This study investigates the variation in the spatial patterns of Diptera and Collembola throughout the forest canopy due to seasonal changes in temperature and humidity in the monsoon climate of West Africa. There is a very distinct turnover in climate from the end of the dry season (the hottest and driest time of the year) to the beginning of the rains and this coincides with significant increases and decreases in the overall abundance of many forest dwelling Diptera and Collembola species. The study investigates spatial patterns on two gradients; vertically from the ground to the high canopy and laterally from the edge of the forest to the core, with the added complexity of the affects of anthropogenic burning of adjacent savannah. The results show that seasonality and the starting of the rains significantly affect both the overall abundance and the spatial patterns, providing species with a strategic change in habitat niche. During seasonal conditions that are less conducive to species' overall abundance, spatial patterns are suppressed by environmental conditions. However when environmental conditions are optimum for increased species abundance, spatial patterns are only suppressed by the availability of resources within the habitat (feeding or reproductive resources for example). Successive late burning events may have changed the structure of the forest edge introducing a significantly more open forest structure changing environmental conditions and thus creating a habitat more suitable for species which prefer lower humidity and higher temperatures.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:558268 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Weaver, Daniel Geoffrey |
| Contributors | Ozanne, Claire ; Shaw, Peter |
| Publisher | University of Roehampton |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/studentthesis/temporal-and-spatial-patterns-of-dipteran-and-collembolan-abundance-in-a-nigerian-tropical-forest-canopy(5310e6ce-c627-4bfe-a862-766c217c9d86).html |
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