Diversity changes can be evaluated at various spatial scales, and the relationship between changes in diversity at the local, landscape and regional scales is not evident. The overall patterns of functional and beta diversity of bird assemblages were evaluated along a five-stage urbanization gradient, censused over the months of January to April in the years 2010–2013, in and around Amravati city, Deccan Plateau, Central India. We expected the abundance of large and predatory species to decline along the gradient, and urbanization to homogenize species richness at the landscape level. Overall, 112,829 birds belonging to 89 species were identified in the region, and species richness decreased from the rural forest (73 species) to more urbanized areas (lowest at the centre of Amravaty city with 29 species). Along the urbanization gradient, bird assemblages contained more small species, and the share of frugivorous and omnivorous species also increased, while that of insectivorous species decreased. Diversity partitioning indicated that of the overall pattern, local (alpha) diversity accounted for 50.1% of the total (gamma) diversity, and urbanization stages another 36.2%; the contribution of within-stage, local diversity was rather small (2.7%), indicating fairly homogeneous assemblages.

Bornean rain forests on phosphorus (P)-poor soils exhibit a high P-use efficiency in the production of reproductive organs (i.e. the inverse of P concentration in reproductive-organ litter). The mechanism underpinning this high P-use efficiency is not known, but is hypothesized to result from dilution of P in a given type of reproductive organ and/or a shift of the community composition of flower/fruit types with decreasing P availability. These hypotheses were tested using eight forests with different soil P availabilities on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Mean P concentration per forest by genus in inflorescences was significantly positively correlated with P availability, while that in seeds or pericarps was not significantly correlated. This trend was consistent across 21 genera that we analysed, suggesting that P concentration in seeds is maintained in exchange with the dilution of P in inflorescences. The composition of fruit types in tree community was estimated based on the relative abundances of genera in each forest. The relative abundance of capsulate species, which required less P in pericarps, tended to increase in tree community with decreasing P availability. Therefore, both mechanisms were involved in P-use efficiency. This work provides an insight into the reproductive adaptation of trees to P deficiency.

Trends in structural and chemical leaf traits along a chronosequence of semi-evergreen tropical forest and their correlation with litter production and decomposition and associated carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) fluxes were assessed. Leaves of 15 dominant species in each plot were collected to measure leaf area, specific leaf area (SLA), C and N concentration and C:N ratio. Litterfall was measured and litter decomposition experiments were set up in 16 experimental plots in a chronosequence of secondary and mature forest. All five leaf traits combined discriminated the secondary forests from mature forest. SLA, N and C:N were significantly correlated to litter decomposition rates. Litter decomposition was significantly slower in mature forest compared with secondary forests. The N concentration of litter was lowest during the dry season, when litterfall was highest. N concentration in fresh leaves was higher than in litter, indicating that N is re-absorbed before leaf abscission. Leaf dynamics and associated nutrient cycling differ significantly between secondary forests and mature forest. Ecosystem-level leaf structural and chemical traits are good predictors of the stage of the forest and explain well the differences in decomposition rates between secondary and primary forests.

Although large herbivore habitat use has been extensively studied, more information is still required on the use of heterogeneous vegetation types. Over 3 y we carried out monthly road transects in the Zambezi National Park (ZNP), Zimbabwe, to determine the impala density in each of five vegetation types. In addition we determined grass and browse chemical composition to test if at the time the impala switches from grass to browse, grass nutritive quality had declined below that of browse. Furthermore, grass height was measured in the five vegetation types. The impala used mixed, acacia and terminalia vegetation types, which constituted 37% of the protected area and avoided grassland and the predominant Zambezi teak (60% of ZNP) vegetation types. At the time of the diet switch by the impala from grass to browse, woody plant leaf nutritive quality was higher than grass in terms of nitrogen, calcium and acid detergent fibre content. The three vegetation types used by the impala had short to medium grass height. We concluded that when the impala switched from grass to browse the grass nutritive quality was lower than that of the browse.

Fungus-growing termites (Macrotermitinae) collect water to air-condition their fungi and have been recorded tunnelling deeper than 80 m for groundwater. This collection of water ultimately results in solute accumulation and nutrient enrichment of their termitaria. We consequently hypothesized that nutrient enrichment of termitaria constructed by fungus-growing termites would be greater than by non-fungus-growing termites. To test this, we compared nutrient enrichment of termitaria of fungus-growing Macrotermes spp. in Namibia and termitaria of two non-fungus-growing termites – Trinervitermes trinervoides in South Africa and Nasutitermes triodiae in Australia. Compared with adjacent topsoils, Macrotermes termitaria were significantly enriched in 18 elements whereas T. trinervoides and N. triodiae termitaria were enriched in only one and five elements, respectively. Nutrients particularly enriched in Macrotermites termitaria included Ca (an enrichment factor of 12), Mg (2.9), Co (2.8), Fe (2.4), Mn (2.3), Se (2.2) and Cu (2.0). We suggest that fungus-growing termites that collect water for air-conditioning their fungi have the potential to inadvertently boost – to a far greater degree than non-fungus-growing termites – the availability of nutrients to local plants and herbivores.

Despite a clear consensus about the major roles that predators play in shaping ecological communities, descriptive studies of interactions between ecologically important top predator species are underreported. Native cane toad consumption of predatory bullet ant nests was verified through multiple, independent observations taken on Pipeline Road, Panama. Cane toad predation led to the extirpation of 42% of the nests within a 1.05 km2 area that is characterized as a late-successional wet forest. This predation pressure could be significant given the high rate of predation events and low bullet ant nest density observed here (0.12 nests ha−1). Implications of this interaction for the local bullet ant population, possible top-down effects and trophic cascades resulting from this top predator interaction are discussed.

Different methods to measure species behaviour and space use may produce diverging results, and provide advantages and shortcomings. Data from spot-mapping of animals might be affected from restricted detectability of individuals in dense vegetation, while radio-tracking provides a less biased (or even unbiased) measure of space use. Here we compare results from spot-mapping and telemetry of four family groups (i.e. five individuals belonging to these four family groups), respectively of the Kenyan endemic cooperative-breeding bird Hinde's babbler, Turdoides hindei. Data from spot-mapping showed that the space use of T. hindei is mostly restricted to riparian vegetation. Home-range sizes calculated from telemetry were five times larger if compared with data obtained from spot-mapping. Telemetry data showed that T. hindei also moves across agricultural land, and mean and maximum displacements are larger if compared with data obtained from spot-mapping. Several reasons might lead to these differences: (1) Telemetry data also consider rare long-distance excursions, while (2) observers of spot-mapping might fail to observe long-distance movements and thus underestimate home-range sizes as well as displacement distances; (3) results from telemetry might become blurred from measurement error during the triangulation of fixes. Our study confirms that both methods provide advantages, but also shortcomings, which need to be considered when selecting a method to elaborate a research question.