Demographic variation and habitat specialization of tree species in a diverse tropical forest of Cameroon

Background： Many tree species in tropical forests have distributions tracking local ridge-slope-valley topography. Previous work in a 50-ha plot in Korup National Park, Cameroon, demonstrated that 272 species, or 63% of those tested, were significantly associated with topography. Methods： We used two censuses of 329,000 trees ≥1 cm dbh to examine demographic variation at this site that would account for those observed habitat preferences. We tested two predictions. First, within a given topographic habitat, species specializing on that habitat （＇residents＇） should outperform species that are specialists of other habitats （＇foreigners＇）. Second, across different topographic habitats, species should perform best in the habitat on which they specialize （＇home＇） compared to other habitats （＇away＇）. Species＇ performance was estimated using growth and mortality rates. Results： In hierarchical models with species identity as a random effect, we found no evidence of a demographic advantage to resident species. Indeed, growth rates were most often higher for foreign species. Similarly, comparisons of species on their home vs. away habitats revealed no sign of a performance advantage on the home habitat. Conclusions＂ We reject the hypothesis that species distributions along a ridge-valley catena at Korup are caused by species differences in trees _〉1 cm dbh. Since there must be a demographic cause for habitat specialization, we offer three alternatives. First, the demographic advantage specialists have at home occurs at the reproductive or seedling stage, in sizes smaller than we census in the forest plot. Second, species may have higher performance on their preferred habitat when density is low, but when population builds up, there are negative density-dependent feedbacks that reduce performance. Third, demographic filtering may be produced by extreme environmental conditions that we did not observe during the census interval.

Special Issue Introduction-The Whitefly Bemisia tabaci Species Complex and Begomoviruses:Research Progress and Future Prospects

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci species complex and the begomoviruses they transmit are devastating agricultural pests worldwide.With the rapid and further inva-sions by some members of the whitefly species complex into new regions,their impacts on human society are likely to increase in the years to come.

Nest site selection and reproductive parameters of the threatened Atlantic Royal Flycatcher(Onychorhynchus swainsoni)and their significance for conservation

Background:Patterns of rarity can be explained by reproductive rates,levels of endemism,and habitat specificity,and knowledge on these parameters is important to understand the levels of vulnerability of each species and to formulate conservation strategies.Here,we studied nest-site selection and breeding biology of the Atlantic Royal Flycatcher(Onychorhynchus swainsoni),a poorly known vulnerable bird endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.Methods:We addressed nest site selection in three different levels:first,we searched for nests near and far from water to investigate whether birds could select water proximities to construct nests;second,we examined if they could select certain streams in detriment of others,and we analyzed the characteristics of used and non-used streams,and third,in streams in which nests were found,we addressed nest site selectivity by comparing a number of parameters between nest sites and random sites.Further,we provide information on breeding biology parameters related to annual fecundity.Results:During five breeding seasons,we found 23 nests in a well-preserved forest continuum.All of the nests were constructed above water,and they were found in streams that were about 4 m in width,instead of smaller streams with about 1.5 m in width.Modeling analyses revealed that within the used streams,nests were constructed in sites with lower vegetation density in relation to random points,while stream width,water speed,and canopy cover presented no significant correlation.Atlantic Royal Flycatchers in our study had a 22-day incubation period and 24 to 27-day nestling period.Overall nest survival was comparatively high(62%),but clutch size was small(N=2 eggs)and Along the nesting streams,we found an average of 1.62±0.07 breeding pairs/km.Conclusions:These data suggest that nesting habitat specificity and low annual fecundity are among the factors contributing to the rarity of the Atlantic Royal Flycatcher in large forest continuums and to its absence in fragmented environments.It reinforces the importance of large well-preserved forest continuums for the conservation of habitat specialist Atlantic Forest bird species.

Spatial Distribution of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Phytoplankton around Kota Kinabalu Wetland, Sabah, Malaysia

Kota Kinabalu Wetland is importantly habited of mangrove, diverse aquatic flora and fauna as well as feeding stop for migratory birds. This wetland is inundated with the tidal flow, as connected with a small river and nearby coastal areas, thus. A study was carried out to determine the spatial distribution of dissolved inorganic nutrients and phytoplankton diversity at Kota Kinabalu (KK) Wetlands. Five stations, in which river mouth of Likas Bay, river channel (two stations) and inundated area (two stations) in KK Wetland were selected for this study. In-situ parameters of water, water for nutrients and phytoplankton samples were collected from May 2019 until October 2019. The highest concentration of nitrate (0.115 mg/L) was recorded at inundated area of wetland (S5) while the lowest nitrate concentration (0.0047 mg/L) was found at river (S3) flowing towards wetland. The concentrations of ammonia (0.2004 to 2.311 mg/L) were recorded relatively higher at every station compared to other dissolved inorganic nutrients (DIN). The concentration of phosphate was determined in the ranges of 0.0089 - 0.0513 mg/L. Nitrate, ammonia and phosphate showed no significant difference (P = 0.737) in terms of DIN concentration at all five sampling stations during the study period. Twenty-four genera of phytoplankton were identified, dominated by diatoms (55.29%), followed by dinoflagellates (24.95%), Chrysophyta (11.15%), Spirotrichea (5.28%) and Cyanophyta (3.33%). Dominating species throughout the study period include Chaetoceros sp., Pseduo-nitzschia sp., and Cylindrotheca closterium, Peridinium quinquecorne and Alexandrium sp. Phytoplankton species compositions were observed the highest in river mouth area in July with the highest density of 12.115 × 104 cells/mL. The study showed that nutrient concentration was insignificant (P = 0.614) in altering the phytoplankton density, as influences with the tidal water.