samples. Our results showed changes in the structure of fungal communities in the different locations, related to the relative abundance of Amplicon Sequence Variants (ASV). Higher fungal diversity was related with the altitudinal gradient with average taxa ranging from 675, 626 and 556 ASVs, respectively from location A to C. The results highlight the complexity and diversity of fungal communities in high Andean forest and the need to protect these unique mycobiomes. The findings in this ecosystem of Ecuador will improve our understanding of distribution, diversity, ecology, and biological perspectives for the restoration of terrestrial microbiomes.

Apparent Densities of Stomoxys species (Diptera, Muscidae) of different Physiological Ages caught with Vavoua Trap differ With Landscape and trapping period

Stable flies (Stomoxys spp.) are common pests of livestock in the peri-urban rangelands of Vina Division of the Adamawa Plateau. No documented information is available on their diurnal dynamics in relation to physiological age and landscape. The main aim of this study was to determine the trap apparent density (ADT) of Stomoxys and associate it to their diurnal activity rhythm and landscape. Vavoua traps (n=12) were used for Stomoxys collection. Trapping was carried out for seven days i.e. three days consecutively in August and four days consecutively in October, 2016. Three traps were pitched in each of the three biotopes (river, cattle corral and gallery forest) of the four study sites (Galim, Mbidjoro, Velambai and Soukourwo). All female Stomoxys captured underwent ovarian dissection for the determination of their physiological ages (parous or nulliparous). A total of 218 Stomoxys were caught and identified into four species (S. niger niger, S. omega, S. calcitrans, and S. xanthomelas) with an overall ADT of 2.59 flies per trap per day and Stomoxys niger niger (1.13 s.n.n. per trap per day) recorded the highest ADT. Species richness was study site dependent. Higher catches of females 113 (51.83%) were made than that of their male 105 (48.17%) counterparts. Galim recorded the highest Stomoxys apparent density (4.90) as compared to other sites with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The proportion of parous 87 (59.30%) was higher than that of their nulliparous 46 (40.71%) counterparts. Parity differed with landscape and capture periods. S. n. niger was the most frequent in all biotopes and Galim recorded the highest ADT. The population of female flies was made up of adults (parous) with a bimodal diurnal activity rhythm whereas males had a unimodal activity rhythm.

Population distribution, conservation status and vulnerability of Ternstroemia cameroonensis Cheek. in the Lebialem Highlands, Cameroon

The study was conducted in the Lebialem Highlands with the aim to assess the population distribution, sustainability and conservation status of Ternstroemia cameroonensis in its natural habitat. A total of 25 circular plots of 10 m diameter were established around T. cameroonensis and all species as well as threat to their sustainability evaluated. Data were collected, entered into excel and various percentages calculated while diameter at breast height of T. cameroonensis and three companion species where analysed in STATGRAPHICS XVII.II and the mean separated. The results revealed that T. cameroonensis is found in six localities, mostly between 1500 m to 2500 m above sea level. The three companion species were Aguaria saliciflora, Cyathea camerooniana and Draceana mannii. The most exploitable individuals were at Agocham (64%) while the least at Fossimondi (25%). The highest percentage of dead stems was recorded in Magha (42.85). Among the exploited stems, 33.33% showed a completely dead crown, whereas 10% regular and healthy. The main part of the species exploited w the bark (100%) and in case the stem gets dry it is exploited as fuel wood. T. cameroonensis was shown to be more vulnerable in Montane forests (2.8) than gallery forest (2.6).

Species composition and community structure of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) compared among savanna and forest formations in the southwestern Brazilian Cerrado

Although dung beetles are important members of ecological communities and indicators of ecosystem quality, species diversity, and how it varies over space and habitat types, remains poorly understood in the Brazilian Cerrado. We compared dung beetle communities among plant formations in the Serra Azul State Park (SASP) in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Sampling (by baited pitfall and flight-interception traps) was carried out in 2012 in the Park in four habitat types: two different savanna formations (typical and open) and two forest formations (seasonally deciduous and gallery). A total of 5,400 individuals collected comprised 57 species in 22 genera. Typical savanna had the greatest species richness and abundance, followed by open savanna and deciduous forest, while the gallery forest had the fewest species but high abundance. Tunnelers (one of three main nesting behavior guilds) showed the greatest richness and abundance (except in the gallery forest, where one dweller species was extremely abundant) in all plant formations. We found that species richness and abundance of the dung beetle community are influenced by differences among plant formations. Habitat heterogeneity in the different plant formations along with anthropic influences (fire, habitat fragmentation) are cited as important factors that explain guild and species richness and distribution patterns. These results emphasize the importance of protected areas, such as SASP, for the maintenance and conservation of species diversity in the Brazilian Cerrado.