Interactions between a large community of vertebrate frugivore-granivores (including 7 species of large canopy birds, 19 species of rodents, 7 species of ruminants, and 6 species of monkeys), and 122 fruit species they consume, were studied for a year in a tropical rainforest in Gabon.The results show how morphological characters of fruits are involved in the choice and partitioning of the available fruit spectrum among consumer taxa. Despite an outstanding lack of specificity between fruit and consumer species, consideration of simple morphological traits of fruits reveals broad character syndromes associated with different consumer taxa. Competition between distantly related taxa that feed at the same height is far more important than has been previously supposed. The results also suggest how fruit characters could have evolved under consumer pressure as a result of consumer roles as dispersers or seed predators. Our analyses of dispersal syndromes show that fruit species partitioning occurs more between mammal taxa than between mammals and birds. There is thus a bird-monkey syndrome and a ruminant-rodent-elephant syndrome. The bird-monkey syndrome includes fruit species on which there is no pre-dispersal seed predation. These fruits (berries and drupes) are brightly colored, have a succulent pulp or arillate seeds, and no protective seed cover. The ruminant-rodent-elephant syndrome includes species for which there is pre-dispersal predation. These fruits (all drupes) are large, dull-colored, and have a dry fibrous flesh and well-protected seeds.

The composition and structure of the bird community were investigated in French Guiana (northeastern Amazonia) 1 year and 10 years after selective logging and compared with bird community composition and structure in undisturbed primary forest. A point‐count method was used in which 937 0.25‐ha sample quadrats were censused for 20 minutes each. Whereas logging removed little more than 3 trees/ha, 38% of the forest undergrowth was destroyed and a proportion of the canopy was opened or damaged. An overall 27–33% decrease of species richness, frequency, and abundance occurred after logging, with a less marked decline of diversity and evenness indices, a substantial increase in the proportion of dominant species, and a 45% difference in species composition, weighed by frequency, between logged and undisturbed forest communities. Forty‐two percent of the species from the primary forest decreased sharply or disappeared after logging and only 34% increased or remained unchanged. Microhabitat selection was the main correlate of sensitivity to disturbance. Most affected by logging were species associated with the understory of tall mature stands especially terrestrial species, members of mixed flocks, and solitary sallying insectivores, all of which decreased by 70% to over 90%. Most birds associated with canopy, small gaps, and vine tangles declined by only 10–30%. Small frugivores and species associated with clearings or edges increased. Among other factors, physiological intolerance of understory species to open forest microclimatic conditions (light, heat, or water stress) might influence their avoidance of logged areas. Timber harvesting generated a high level of disturbance, which depressed the bird diversity. After over 10 years of regeneration, the dense regrowth produced a uniform habitat type that still had not recovered the high species richness exhibited by the primary forest under an intermediate level of disturbance.

Comparative large-scale roadside counts (8353 km), through Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, conducted in 1969-73, were repeated 30-35 years later with the same observer and methodology and at the same season. The transect was divided into three geographical zones and between protected and unprotected areas. All diurnal raptors were recorded (22 801 individuals), as well as large game birds. Large vultures suffered a dramatic decline (98%) outside protected areas. The Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus population also collapsed in some regions, but survived in central Burkina Faso. Conversely, their abundance index did not decrease significantly in national parks. Four eagle species decreased by 86-93% and seven were not even recorded in the later study outside protected areas; by contrast, in national parks, only three species had declined marginally. Smaller Accipitridae (kites, goshawks, buzzards) also exhibited significant declines outside but not within national parks where woodland species reached their highest densities. The Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus , mostly European migrants, declined sharply everywhere. African falcons decreased only outside protected areas. Among Palearctic migrants, Montagu's Circus pygargus and Pallid Harriers C. macrourus decreased significantly, Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus less markedly, and Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus and Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus not at all. Similar trends had previously been documented in Cameroon. They are associated with human population growth and development, global habitat degradation and ecosystem impoverishment (woodcutting, agricultural intensification, overgrazing, desertification). Heavy use of pesticides, control of locust outbreaks and overhunting have suppressed major food sources. Vultures may suffer from a shortage of carcasses, poisoning for predator control or persecution for trade of meat and body parts. Protected areas play a prominent role in the maintenance of vulture and eagle populations, even though they currently cover less than 2% of the Sudan zone and are virtually absent in the Sahel.

Bird community composition and structure were compared among three different types of traditionally managed agroforests and the nearby primary forests in southwestern Sumatra during the breeding season. The agroforests were dominated respectively by rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), damar (Shorea javanica), and durian (Durio zibethinus) and were managed for cash crops (latex, resin, fruits, spices, coffee and timber). Although planted on formerly clearfelled and cultivated areas, these agroforests were highly diversified and structurally complex. Species relative abundance was obtained in 112 random samples of 50 individuals within limited census areas. The species were classified according to size, main diet, and observed habitat use. Eighty‐three percent of all the regional pool of resident species were recorded at least once (excluding aerial, nocturnal, and aquatic species). Species richness, diversity, and equitability were all significantly lower (12% to 62% less) in every agroforest than in the primary forest, and the coefficients of similarity between the natural and managed forest communities were low (0.43–0.55). Less than half the lowland primary forest species known from western Sumatra were recorded in at least one agroforest. Among the 216 species occurring in samples, 56% significantly decreased in or disappeared from agroforests, whereas only 22% appeared or increased. The species most affected by the conversion of primary forests were large frugivores and large insectivores of the canopy and low understory, or terrestrial interior forest specialists. Species thriving in agroforests were small frugivores, foliage insectivores, and nectarivores often originally associated with gaps. The factors affecting biodiversity in agroforests may involve reduced tree height, canopy foliage volume, vertical diversity of the vegetation structure, floristic richness, and associated variety of food resources. High hunting pressure may also be a factor. These multipurpose, traditionally managed agroforests still are a valuable compromise between conservation of tropical forest biodiversity and sustainable use of natural resources. They also function as buffer zones between densely populated and protected areas and are one of the most successful examples of silviculture of dipterocarps. Yet they are not equivalent to primary forests.