Seed dispersal plays critical roles in determining species survival and community structures. Since the is biologically under maternal control, it hypothesized that intraspecific variation of potential associated traits seeds (diaspores) should be influenced by habitat quality. We tested this hypothesis examining effects environmental light condition on morphological descending performance near...

1. Microhabitat use and antipredator behaviour (i.e. behavioural response to a bird model and refuge microhabitat) was measured in an experimental set-up for 11 lacertid lizard species. Additionally, locomotor performance (sprint speed, climbing and clambering speed, manoeuvrability and endurance) of the same species was quantified. 2. The results showed considerable interspecific variation in ...

We studied selection by predators for cryptic prey coloration in a visually heterogeneous habitat that consists of two microhabitats. It has been suggested that the probability of escaping detection in such habitats might be optimized by maximizing crypsis in one of the microhabitats. However, a recent model indicates that a coloration that compromises the requirements of different microhabitat...

For niche differences to maintain coexistence of sympatric species, each species must grow and/or survive better than each of the others in at least one set of conditions (i.e., performance trade-offs). However, the extent of niche differentiation in tropical forests remains highly debated. We present the first test of performance trade-offs for wild seedlings in a tropical forest. We measured ...

The reduced immigration and emigration rates resulting from the lack of landscape connectivity of patches and the hospitality of the intervening matrix could favor the loss of alleles through genetic drift and an increased chance of inbreeding. In order for isolated populations to maintain sufficient levels of genetic diversity and adapt to environmental changes, one important conservation goal...

1. A predictive framework of community and ecosystem dynamics that applies across systems has remained elusive, in part because non-consumptive predator effects are often ignored. Further, it is unclear how much individual-level detail community models must include. 2. Previous studies of short-lived species suggest that state-dependent decisions add little to our understanding of community dyn...

Abstract The Poweshiek skipperling ( Oarisma poweshiek ) is endemic to the tall grass prairie in North America and now critically endangered globally. Existing populations are scattered among remnants. However, host food plants eaten by larvae, vegetative microclimatic descriptions of immature adult microhabitats, O. behaviour Manitoba unknown. We followed adults their natural habitat locate mi...

When threatened with predation, foraging prey can cease feeding and seek refuge or shift to feeding sites (microhabitats) offering increased safety. Predator-induced microhabitat shifts by large herbivores are of interest to ecologists because spatial patterns of foraging by these animals shape plant communities. The influence of predation risk on microhabitat use by large herbivores in marine ...

Alpine ecosystems are seriously threatened by climate change. One of the key mechanisms by which plants can adapt to changing environmental conditions is through evolutionary change. However, we still know little about the evolutionary potential in wild populations of long-lived alpine plants. Here, we investigated heritabilities of phenological traits, leaf size, and performance traits in natu...

The present study investigated the effects of first record of co-infection of three Clinostomum sp.; Clinostomum Complanatum (Rudolphi, 1819), C. tilapiae (Ukoli, 1966), and Euclinostomum hetereostomum (1809) in Tilapia zilii. There was differential parasitic effects resulting in selection for relatively better adaptiveness to host's microhabitats, more population size, and frequent host locati...