Displaying publications 81 - 99 of 99 in total

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  1. Fulltext Role of medicinal plants and natural products on osteoporotic fracture healing
    Abd Jalil MA, Shuid AN, Muhammad N
    Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2012;2012:714512.
    PMID: 22973405 DOI: 10.1155/2012/714512
    Popularly known as "the silent disease" since early symptoms are usually absent, osteoporosis causes progressive bone loss, which renders the bones susceptible to fractures. Bone fracture healing is a complex process consisting of four overlapping phases-hematoma formation, inflammation, repair, and remodeling. The traditional use of natural products in bone fractures means that phytochemicals can be developed as potential therapy for reducing fracture healing period. Located closely near the equator, Malaysia has one of the world's largest rainforests, which are homes to exotic herbs and medicinal plants. Eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali), Labisia pumila (Kacip Fatimah), and Piper sarmentosum (Kaduk) are some examples of the popular ethnic herbs, which have been used in the Malay traditional medicine. This paper focuses on the use of natural products for treating fracture as a result of osteoporosis and expediting its healing.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  2. Fulltext An estimate of the number of tropical tree species
    Slik JW, Arroyo-Rodríguez V, Aiba S, Alvarez-Loayza P, Alves LF, Ashton P, et al.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2015 Jun 16;112(24):7472-7.
    PMID: 26034279 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1423147112
    The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher's alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between ∼ 40,000 and ∼ 53,000, i.e., at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of ∼ 19,000-25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of ∼ 4,500-6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  3. Fulltext Logging cuts the functional importance of invertebrates in tropical rainforest
    Ewers RM, Boyle MJ, Gleave RA, Plowman NS, Benedick S, Bernard H, et al.
    Nat Commun, 2015 Apr 13;6:6836.
    PMID: 25865801 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7836
    Invertebrates are dominant species in primary tropical rainforests, where their abundance and diversity contributes to the functioning and resilience of these globally important ecosystems. However, more than one-third of tropical forests have been logged, with dramatic impacts on rainforest biodiversity that may disrupt key ecosystem processes. We find that the contribution of invertebrates to three ecosystem processes operating at three trophic levels (litter decomposition, seed predation and removal, and invertebrate predation) is reduced by up to one-half following logging. These changes are associated with decreased abundance of key functional groups of termites, ants, beetles and earthworms, and an increase in the abundance of small mammals, amphibians and insectivorous birds in logged relative to primary forest. Our results suggest that ecosystem processes themselves have considerable resilience to logging, but the consistent decline of invertebrate functional importance is indicative of a human-induced shift in how these ecological processes operate in tropical rainforests.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest*
  4. Rainforest Conversion to Rubber Plantation May Not Result in Lower Soil Diversity of Bacteria, Fungi, and Nematodes
    Kerfahi D, Tripathi BM, Dong K, Go R, Adams JM
    Microb Ecol, 2016 08;72(2):359-71.
    PMID: 27221090 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-016-0790-0
    Large areas of rainforest in Asia have been converted to plantations, with uncertain effects on soil biodiversity. Using standard metagenetic methods, we compared the soil biota of bacteria, fungi, and nematodes at three rainforest sites in Malaysia with two rubber plantation sites with similar soils and geology. We predicted the following: (1) that the rubber sites would have a lower α- and β-diversity than the rainforest sites, due to the monospecific canopy cover and intensive management with herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers, and (2) that due to differences in the physical and biotic environment associated with cultivation, there would be distinct communities of bacteria, fungi, and nematodes. However, regarding (1), the results showed no consistent difference in α- and β-diversity of bacteria, fungi, or nematodes between rainforest and rubber plantation sites. It appears that conversion of rainforest to rubber plantations does not necessarily result in a decrease in diversity of soil biota. It may be that heterogeneity associated with the cultivation regimen compensates for loss of biotically imposed heterogeneity of the original rainforest. Regarding (2), as predicted there were statistically significant differences in community composition between rainforest and rubber plantation for bacteria, fungi, and nematodes. These differences could be related to a range of factors including light level, litter fall composition, pH, C and N, selecting a distinct set of soil taxa, and it is possible that this in itself would affect long-term soil function.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest*
  5. Occurrence of stomatal patchiness and its spatial scale in leaves from various sizes of trees distributed in a South-east Asian tropical rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia
    Kamakura M, Kosugi Y, Takanashi S, Uemura A, Utsugi H, Kassim AR
    Tree Physiol, 2015 Jan;35(1):61-70.
    PMID: 25595752 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpu109
    In this study, we demonstrated the occurrence of stomatal patchiness and its spatial scale in leaves from various sizes of trees grown in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia. To evaluate the patterns of stomatal behavior, we used three techniques simultaneously to analyze heterobaric or homobaric leaves from five tree species ranging from 0.6 to 31 m in height: (i) diurnal changes in chlorophyll fluorescence imaging, (ii) observation and simulation of leaf gas-exchange rates and (iii) a pressure-infiltration method. Measurements were performed in situ with 1000 or 500 μmol m(-2) s(-1) photosynthetic photon flux density. Diurnal patterns in the spatial distribution of photosynthetic electron transport rate (J) mapped from chlorophyll fluorescence images, a comparison of observed and simulated leaf gas-exchange rates, and the spatial distribution of stomatal apertures obtained from the acid-fuchsin-infiltrated area showed that patchy stomatal closure coupled with severe midday depression of photosynthesis occurred in Neobalanocarpus heimii (King) Ashton, a higher canopy tree with heterobaric leaves due to the higher leaf temperature and vapor pressure deficit. However, subcanopy or understory trees showed uniform stomatal behavior throughout the day, although they also have heterobaric leaves. These results suggest that the occurrence of stomatal patchiness is determined by tree size and/or environmental conditions. The analysis of spatial scale by chlorophyll fluorescence imaging showed that several adjacent anatomical patches (lamina areas bounded by bundle-sheath extensions within the lamina) may co-operate for the distributed patterns of J and stomatal apertures.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest*
  6. Fulltext Depreissia decipiens, an enigmatic canopy spider from Borneo revisited (Araneae, Salticidae), with remarks on the distribution and diversity of canopy spiders in Sabah, Borneo
    Deeleman-Reinhold CL, Miller J, Floren A
    Zookeys, 2016.
    PMID: 26877691 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.556.6174
    Depreissia is a little known genus comprising two hymenopteran-mimicking species, one found in Central Africa and one in the north of Borneo. The male of Depreissia decipiens is redescribed, the female is described for the first time. The carapace is elongated, dorsally flattened and rhombus-shaped, the rear of the thorax laterally depressed and transformed, with a pair of deep pits; the pedicel is almost as long as the abdomen. The male palp is unusual, characterized by the transverse deeply split membranous tegulum separating a ventral part which bears a sclerotized tegular apophysis and a large dagger-like retrodirected median apophysis. The female epigyne consists of one pair of large adjacent spermathecae and very long copulatory ducts arising posteriorly and rising laterally alongside the spermathecae continuing in several vertical and horizontal coils over the anterior surface. Relationships within the Salticidae are discussed and an affinity with the Cocalodinae is suggested. Arguments are provided for a hypothesis that Depreissia decipiens is not ant-mimicking as was previously believed, but is a mimic of polistinine wasps. The species was found in the canopy in the Kinabalu area only, in primary and old secondary rainforest at 200-700 m.a.s.l. Overlap of canopy-dwelling spider species with those in the understorey are discussed and examples of species richness and endemism in the canopy are highlighted. Canopy fogging is a very efficient method of collecting for most arthropods. The canopy fauna adds an extra dimension to the known biodiversity of the tropical rainforest. In southeast Asia, canopy research has been neglected, inhibiting evaluation of comparative results of this canopy project with that from other regions. More use of fogging as a collecting method would greatly improve insight into the actual species richness and species distribution in general.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  7. Fulltext Detection of mitochondrial COII DNA sequences in ant guts as a method for assessing termite predation by ants
    Fayle TM, Scholtz O, Dumbrell AJ, Russell S, Segar ST, Eggleton P
    PLoS One, 2015;10(4):e0122533.
    PMID: 25853549 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122533
    Termites and ants contribute more to animal biomass in tropical rain forests than any other single group and perform vital ecosystem functions. Although ants prey on termites, at the community level the linkage between these groups is poorly understood. Thus, assessing the distribution and specificity of ant termitophagy is of considerable interest. We describe an approach for quantifying ant-termite food webs by sequencing termite DNA (cytochrome c oxidase subunit II, COII) from ant guts and apply this to a soil-dwelling ant community from tropical rain forest in Gabon. We extracted DNA from 215 ants from 15 species. Of these, 17.2 % of individuals had termite DNA in their guts, with BLAST analysis confirming the identity of 34.1 % of these termites to family level or better. Although ant species varied in detection of termite DNA, ranging from 63 % (5/7; Camponotus sp. 1) to 0 % (0/7; Ponera sp. 1), there was no evidence (with small sample sizes) for heterogeneity in termite consumption across ant taxa, and no evidence for species-specific ant-termite predation. In all three ant species with identifiable termite DNA in multiple individuals, multiple termite species were represented. Furthermore, the two termite species that were detected on multiple occasions in ant guts were in both cases found in multiple ant species, suggesting that ant-termite food webs are not strongly compartmentalised. However, two ant species were found to consume only Anoplotermes-group termites, indicating possible predatory specialisation at a higher taxonomic level. Using a laboratory feeding test, we were able to detect termite COII sequences in ant guts up to 2 h after feeding, indicating that our method only detects recent feeding events. Our data provide tentative support for the hypothesis that unspecialised termite predation by ants is widespread and highlight the use of molecular approaches for future studies of ant-termite food webs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  8. Genetic Diversity and Demographic History of an Upper Hill Dipterocarp (Shorea platyclados): Implications for Conservation
    Ng CH, Lee SL, Tnah LH, Ng KKS, Lee CT, Diway B, et al.
    J Hered, 2019 12 17;110(7):844-856.
    PMID: 31554011 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esz052
    Southeast Asian rainforests at upper hill elevations are increasingly vulnerable to degradation because most lowland forest areas have been converted to different land uses. As such, understanding the genetics of upper hill species is becoming more crucial for their future management and conservation. Shorea platyclados is an important, widespread upper hill dipterocarp in Malaysia. To elucidate the genetic structure of S. platyclados and ultimately provide guidelines for a conservation strategy for this species, we carried out a comprehensive study of the genetic diversity and demographic history of S. platyclados. Twenty-seven populations of S. platyclados across its range in Malaysia were genotyped at 15 polymorphic microsatellite loci and sequenced at seven noncoding chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) regions. A total of 303 alleles were derived from the microsatellite loci, and 29 haplotypes were identified based on 2892 bp of concatenated cpDNA sequences. The populations showed moderately high genetic diversity (mean HE = 0.680 for microsatellite gene diversity and HT = 0.650 for total haplotype diversity) and low genetic differentiation (FST = 0.060). Bayesian clustering divided the studied populations into two groups corresponding to western and eastern Malaysia. Bottleneck analysis did not detect any recent bottleneck events. Extended Bayesian skyline analyses showed a model of constant size for the past population history of this species. Based on our findings, priority areas for in situ and ex situ conservation and a minimum population size are recommended for the sustainable utilization of S. platyclados.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  9. Fulltext Hunter-Gatherer Olfaction Is Special
    Majid A, Kruspe N
    Curr Biol, 2018 02 05;28(3):409-413.e2.
    PMID: 29358070 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.014
    People struggle to name odors [1-4]. This has been attributed to a diminution of olfaction in trade-off to vision [5-10]. This presumption has been challenged recently by data from the hunter-gatherer Jahai who, unlike English speakers, find odors as easy to name as colors [4]. Is the superior olfactory performance among the Jahai because of their ecology (tropical rainforest), their language family (Aslian), or because of their subsistence (they are hunter-gatherers)? We provide novel evidence from the hunter-gatherer Semaq Beri and the non-hunter-gatherer (swidden-horticulturalist) Semelai that subsistence is the critical factor. Semaq Beri and Semelai speakers-who speak closely related languages and live in the tropical rainforest of the Malay Peninsula-took part in a controlled odor- and color-naming experiment. The swidden-horticulturalist Semelai found odors much more difficult to name than colors, replicating the typical Western finding. But for the hunter-gatherer Semaq Beri odor naming was as easy as color naming, suggesting that hunter-gatherer olfactory cognition is special.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  10. Fulltext A preliminary study of mirror-induced self-directed behaviour on wildlife at the Royal Belum Rainforest Malaysia
    Hamdan A, Ab Latip MQ, Abu Hassim H, Mohd Noor MH, Tengku Azizan TRP, Mohamed Mustapha N, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2020 08 24;10(1):14105.
    PMID: 32839483 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-71047-1
    Mirror-induced behaviour has been described as a cognitive ability of an animal to self-direct their image in front of the mirror. Most animals when exposed to a mirror responded with a social interactive behaviour such as aggressiveness, exploratory and repetitive behaviour. The objective of this study is to determine the mirror-induced self-directed behaviour on wildlife at the Royal Belum Rainforest, Malaysia. Wildlife species at the Royal Belum Rainforest were identified using a camera traps from pre-determined natural saltlick locations. Acrylic mirrors with steel frame were placed facing the two saltlicks (Sira Batu and Sira Tanah) and the camera traps with motion-detecting infrared sensor were placed at strategically hidden spot. The behavioural data of the animal response to the mirror were analysed using an ethogram procedure. Results showed that barking deer was the species showing the highest interaction in front of the mirror. Elephants displayed self-directed response through inspecting behaviour via usage of their trunk and legs while interacting to the mirror. Interestingly, the Malayan tapir showed startled behaviour during their interaction with the mirror. However, the absence of interactive behaviour of the Malayan tiger signalled a likelihood of a decreased social response behaviour. These results suggested that the ability to self-directed in front of the mirror is most likely related to the new approach to study the neural mechanism and its level of stimulus response in wildlife. In conclusion, research on mirror-induced self-directed behaviour in wildlife will have profound implications in understanding the cognitive ability of wildlife as an effort to enhance the management strategies and conservation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  11. Fulltext Soup to Tree: The Phylogeny of Beetles Inferred by Mitochondrial Metagenomics of a Bornean Rainforest Sample
    Crampton-Platt A, Timmermans MJ, Gimmel ML, Kutty SN, Cockerill TD, Vun Khen C, et al.
    Mol Biol Evol, 2015 Sep;32(9):2302-16.
    PMID: 25957318 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msv111
    In spite of the growth of molecular ecology, systematics and next-generation sequencing, the discovery and analysis of diversity is not currently integrated with building the tree-of-life. Tropical arthropod ecologists are well placed to accelerate this process if all specimens obtained through mass-trapping, many of which will be new species, could be incorporated routinely into phylogeny reconstruction. Here we test a shotgun sequencing approach, whereby mitochondrial genomes are assembled from complex ecological mixtures through mitochondrial metagenomics, and demonstrate how the approach overcomes many of the taxonomic impediments to the study of biodiversity. DNA from approximately 500 beetle specimens, originating from a single rainforest canopy fogging sample from Borneo, was pooled and shotgun sequenced, followed by de novo assembly of complete and partial mitogenomes for 175 species. The phylogenetic tree obtained from this local sample was highly similar to that from existing mitogenomes selected for global coverage of major lineages of Coleoptera. When all sequences were combined only minor topological changes were induced against this reference set, indicating an increasingly stable estimate of coleopteran phylogeny, while the ecological sample expanded the tip-level representation of several lineages. Robust trees generated from ecological samples now enable an evolutionary framework for ecology. Meanwhile, the inclusion of uncharacterized samples in the tree-of-life rapidly expands taxon and biogeographic representation of lineages without morphological identification. Mitogenomes from shotgun sequencing of unsorted environmental samples and their associated metadata, placed robustly into the phylogenetic tree, constitute novel DNA "superbarcodes" for testing hypotheses regarding global patterns of diversity.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  12. Biodiversity characterization in Malaysia through biology and genetics
    Tan, Soon Guan
    Buletin Persatuan Genetik Malaysia, 2009;14(1):3-7.
    MyJurnal
    The world’s biodiversity is not distributed uniformly throughout the globe. Some areas such as the tropical rainforests, seas and coral reefs teem with the varieties of life whereas others such as some deserts and polar regions are almost devoid of them (Gaston, 2000). Malaysia, with her tropical jungles and seas, is rich with biodiversity. She is fortunate to have had eminent pioneers such as Ridley (1967), Corner (1972), Soepadmo (1972) and Whitmore (1983) to study her flora and Medway (1968) and Lim (1991) to study her fauna taxonomy. Other pioneers in Malaysian biology included Berry, Dhaliwal and Mohsin. These pioneers are then ably followed by workers such as Latiff, Kiew, Go, Khoo, Davidson, Saberi, Omar, Jambari, Idris, Zekri, Teo, Marziah, Tan, Mukherjee, Shapor, Yusoff, Azmi and many others studying the various subdisciplines of biology. In addition to the more obvious large plants and animals, microorganisms and aquatic organisms had not been neglected either. Workers such as Nawawi, Verghese, Ho and Faridah are known
    for their work on fungi while Fatimah, Phang, Japar and Anton had studied algae, seaweeds, diatoms and seagrasses. However, some of these workers have now either retired or are soon going to attain retirement age and the worrying part is that there are not many younger
    workers keen to pursue research in taxonomy and biosystematics, a prerequisite to further studies in ecology, genetics, biotechnology which in turn are prerequisites for rational conservation, management and sustainable utilization of our rich biological resources. With each passing day species are becoming extinct sometimes without us even knowing that they had ever existed. Even in a developed country such as the USA, one third of her plant and animal species are at risk of extinction (McCann, 2000). Hence, taxonomic and biosystematic studies of our plants, animals and microbes whether terrestrial or aquatic, freshwater and marine, should be priority areas. So should studies on their reproductive biology, life cycles, physiology, feeding habits, migration patterns, predators and their sensitivities to environmental changes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  13. Fulltext Rapid conversions and avoided deforestation: examining four decades of industrial plantation expansion in Borneo
    Gaveau DL, Sheil D, Husnayaen, Salim MA, Arjasakusuma S, Ancrenaz M, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2016 Sep 08;6:32017.
    PMID: 27605501 DOI: 10.1038/srep32017
    New plantations can either cause deforestation by replacing natural forests or avoid this by using previously cleared areas. The extent of these two situations is contested in tropical biodiversity hotspots where objective data are limited. Here, we explore delays between deforestation and the establishment of industrial tree plantations on Borneo using satellite imagery. Between 1973 and 2015 an estimated 18.7 Mha of Borneo's old-growth forest were cleared (14.4 Mha and 4.2 Mha in Indonesian and Malaysian Borneo). Industrial plantations expanded by 9.1 Mha (7.8 Mha oil-palm; 1.3 Mha pulpwood). Approximately 7.0 Mha of the total plantation area in 2015 (9.2 Mha) were old-growth forest in 1973, of which 4.5-4.8 Mha (24-26% of Borneo-wide deforestation) were planted within five years of forest clearance (3.7-3.9 Mha oil-palm; 0.8-0.9 Mha pulpwood). This rapid within-five-year conversion has been greater in Malaysia than in Indonesia (57-60% versus 15-16%). In Indonesia, a higher proportion of oil-palm plantations was developed on already cleared degraded lands (a legacy of recurrent forest fires). However, rapid conversion of Indonesian forests to industrial plantations has increased steeply since 2005. We conclude that plantation industries have been the principle driver of deforestation in Malaysian Borneo over the last four decades. In contrast, their role in deforestation in Indonesian Borneo was less marked, but has been growing recently. We note caveats in interpreting these results and highlight the need for greater accountability in plantation development.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  14. Fulltext The antiacetylcholinesterase and antileishmanial activities of Canarium patentinervium Miq
    Mogana R, Adhikari A, Debnath S, Hazra S, Hazra B, Teng-Jin K, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2014;2014:903529.
    PMID: 24949478 DOI: 10.1155/2014/903529
    In continuation of our natural and medicinal research programme on tropical rainforest plants, a bioassay guided fractionation of ethanolic extract of leaves of Canarium patentinervium Miq. (Burseraceae Kunth.) led to the isolation of scopoletin (1), scoparone (2), (+)-catechin (3), vomifoliol (4), lioxin (5), and syringic acid (6). All the compounds exhibited antiacetylcholinesterase activity with syringic acid, a phenolic acid exhibiting good AChE inhibition (IC50 29.53 ± 0.19 μ g/mL). All compounds displayed moderate antileishmanial activity with scopoletin having the highest antileishmanial activity (IC50 163.30 ± 0.32 μ g/mL). Given the aforementioned evidence, it is tempting to speculate that Canarium patentinervium Miq. represents an exciting scaffold from which to develop leads for treatment of neurodegenerative and parasitic diseases.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  15. Flemingin-Type Prenylated Chalcones from the Sarawak Rainforest Plant Desmodium congestum
    Rees KA, Bermudez C, Edwards DJ, Elliott AG, Ripen JE, Seta C, et al.
    J Nat Prod, 2015 Aug 28;78(8):2141-4.
    PMID: 26284978 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5b00410
    In an ongoing program to identify new anti-infective leads, an extract derived from whole plant material of Desmodium congestum collected in the Sarawak rainforest was found to have anti-MRSA activity. Bioassay-guided isolation led to the isolation of two new prenylated chalcones, 5'-O-methyl-3-hydroxyflemingin A (1) and 5'-O-methylflemingin C (2), which were closely related to the flemingins previously isolated from various Flemingia species. Chalcones 1 and 2, which were determined to be 4:6 enantiomeric mixtures by chiral HPLC, exhibited moderate activity against a panel of Gram-positive bacteria and were also cytotoxic to the HEK293 human embryonic kidney cell line.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  16. Complex pollination of a tropical Asian rainforest canopy tree by flower-feeding thrips and thrips-feeding predators
    Kondo T, Nishimura S, Tani N, Ng KK, Lee SL, Muhammad N, et al.
    Am J Bot, 2016 Nov;103(11):1912-1920.
    PMID: 27797714
    PREMISE OF THE STUDY: In tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, a highly fecund thrips (Thrips spp.) responds rapidly to the mass flowering at multiple-year intervals characteristic of certain species such as the canopy tree studied here, Shorea acuminata, by feeding on flower resources. However, past DNA analyses of pollen adherent to thrips bodies revealed that the thrips promoted a very high level of self-pollination. Here, we identified the pollinator that contributes to cross-pollination and discuss ways that the pollination system has adapted to mass flowering.

    METHODS: By comparing the patterns of floral visitation and levels of genetic diversity in adherent pollen loads among floral visitors, we evaluated the contribution of each flower visitor to pollination.

    KEY RESULTS: The big-eyed bug, Geocoris sp., a major thrips predator, was an inadvertent pollinator, and importantly contributed to cross-pollination. The total outcross pollen adhering to thrips was approximately 30% that on the big-eyed bugs. Similarly, 63% of alleles examined in S. acuminata seeds and seedlings occurred in pollen adhering to big-eyed bugs; about 30% was shared with pollen from thrips.

    CONCLUSIONS: During mass flowering, big-eyed bugs likely travel among flowering S. acuminata trees, attracted by the abundant thrips. Floral visitation patterns of big-eyed bugs vs. other insects suggest that these bugs can maintain their population size between flowering by preying upon another thrips (Haplothrips sp.) that inhabits stipules of S. acuminata throughout the year and quickly respond to mass flowering. Thus, thrips and big-eyed bugs are essential components in the pollination of S. acuminata.

    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  17. Extensive Overlap of Tropical Rainforest Bacterial Endophytes between Soil, Plant Parts, and Plant Species
    Haruna E, Zin NM, Kerfahi D, Adams JM
    Microb Ecol, 2018 Jan;75(1):88-103.
    PMID: 28642991 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-017-1002-2
    The extent to which distinct bacterial endophyte communities occur between different plant organs and species is poorly known and has implications for bioprospecting efforts. Using the V3 region of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene, we investigated the diversity patterns of bacterial endophyte communities of three rainforest plant species, comparing leaf, stem, and root endophytes plus rhizosphere soil community. There was extensive overlap in bacterial communities between plant organs, between replicate plants of the same species, between plant species, and between plant organ and rhizosphere soil, with no consistent clustering by compartment or host plant species. The non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis highlighted an extensively overlapping bacterial community structure, and the β-nearest taxon index (βNTI) analysis revealed dominance of stochastic processes in community assembly, suggesting that bacterial endophyte operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were randomly distributed among plant species and organs and rhizosphere soil. Percentage turnover of OTUs within pairs of samples was similar both for plant individuals of the same species and of different species at around 80-90%. Our results suggest that sampling extra individuals, extra plant organs, extra species, or use of rhizosphere soil, might be about equally effective for obtaining new OTUs for culture. These observations suggest that the plant endophyte community may be much more diverse, but less predictable, than would be expected from culturing efforts alone.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  18. Fulltext Fecal parasite risk in the endangered proboscis monkey is higher in an anthropogenically managed forest environment compared to a riparian rain forest in Sabah, Borneo
    Klaus A, Strube C, Röper KM, Radespiel U, Schaarschmidt F, Nathan S, et al.
    PLoS One, 2018;13(4):e0195584.
    PMID: 29630671 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195584
    Understanding determinants shaping infection risk of endangered wildlife is a major topic in conservation medicine. The proboscis monkey, Nasalis larvatus, an endemic primate flagship species for conservation in Borneo, is endangered through habitat loss, but can still be found in riparian lowland and mangrove forests, and in some protected areas. To assess socioecological and anthropogenic influence on intestinal helminth infections in N. larvatus, 724 fecal samples of harem and bachelor groups, varying in size and the number of juveniles, were collected between June and October 2012 from two study sites in Malaysian Borneo: 634 samples were obtained from groups inhabiting the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (LKWS), 90 samples were collected from groups of the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary (LBPMS), where monkeys are fed on stationary feeding platforms. Parasite risk was quantified by intestinal helminth prevalence, host parasite species richness (PSR), and eggs per gram feces (epg). Generalized linear mixed effect models were applied to explore whether study site, group type, group size, the number of juveniles per group, and sampling month predict parasite risk. At the LBPMS, prevalence and epg of Trichuris spp., strongylids, and Strongyloides spp. but not Ascaris spp., as well as host PSR were significantly elevated. Only for Strongyloides spp., prevalence showed significant changes between months; at both sites, the beginning rainy season with increased precipitation was linked to higher prevalence, suggesting the external life cycle of Strongyloides spp. to benefit from humidity. Higher prevalence, epgs, and PSR within the LBPMS suggest that anthropogenic factors shape host infection risk more than socioecological factors, most likely via higher re-infection rates and chronic stress. Noninvasive measurement of fecal parasite stages is an important tool for assessing transmission dynamics and infection risks for endangered tropical wildlife. Findings will contribute to healthcare management in nature and in anthropogenically managed environments.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
  19. From the High Arctic to the Equator: Do Soil Metagenomes Differ According to Our Expectations?
    Kerfahi D, Tripathi BM, Dong K, Kim M, Kim H, Ferry Slik JW, et al.
    Microb Ecol, 2019 Jan;77(1):168-185.
    PMID: 29882154 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-018-1215-z
    Comparing the functional gene composition of soils at opposite extremes of environmental gradients may allow testing of hypotheses about community and ecosystem function. Here, we were interested in comparing how tropical microbial ecosystems differ from those of polar climates. We sampled several sites in the equatorial rainforest of Malaysia and Brunei, and the high Arctic of Svalbard, Canada, and Greenland, comparing the composition and the functional attributes of soil biota between the two extremes of latitude, using shotgun metagenomic Illumina HiSeq2000 sequencing. Based upon "classical" views of how tropical and higher latitude ecosystems differ, we made a series of predictions as to how various gene function categories would differ in relative abundance between tropical and polar environments. Results showed that in some respects our predictions were correct: the polar samples had higher relative abundance of dormancy related genes, and lower relative abundance of genes associated with respiration, and with metabolism of aromatic compounds. The network complexity of the Arctic was also lower than the tropics. However, in various other respects, the pattern was not as predicted; there were no differences in relative abundance of stress response genes or in genes associated with secondary metabolism. Conversely, CRISPR genes, phage-related genes, and virulence disease and defense genes, were unexpectedly more abundant in the Arctic, suggesting more intense biotic interaction. Also, eukaryote diversity and bacterial diversity were higher in the Arctic of Svalbard compared to tropical Brunei, which is consistent with what may expected from amplicon studies in terms of the higher pH of the Svalbard soil. Our results in some respects confirm expectations of how tropical versus polar nature may differ, and in other respects challenge them.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rainforest
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