Herd demography, sexual segregation and the effects of forest management on Bornean banteng Bos javanicus lowi in Sabah, Malaystian Borneo

Between 1973 and 2010, 39.5% of Sabah’s (Malaysian Borneo) natural forest cover was lost to deforestation and conversion to agriculture, therefore the remaining population of endangered Bornean banteng Bos javanicus lowi is being driven towards extinction. The Bornean banteng’s herd demography, sexual segregation and the effects of forest management were investigated at 393 camera locations in 6 forest reserves using generalised estimating equations (GEE) fitted via a generalised linear model (GLM). A total of 43344 camera trap nights and 832 independent banteng events were captured at 93 locations. The identification of 183 bantengs included 22 herds (>1 individual) and 12 solitary bulls, with a herd size range of 2 to 21. Significantly larger herds were observed in forest with <8 yr of post-logging regeneration (PLR), whereas herds were smaller in forest with <3, 4 and 16 yr of PLR. Within these forests, herds were significantly larger along logging roads than in open sites and on forest trails. Herds were significantly larger in upland compared to lowland dipterocarp forest, but significantly smaller when closer to the forest border. Bachelor herds were observed as frequently as mixed-sex herds, and there was a significantly higher capture frequency of female herds in the dry season, supporting the theory of sexual segregation. Frequency of calf births was highest in March and September, and calf captures peaked in June and July. This study contributes to a better understanding of banteng ecology, and will assist in the production of effective management strategies aimed at providing suitable habitat for re-population and enabling banteng population persistence

A positive feedback to climate change: The effect of temperature on the respiration of key wood‐decomposing fungi does not decline with time

Heterotrophic soil microorganisms are responsible for ~50% of the carbon dioxide released by respiration from the terrestrial biosphere each year. The respiratory response of soil microbial communities to warming, and the control mechanisms, remains uncertain, yet is critical to understanding the future land carbon (C)‐climate feedback. Individuals of nine species of fungi decomposing wood were exposed to 90 days of cooling to evaluate the medium‐term effect of temperature on respiration. Overall, the effect of temperature on respiration increased in the medium term, with no evidence of compensation. However, the increasing effect of temperature on respiration was lost after correcting for changes in biomass. These results indicate that C loss through respiration of wood‐decomposing fungi will increase beyond the direct effects of temperature on respiration, potentially promoting greater C losses from terrestrial ecosystems and a positive feedback to climate change

Space and patchiness affects diversity–function relationships in fungal decay communities

The space in which organisms live determines health and physicality, shaping the way in which they interact with their peers. Space, therefore, is critically important for species diversity and the function performed by individuals within mixed communities. The biotic and abiotic factors defined by the space that organisms occupy are ecologically significant and the difficulty in quantifying space-defined parameters within complex systems limits the study of ecological processes. Here, we overcome this problem using a tractable system whereby spatial heterogeneity in interacting fungal wood decay communities demonstrates that scale and patchiness of territory directly influence coexistence dynamics. Spatial arrangement in 2- and 3-dimensions resulted in measurable metabolic differences that provide evidence of a clear biological response to changing landscape architecture. This is of vital importance to microbial systems in all ecosystems globally, as our results demonstrate that community function is driven by the effects of spatial dynamics