Vegetation community and species association of Castanopsis spp. at its habitat in the remnant forest of Cibodas Botanical Garden, Indonesia

Nurdiana DR, Buot IE Jr. 2021. Vegetation community and species association of Castanopsis spp. at its habitat in the remnant forest of Cibodas Botanical Garden, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 4799-4807. Castanopsis is one of the genera of Fagaceae with a large distribution in Indonesia. The genus can be found easily in Java, Sumatera and Kalimantan. Several studies have found an association between Castanopsis and environmental factors dealing with the diversity, dispersal and propagation. So far, there has been no agreement on how Castanopsis interacts with other species within the same genus in nature, especially in the remnant forest under a fragmented state. The objectives of the study were to determine the vegetation associated with Castanopsis and whether each species of the genus Castanopsis co-occur within the remnant forest? A total of 60 plots have been studied in 3 different sites of the remnant forest. The nested sampling method was used to identify the trees, saplings and seedlings. Sixty-seven total species of trees, 140 species of saplings and 121 species of seedlings in Cibodas Botanical Garden remnant forest were recorded. The diversity index for tree, sapling and seedling were 3.5, 3.9 and 4.1, respectively, while evenness index for tree, sapling and seedling were 0.81, 0.8 and 0.85 respectively. The interspecific association of the genus Castanopsis was restricted to C. javanica x C. tungurrut. They are associated positively at sapling stage with Jaccard index of 0.2. However, at tree stage, there was no association out of the pair, C. javanica x C. tungurrut. Competition within genus Castanopsis occurred in the same habitat, though at a lesser degree which needs to be studied further. Dominance of many pioneer species (Oreocnide integrifolia (Gaudich.) Miq., Ostodes paniculata Blume, Cestrum aurantiacum Lindl. and others) at tree stage had been evident. This implies that the Cibodas remnant forest is still in the process of succession towards a more stable climax state.

No Evidence of Competition Between the Blacklegged Tick (Acari: Ixodidae) and American Dog Tick on the Rodent Host White-Footed Deermouse (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in Southwestern Tennessee

Investigations that analyze interspecific associations of vectors on their hosts are important for understanding community structure and implementing ways to comprehend mechanisms of pathogen transmission. We assessed the interspecific association of two tick species (Ixodes scapularis Say (Ixodida: Ixodidae) and Dermacentor variabilis Say (Ixodida: Ixodidae)) on the rodent host Peromyscus leucopus Rafinesque (Rodentia: Cricetidae) at the Hobart Ames Research and Education Center in southwestern Tennessee. Of the rodents captured, 95 (63%) had neither species of tick, 6 (4%) had both tick species, 25 (16%) had I. scapularis only, and 26 (17%) had D. variabilis only. A coefficient of association (C7 = −0.08) was calculated, which suggested there was competition between the two species of ectoparasites, but this value was not significant, indicating that there was a neutral relationship between the tick species on P. leucopus. The co-occurrence of both tick species on their host at the same time suggested that the two tick species can occupy the same host and use the same resources without competing.

Acquisition of Adaptive Traits via Interspecific Association: Ecological Consequences and Applications

Adaptative traits enable organisms to survive and reproduce. Though these traits are often innate features (ones that may or may not exhibit variability in response to environmental cues or originate from horizontal gene transfer), this is not always the case. Many species endure natural selection not with the traits they possess intrinsically but with exogenous substances and abilities that they acquire from other species, via ecological interactions akin to outsourcing, pillaging, and fraud. Here, I review the mechanisms of this exogenous trait acquisition and highlight some of their repercussions and usefulness for natural resource management, industry, and human health.

Interspecific association between brown-nosed coatis and capybaras in an urban area of Brazil

This study aimed to report an interspecific association between brown-nosed coatis (Nasua nasua) and capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in an urban area of Brazil. We recorded N. nasua feeding on ectoparasites (ticks) attached to H. hydrochaeris, which in turns, did not show any reaction of discomfort with the situation. Thus, we report an unprecedented case of protocooperation between apparently unrelated species. Moreover, the interspecies interaction reveals other interesting scenarios as the inclusion of ticks in the diet of N. Nasua and the possibility of parasite transmission and adaptation to a new host species, a phenomenon known as ‘host switching’. We associate these new records as adaptations of wildlife to urbanization, and their effects should be further investigated from both wildlife conservation and ‘One Health’ approach.