Seasonality of insect abundance in an Australian upland tropical rainforest

Frith, Clifford B.; Frith, Dawn

doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.1985.tb00886.x

Cited by 89 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In this case, the collection provides an extensive knowledge of flowering for a large proportion of species found across the Wet Tropics, for which there are few published field studies. Data from two separate studies, from one lowland and one upland site, recorded peak flowering in September-October from 4 years of data (Hopkins & Graham 1989), and October and January in two consecutive years (Frith & Frith 1985). These studies offer results not dissimilar to the conclusion here that peak flowering occurs on average in the period of October-November.…”

Section:  supporting

confidence: 60%

“…Certainly insect abundance and biomass peaks during the wet season at an upland site within the Wet Tropics have been correlated with seasonal increases in resources such as flowers, new leaves and fruit (Frith & Frith 1985). Whether the coincidence of greatest insect activity with flowering activity is a cause or an effect, however, remains a moot point (Rathcke & Lacey 1985).…”

Section: -  mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Family, visitors and the weather: patterns of flowering in tropical rain forests of northern Australia

Boulter¹,

Kitching²,

Howlett³

2005

Journal of Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary1 A data base on the flowering phenology of the Wet Tropics bioregion of far northern Queensland, Australia, has been constructed, based upon over 36 774 records from two Queensland-based herbaria. 2 Flowering patterns have been analysed against the predictions of three overlapping hypotheses based on climatic, biotic and phylogenetic explanations. No one hypothesis is supported to the exclusion of the others. 3 Patterns of flowering in the Wet Tropics show marked seasonal increases and decreases, except in the northern lowlands. In general this seasonality correlates with rainfall and temperature and is exacerbated by increasing latitude and altitude. 4 There is little or no statistical evidence for the over-dispersion of flowering times that would indicate a competition-avoidance mechanism: flowering within taxa or morphological groups tends to be clumped (and if not, is random). 5 That clumping of flowering within taxa does not coincide with a single season provides support for a mass action hypothesis based on the minimization of generalist predation and/or the avoidance of flower predation. 6 Timing of flowering did show some consistency among species within genera and within families, but there was little consistency at higher taxonomic levels. Clear separation of the biotic and phylogenetic hypotheses requires greater knowledge of pollination ecology and phylogeny of this large and diverse flora. 7 Understanding of flowering patterns and their underlying determining mechanisms is a key to assessing the ecosystem health of the forest. Our results highlight the importance of competitive interactions and of physical and evolutionary factors as determinants of flowering time, intensity and co-occurrence in tropical forests.

show abstract

Section:  supporting

confidence: 60%

Section: -  mentioning

confidence: 99%

Family, visitors and the weather: patterns of flowering in tropical rain forests of northern Australia

Boulter¹,

Kitching²,

Howlett³

2005

Journal of Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Population size fluctuations in response to changes in resource availability have been observed in forest rodents of Brazil (Bergallo and Magnusson 1999), but are more obvious in arid areas where rodent populations fluctuate greatly in response to rainfall and drought, such as in the Simpson Desert in central Australia ). Arthropods respond rapidly to rain events, for example in Brazilian forest (Bergallo and Magnusson 1999), Costa Rican rainforest (Boinski and Fowler 1989), and Australian rainforest (Frith and Frith 1985). In arid central Australia, insect productivity is highest in summer, following rain events (Palmer 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology and predator associations of the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) in the Pilbara

Hernández-Santín¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) is an endangered carnivorous marsupial in the family Dasyuridae that occurs in the northern third of Australia. It has declined throughout its range, especially in open, lowland habitats. This led to the hypothesis that rocky outcrops where it persists provide a safe haven from introduced predators and provide greater microhabitat heterogeneity associated with higher prey availability.Proposed causes of decline include introduced cane toads (Rhinella marina, which are toxic), predation by feral cats (Felis catus), foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and the dingo (Canis lupus), and habitat alteration by changes in fire regimes. The National Recovery Plan highlighted knowledge gaps relevant to the conservation of the northern quoll. These include assembling data on ecology and population status, determining factors in survival, especially introduced predators, selecting areas that can be used as refuges, and identifying and securing key populations. The Pilbara region in Western Australia is a key population currently free of invasive cane toads (a major threat).The Pilbara is a semi-arid to arid area subject to cyclones between December and ). These are dominated by spinifex (hummock) grasslands, with rugged rock outcrops, shrublands, riparian areas, and some soft (tussock) grasslands. They are subject to frequent seasonal fires, creating a mosaic of recently burnt and longer unburnt areas. The overall aim of this study was to assess the ecology of the northern quoll in the Pilbara to understand drivers of density and distribution of this endangered species, to enhance species-specific conservation efforts. I collected field data on six one-month trips over three years, predominantly using live-trapping, camera-trapping, sampling invertebrates, vegetation surveys, habitat structure, and den availability surveys.In the Pilbara, the largest mammalian predators are the introduced dingo and feral cat. The largest native mammalian carnivore is the northern quoll, which is smaller than the introduced predators but larger than the other dasyurids in the guild. In Chapter 2, I explored spatial and temporal associations among introduced predators and quolls and their associations with habitat to assess the impact of introduced predators on quolls. I found evidence that dingo control programs prevent dingoes from fulfilling their role as top predators, leading to mesopredator release of feral cats. Feral cats were associated with 3 open habitats (spinifex grasslands and recently burnt areas), and showed inverse associations to those of quolls, suggesting that quolls avoid cats in space. Quolls were positively associated with rocky habitats. In Chapter 3, I assessed spatial and temporal associations among dasyurids to understand the current role of northern quolls within their guild. I found that range contraction of northern quolls into rocky habitats prevent them from fulfilling their role as top predators across the landscape, potentially leading to mesopredator release of kalutas (Da...

show abstract

“…Variations in seasonal and annual abundance have been reported for many tropical lepidopterans (Frith & Frith 1985;Braby 1995). Temperature is an important environmental factor that regulates various biological parameters of insects and has a direct effect on their abundance (Elsey 1982a;Ju et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resistance to <I>Diaphania hyalinata</I> (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in <I>Cucumis</I> Species

Guillaume¹,

Boissot²

2001

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seasonality of insect abundance in an Australian upland tropical rainforest

Cited by 89 publications

References 19 publications

Family, visitors and the weather: patterns of flowering in tropical rain forests of northern Australia

Family, visitors and the weather: patterns of flowering in tropical rain forests of northern Australia

Ecology and predator associations of the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) in the Pilbara

Resistance to <I>Diaphania hyalinata</I> (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in <I>Cucumis</I> Species

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About