The Influence of Avian Biodiversity and a Weedy Understorey on Canopy Arthropod Assembly

Identifying the factor causing species decline from a multitude of potential disturbances is essential for successful management. Invasive species are often drivers of decline, either through direct effects such as recruitment limitation, or through indirect effects such as habitat modification that facilitate biota changes in other taxa. In this study, we tested the importance of bird predation on arthropods in eucalypt canopies in wet sclerophyll forest that had been invaded by the understorey weed Lantana camara. A strong top-down effect is in agreement with studies that show elevated numbers of insectivorous birds, such as the despotic bell miner, Manorina melanophrys, reduce damaging herbivorous insect numbers and their effect on tree health. Abundance, order and family composition were compared among sites, feeding guilds, among the presence and absence of a despotic bird, and among presence and absence within sites, using a three-way nested Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), and tested our representation of insect feeding guilds with rarefaction curves. In total, we found arthropods from 20 families on eucalypt trees, 16 where bell miners were present and 18 where they were absent (a sampling efficiency of 78% and 92% of families based on the Chao-I index). Overall, there was a difference in the abundance of insects in areas where bell miners were present (n = 181), and where they were absent (n = 67). There was also a difference in the families present in areas with bell miners and without them. Under some conditions, despotic birds may not change the insect canopy community. Further studies should examine the effects of a despotic bird on the insect canopy community in a variety of conditions and throughout their range.

Insect herbivory along environmental gradients

There is a general assumption in the literature that insect herbivory increases towards the tropics, but decreases with increasing altitude. Similar generalities have been identified along other environmental gradients, such as resource, temperature, climatic and biotic gradients. However there is growing evidence in the scientific literature that such generalities are not consistent. This could be due to a number of reasons including the lack of consistency in the way herbivory is assessed such as different methodologies used by researchers, or fundamental differences in leaf damage caused by different types of insect herbivores. Here we assess 61 publications researching insect herbivory along a range of environmental gradients (both biotic and abiotic) and review the methods that researchers have used to collected their data. We found leaf chewing from samples collected in North America dominated the field and most studies assessed herbivory on a single host plant species. Thirty three percent of the studies assessed latitudinal gradients, while 10% assessed altitudinal gradients. Insect herbivory was most commonly expressed as percentage leaf damage using point herbivory. Fewer studies measured a range of different types of herbivory (such as sap sucking, leaf mining, galling, and root feeding) as leaves aged. From our synthesis, we hope that future research into insect herbivory along environmental gradients will take into account herbivory other than just leaf chewing, such as sap sucking, which may cause more damage to plants. Future research should also assess herbivory as a rate, rather than just a single point in time as damage to a young leaf may be more costly to a plant than damage to a mature or senescing leaf. Measurements of plant traits will also assist in comparing herbivory across habitats, plant species, and within species physiological variation. The true impacts that insects have on plants via herbivory along environmental gradients are still poorly understood.

Truffle-like fungi sporocarps in a eucalypt-dominated landscape: patterns in diversity and community structure

Truffle-like fungi are highly diverse yet poorly known in Australia.To assess the species richness,biomass,and community assemblages of truffle-like fungi in different habitats we sampled sporocarps of truffle-like fungi in three eucalypt-dominated forest types(grassy woodland,wet sclerophyll forest,and dry sclerophyll forest)once in summer and once in winter,at two sites(Mount Kaputar and New England)in northern New South Wales,Australia.One hundred and eighteen species in 35 genera were collected;over half(51.7%)of the species were undescribed.Grassy woodland and wet forest communities had greater species richness and a lower standing crop than dry forest communities.Species richness and standing crop was greater in winter than in summer.Overall,species from the family Russulaceae,and the genera Dermocybe,Descomyces,and Hysterangium were dominant.Community composition varied among forest types and each forest type exhibited a suite of unique and common species,although much variation was unexplained.Variation in community structure was associated with some habitat attributes;at Mount Kaputar,woody plant species richness,canopy cover,litter depth,soil phosphorous,and elevation helped explain the sporocarp communities of different forest types,while at New England,woody plant species richness,rainfall,topographic aspect,soil texture,and soil nitrogen helped explain communities.This work contributes to knowledge of trufflelike fungal diversity,the factors affecting sporocarp distribution across landscapes,and the availability of sporocarps as a food resource for mycophagous mammals.Greater understanding of fungal diversity and mammal-fungal interactions also has important implications for managing forest biodiversity.

Responding to the weather:energy budgeting by a small mammal in the wild

Energy conservation is paramount for small mammals because of their small size,large surface area to volume ratio,and the resultant high heat loss to the environment.To survive on limited food resources and to fuel their expensive metabolism during activity,many small mammals employ daily torpor to reduce energy expenditure during the rest phase.We hypothesized that a small terrestrial semelparous marsupial,the brown antechinus Antechinus stuartii,would maximize activity when foraging conditions were favorable to gain fat reserves before their intense breeding period,but would increase torpor use when conditions were poor to conserve these fat reserves.Female antechinus were trapped and implanted with small temperature-sensitive radio transmitters to record body temperature and to quantify torpor expression and activity patterns in the wild.Most antechinus used torpor at least once per day over the entire study period.Total daily torpor use increased and mean daily body temperature decreased significantly with a reduction in minimum ambient temperature.Interestingly,antechinus employed less torpor on days with more rain and decreasing barometric pressure.In contrast to torpor expression,activity was directly related to ambient temperature and inversely related to barometric pressure.Our results reveal that antechinus use a flexible combination of physiology and behavior that can be adjusted to manage their energy budget according to weather variables.