Ant communities were surveyed along an elevational gradient in the Philippines extending from lowland dipterocarp forest (250 m elevation) to mossy forest (1750 m). Standardized pitfall trapping in arboreal and terrestrial microhabitats at seven sites yielded 51 species. Collecting by hand at five of the sites yielded 48 species. The two methods produced substantially different assemblages, with only 22 species (29%) taken in common. Only a fraction of the total ant community appeared to be sampled at most of the sites. Measures of species richness and relative abundance peaked at mid‐elevations and declined sharply with increasing elevation. Ants were extremely rare above 1500 m elevation. Arboreal ants were trapped much less frequently than terrestrial ants at all sites. Ant species that were abundant had broader elevational distributions than those that were less common, but most species were rare and occurred at only one or two sites. The elevational patterns for ants are largely the inverse of those documented for Philippine small mammals which reach their greatest diversity and abundance at high elevations where ants are rare. This suggests that the two groups may interact competitively. Some of the patterns observed or inferred from this study may apply to tropical ant communities in general, and are presented as series of testable hypotheses as a guide and stimulus for future research.

Sibuyan Island is a relatively small, isolated island measuring at its widest points 24 km north to south and 28 km east to west, rising to 2050 m above sea level, with a total land area of 233 km^. The nearest major island masses are Luzon (to the northeast), Mindoro (to the northwest), and Panay (to the south). A considerable portion of the natural habitat, including some lowland forest, remains intact. Sibuyan is oceanic in origin and during the middle to late

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This paper describes a preliminary field survey of bushy-tailed cloud rats Crateromys spp. and slender-tailed cloud rats Phloeomys in the Philippines in April and May 1990. Brief visits were made to all islands/locations known to support these animals and also to neighbouring areas considered likely to do so. Comparing the results with information from previous surveys suggests that both genera, particularly Crateromys, are more widely distributed than formerly believed, but that some forms are threatened. Three of the four known species of Crateromys are known only from their holotype specimens, one of which awaits description. Another is extinct in its type locality on Ilin Island but may survive on neighbouring Mindoro. These preliminary findings indicate that thorough surveys are required to establish the status of certain species, to investigate the possibility that new species remain undiscovered and to develop conservation plans to reduce the likelihood of further extinctions occurring.