Abstract: While the populations of large herbivores are being depleted in many tropical rainforests, the importance of their trophic role in the ecological functioning and biodiversity of these ecosystems is still not well evaluated. This is due to the outstanding plant diversity that they feed upon and the inherent difficulties involved in observing their elusive behaviour. Classically, the diet of elusive tropical herbivores is studied through the observation of browsing signs and macroscopic analysis of faeces or stomach contents. In this study, we illustrate that the original coupling of classic methods with genetic and ethnobotanical approaches yields information both about the diet diversity, the foraging modalities and the potential impact on vegetation of the largest terrestrial mammal of Amazonia, the lowland tapir. The study was conducted in the Guianan shield, where the ecology of tapirs has been less investigated. We identified 92 new species, 51 new genera and 13 new families of plants eaten by tapirs. We discuss the relative contribution of our different approaches, notably the contribution of genetic barcoding, used for the first time to investigate the diet of a large tropical mammal, and how local traditional ecological knowledge is accredited and valuable for research on the ecology of elusive animals. © 2011 Hibert et al.

Abstract: 1. Our understanding of the contribution of interspecific interactions to functional diversity in nature lags behind our knowledge of spatial and temporal patterns. Although two-species mutualisms are found in all types of ecosystems, the study of their ecological influences on other community members has mostly been limited to third species, while their influence on entire communities remains largely unexplored. 2. We hypothesized that mutualistic interactions between two respective ant species and an epiphyte mediate the biological traits composition of entire invertebrate communities that use the same host plant, thereby affecting food webs and functional diversity at the community level. 3. Aechmea mertensii (Bromeliaceae) is both a phytotelm ('plant-held water') and an ant-garden epiphyte. We sampled 111 bromeliads (111 aquatic invertebrate communities) associated with either the ant Pachycondyla goeldii or Camponotus femoratus. The relationships between ants, bromeliads and invertebrate abundance data were examined using a redundancy analysis. Biological traits information for invertebrates was structured using a fuzzy-coding technique, and a co-inertia analysis between traits and abundance data was used to interpret functional differences in bromeliad ecosystems. 4. The vegetative traits of A. mertensii depended on seed dispersion by C. femoratus and P. goeldii along a gradient of local conditions. The ant partner selected sets of invertebrates with traits that were best adapted to the bromeliads' morphology, and so the composition of the biological traits of invertebrate phytotelm communities depends on the identity of the ant partner. Biological traits suggest a bottom-up control of community structure in C. femoratus-associated phytotelmata and a greater structuring role for predatory invertebrates in P. goeldii-associated plants. 5. This study presents new information showing that two-species mutualisms affect the functional diversity of a much wider range of organisms. Most biological systems form complex networks where nodes (e. g. species) are more or less closely linked to each other, either directly or indirectly, through intermediate nodes. Our observations provide community-level information about biological interactions and functional diversity, and perspectives for further observations intended to examine whether large-scale changes in interacting species/community structure over broad geographical and anthropogenic gradients affect ecosystem functions.

Abstract: The little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, displays a peculiar breeding system polymorphism. Classical haplo-diploid sexual reproduction between reproductive individuals occurs in some populations, whereas, in others, queens and males reproduce clonally. Workers are produced sexually and are sterile in both clonal and sexual populations. The evolutionary fate of the clonal lineages depends strongly on the underlying mechanisms allowing reproductive individuals to transmit their genomes to subsequent generations. We used several queen-offspring data sets to estimate the rate of transition from heterozygosity to homozygosity associated with recombination events at 33 microsatellite loci in thelytokous parthenogenetic queen lineages and compared these rates with theoretical expectations under various parthenogenesis mechanisms. We then used sexually produced worker families to define linkage groups for these 33 loci and to compare meiotic recombination rates in sexual and parthenogenetic queens. Our results demonstrate that queens from clonal populations reproduce by automictic parthenogenesis with central fusion. These same parthenogenetic queens produce normally segregating meiotic oocytes for workers, which display much lower rates of recombination (by a factor of 45) than workers produced by sexual queens. These low recombination rates also concern the parthenogenetic production of queen offspring, as indicated by the very low rates of transition from heterozygosity to homozygosity observed (from 0% to 2.8%). We suggest that the combination of automixis with central fusion and a major decrease in recombination rates allows clonal queens to benefit from thelytoky while avoiding the potential inbreeding depression resulting from the loss of heterozygosity during automixis. In sterile workers, the strong decrease of recombination rates may also facilitate the conservation over time of some coadapted allelic interactions within chromosomes that might confer an adaptive advantage in habitats disturbed by human activity, where clonal populations of W. auropunctata are mostly found.

Abstract: Modeling soil water availability for tropical trees is a prerequisite to predicting the future impact of climate change on tropical forests. In this paper we develop a discrete-time deterministic water balance model adapted to tropical rainforest climates, and we validate it on a large dataset that includes micrometeorological and soil parameters along a topographic gradient in a lowland forest of French Guiana. The model computes daily water fluxes (rainfall interception, drainage, tree transpiration and soil plus understorey evapotranspiration) and soil water content using three input variables: daily precipitation, potential evapotranspiration and solar radiation. A novel statistical approach is employed that uses Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) soil moisture data to estimate water content at permanent wilting point and at field capacity, and root distribution. Inaccuracy of the TDR probes and other sources of uncertainty are taken into account by model calibration through a Bayesian framework. Model daily output includes relative extractable water, REW, i.e. the daily available water standardized by potential available water. The model succeeds in capturing temporal variations in REW regardless of topographic context. The low Root Mean Square Error of Predictions suggests that the model captures the most important drivers of soil water dynamics, i.e. water refilling and root water extraction. Our model thus provides a useful tool to explore the response of tropical forests to climate scenarios of changing rainfall regime and intensity. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract: We investigated in the laboratory the initial behavior of propagules of the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata in Cameroon where it has been introduced. Both workers and queens at first feigned death (thanatosis), and then the workers slowly moved around the experimental arena; the queens did the same about 10 seconds later. Each queen antennated selected workers that then aggregated together by grasping the hind leg of another ant with their mandibles. When encountering the queen again, the lead worker climbed up the queen's hind leg and onto her back, followed by some other individuals. The remaining workers followed the queen to a location in the experimental arena. When brood was present, the workers transferred it to this location. Orphaned workers did not aggregate, but gathered the brood together and took care of it. By permitting propagules to survive, these behaviors likely contribute to the success of W. auropunctata as an invader. (C) 2011 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.