Annual cycles are the most common reproductive strategy in African tropical tree communities

We present the first cross continental comparison of the flowering and fruiting phenology of tropical forests across Africa. Flowering events of 5,446 trees from 196 species across 12 sites, and fruiting events of 4,595 trees from 191 species, across 11 sites were monitored over periods of 6 to 29 years, and analysed to describe phenology at the continental level. To study phenology we used Fourier analysis to identify the dominant cycles of flowering and fruiting for each individual tree and we identified the time of year African trees bloom and bear fruit and their relationship to local seasonality. Reproductive strategies were diverse and no single regular cycle was found in >50% of individuals across all 12 sites. Additionally, we found annual flowering and fruiting cycles to be the most common. Sub-annual cycles were the next most common for flowering whereas supra-annual patterns were the next most common for fruiting. We also identify variation in different subsets of species, with species exhibiting mainly annual cycles most common in West and West-Central African tropical forests, while more species at sites in East-Central and Eastern African forests showed cycles ranging from sub-annual to supra-annual. Despite many trees showing strong seasonality, at most sites some flowering and fruiting occurred all year round. Environmental factors with annual cycles are likely to be important drivers of seasonal periodicity in trees across Africa, but proximate triggers are unlikely to be constant across the continen

Global positioning system data-loggers: a tool to quantify fine-scale movement of domestic animals to evaluate potential for zoonotic transmission to an endangered wildlife population.

Domesticated animals are an important source of pathogens to endangered wildlife populations, especially when anthropogenic activities increase their overlap with humans and wildlife. Recent work in Tanzania reports the introduction of Cryptosporidium into wild chimpanzee populations and the increased risk of ape mortality associated with SIVcpz-Cryptosporidium co-infection. Here we describe the application of novel GPS technology to track the mobility of domesticated animals (27 goats, 2 sheep and 8 dogs) with the goal of identifying potential routes for Cryptosporidium introduction into Gombe National Park. Only goats (5/27) and sheep (2/2) were positive for Cryptosporidium. Analysis of GPS tracks indicated that a crop field frequented by both chimpanzees and domesticated animals was a potential hotspot for Cryptosporidium transmission. This study demonstrates the applicability of GPS data-loggers in studies of fine-scale mobility of animals and suggests that domesticated animal-wildlife overlap should be considered beyond protected boundaries for long-term conservation strategies

Comparison of mobility patterns of domesticated animal species in Mwamgongo village adjacent to Gombe National Park, Tanzania.

<p>Results are expressed as median with interquartile range in parentheses. *Statistically significant.</p><p>Comparison of mobility patterns of domesticated animal species in Mwamgongo village adjacent to Gombe National Park, Tanzania.</p

Mean maximum distance traveled from home (m) in dry and wet seasons by domesticated animal species in Mwamgongo village, Tanzania.

<p>Mean maximum distance traveled from home (m) in dry and wet seasons by domesticated animal species in Mwamgongo village, Tanzania.</p

Gombe National Park and Mwamgongo Village, Tanzania.

<p>A. Location of study site within Tanzania. B-D Land use plans, chimpanzee sightings, park border, crop-raiding zone, village perimeter and animal mobility tracks of dogs, goats and sheep. Dot colors represent mobility pattern of each individual animal.</p

The proportion of GPS points from infected and uninfected domesticated animals in the defined study area in Mwamgongo village and Gombe National Park, Tanzania, during the dry and wet seasons.

<p>Infected animals (Goat: n = 5, Sheep: n = 2, Dogs: n = 0).</p