Do epigeal termite mounds increase the diversity of plant habitats in a tropical rain forest in peninsular Malaysia?

The extent to which environmental heterogeneity can account for tree species coexistence in diverse ecosystems, such as tropical rainforests, is hotly debated, although the importance of spatial variability in contributing to species co-existence is well recognized. Termites contribute to the micro-topographical and nutrient spatial heterogeneity of tropical forests. We therefore investigated whether epigeal termite mounds could contribute to the coexistence of plant species within a 50 ha plot at Pasoh Forest Reserve, Malaysia. Overall, stem density was significantly higher on mounds than in their immediate surroundings, but tree species diversity was significantly lower. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that location on or off mounds significantly influenced species distribution when stems were characterized by basal area. Like studies of termite mounds in other ecosystems, our results suggest that epigeal termite mounds provide a specific microhabitat for the enhanced growth and survival of certain species in these species-rich tropical forests. However, the extent to which epigeal termite mounds facilitate species coexistence warrants further investigation

Podcasting In Higher Education: Does It Make A Difference?

Podcasting is a growing trend in higher education. Major software companies, such as Apple, have dedicated entire websites to podcasting. These podcasts are available to college students to be used as supplemental material for specific coursework at their particular college or university. Unfortunately, due to the new and progressive nature of the technology, empirical studies of the effectiveness of this pedagogical device are rare. This paper presents an empirical study of the effectiveness of podcasting when incorporated as supplemental course material in a university course

An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Podcasting As A Supplemental Instructional Tool: A Pilot Study

Podcasting is the creation of audio or video files for use on iPods and other MP3 players. It allows the user to view or listen to downloadable files wherever or whenever desired. In higher education, podcasting is experiencing extraordinary growth. While a significant volume of literature exists both lauding and lamenting the incorporation of podcasts into university curricula, the authors were unable to find any empirical studies in either the academic or popular press evaluating any benefits or detriments attributable to educational applications of podcasting.  This paper presents the pilot for an empirical study of the effectiveness of podcasting as a course supplement

Farm types and farmer motivations to adapt:Implications for design of sustainable agricultural interventions in the rubber plantations of South West China

Tropical land use is one of the leading causes of global environmental change. Sustainable agricultural development aims to reduce the negative environmental impacts of tropical land use whilst enhancing the well-being of the smallholder farmers residing in those areas. Interventions with this goal are typically designed by scientists educated in the Western tradition, and often achieve lower than desired uptake by smallholder farmers. We build on work done in farm type classification and studies of factors that influence adaptation, trialling a suite of household survey questions to elucidate the motivational factors that influence a farmer's willingness to adapt to external change. Based on a sample of 1015 households in the rubber growing region of Xishuangbanna, South-west China, we found that farm types based on structural characteristics (e.g. crops, livelihoods) could not be used to accurately predict farmers' motivations to adapt. Amongst all six farm types identified, the full range of motivational typologies was found. We found six motivational types, from most to least likely to adapt, named: Aspirational Innovators, Conscientious, Copy Cats, Incentive-centric, Well Settled, and Change Resistant. These groups roughly corresponded with those identified in literature regarding diffusion of innovations, but such classifications are rarely used in development literature. We predict that only one third of the population would be potentially willing to trial a new intervention, and recommend that those sectors of the population should be identified and preferentially targeted by development programs. Such an approach requires validation that these motivational typologies accurately predict real behaviour – perhaps through a panel survey approach. Dedicated data gathering is required, beyond what is usually carried out for ex-ante farm typologies, but with some refinements of the methodology presented here the process need not be onerous. An improved suite of questions to appraise farmers' motivations might include value orientations, life satisfaction, and responses to various scenarios, all phrased to be locally appropriate, with a scoring system that uses the full range of potential scores and a minimum of follow up and peripheral questions

Evolution of Fruit Traits in Ficus Subgenus Sycomorus (Moraceae): To What Extent Do Frugivores Determine Seed Dispersal Mode?

Fig trees are a ubiquitous component of tropical rain forests and exhibit an enormous diversity of ecologies. Focusing on Ficus subgenus Sycomorus, a phenotypically diverse and ecologically important Old World lineage, we examined the evolution of fruit traits using a molecular phylogeny constructed using 5 kilobases of DNA sequence data from 63 species (50% of global diversity). In particular, we ask whether patterns of trait correlations are consistent with dispersal agents as the primary selective force shaping morphological diversity or if other ecological factors may provide a better explanation? Fig colour, size and placement (axial, cauliflorous, or geocarpic) were all highly evolutionarily liable, and the same fruit traits have evolved in different biogeographic regions with substantially different dispersal agents. After controlling for phylogenetic autocorrelation, we found that fig colour and size were significantly associated with fig placement and plant-life history traits (maximum plant height and leaf area, respectively). However, contrary to prevailing assumptions, fig placement correlated poorly with known dispersal agents and appears more likely determined by other factors, such as flowering phenology, nutrient economy, and habitat preference. Thus, plant life-history, both directly and through its influence on fig placement, appears to have played a prominent role in determining fruit traits in these figs

Ecology of hemiepiphytism in fig species is based on evolutionary correlation of hydraulics and carbon economy

Woody hemiepiphytic species (Hs) are important components of tropical rain forests, and they have been hypothesized to differ from non-hemiepiphytic tree species (NHs) in adaptations relating to water relations and carbon economy; but few studies have been conducted comparing ecophysiological traits between the two growth forms especially in an evolutionary context. Using common-garden plants of the genus Ficus, functional traits related to plant hydraulics and carbon economy were compared for seven NHs and seven Hs in their adult terrestrial ‘‘tree-like’’ growth phase. We used phylogenetically independent contrasts to test the hypothesis that differences in water availability selected for contrasting suites of traits in Hs and NHs, driving evolutionary correlations among functional traits including hydraulic conductivity and photosynthetic traits. Species of the two growth forms differed in functional traits; Hs had substantially lower xylem hydraulic conductivity and stomatal conductance, and higher instantaneous photosynthetic water use efficiency. Leaf morphological and structural traits also differed strikingly between the two growth forms. The Hs had significantly smaller leaves, higher leaf mass per area (LMA), and smaller xylem vessel lumen diameters. Across all the species, hydraulic conductivity was positively correlated with leaf gas exchange indicating high degrees of hydraulic–photosynthetic coordination. More importantly, these correlations were supported by correlations implemented on phylogenetic independent contrasts, suggesting that most trait correlations arose through repeated convergent evolution rather than as a result of chance events in the deep nodes of the lineage. Variation in xylem hydraulic conductivity was also centrally associated with a suite of other functional traits related to carbon economy and growth, such as LMA, water use efficiency, leaf nutrient concentration, and photosynthetic nutrient use efficiency, indicating important physiological constraints or trade-offs among functional traits. Shifts in this trait cluster apparently related to the adaptation to drought-prone canopy growth during the early life cycle of Hs and clearly affected ecophysiology of the later terrestrial stage of these species. Evolutionary flexibility in hydraulics and associated traits might be one basis for the hyperdiversification of Ficus species in tropical rain forests.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog