Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Edge effects and tropical forest canopy invertebrates

  • Chapter
Tropical Forest Canopies: Ecology and Management

Part of the book series: Forestry Sciences ((FOSC,volume 69))

Abstract

The term edge effect can be used to encompass a wide range of both biotic and abiotic trends associated with boundaries between adjacent habitat types, whether these be natural or anthropogenic. Edge effects have been shown to represent significant forces affecting both faunal and floral assemblages in fragmented ecosystems. Specific studies of faunal assemblages associated with habitat edges have revealed trends at all levels of biological organisation from individuals to communities.

Studies of edge effects on invertebrates in tropical forests have been relatively scarce. In this paper we review the nature and organisation of edge effects, focusing upon the processes which may lead to detrimental consequences for both forest canopy invertebrates and the forests themselves. We present as a case study data illustrating the very large amount of variance (over 50%) in community structure that is predicted simply by abiotic (microclimatic) variables in both a tropical and a temperate forest edge. We summarise major features of edge effects amongst forest invertebrates, stress the inter-relatedness of edge and canopy biology, and present an agenda for study of the canopy as an edge.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Aizen, M. A. and Feinsinger, P. 1994. Forest fragmentation, pollination, and plant reproduction in a chaco dry forest, Argentina. Ecology 75 (2): 330–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrén, H. 1994. Effects of habitat fragmentation on birds and mammals in landscapes with different proportions of suitable habitat: a review. Oikos 71: 355–366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anstett, M. C., Hossaert-McKey, M. and McKey, D. 1997. Modelling the persistence of small populations of strongly interdependent species: figs and fig wasps. Cons. Biol. 11 (1): 204–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldi, A. 1996. Edge effects in tropical versus temperate forest bird communities: Three alternative hypotheses for the explanation of differences. Acta Zool. Acad. Sci. Hun. 42 (3): 163–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Basset, Y. 1996. Local communities of arboreal herbivores in Papua New Guinea: Predictors of insect variables. Ecology 7 (6): 1906–1919.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bawa, K. S. 1990. Plant-pollinator interactions in tropical rain forests. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 21: 399–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bawa, K. S., Perry, D. R. and Beach, J. H. 1985. Reproductive biology of tropical lowland rain forest trees. I. Sexual systems and incompatibility mechanisms. Am. J. Bot. 72: 331–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bedford, S. E. and Usher, M. B. 1994. Distribution of arthropod species across the margins of farm woodlands. Agric. Ecos. Env. 48 (3): 295–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birnbaum, P. 2001. Canopy surface topography in a French Guiana forest and the folded forest theory. Plant Ecol. 153: 293–300 (this volume).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bond, W. J. 1995. Assessing the risk of plant extinction due to pollinator and disperser failure. Pp. 131–146. In: Lawton, J. H. and May, R. M. (eds), Extinction rates. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowden, J., Haines, I. H. and Mercer, D. 1976. Climbing Collembola. Pedobiologia 16: 298–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. W. and Lightner, G. W. 1997. Recommendations on minimum experimental plot size and succession of aphidophaga in West Virginia, USA, apple orchards. Entomophaga 42 (1–2): 257–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, D. M. and Nol, E. 1998. Edge and fragment size effects on the vegetation of deciduous forests on Ontario, Canada. Nat. Areas J. 18 (1): 45–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Camargo, J. L. C. and Kapos, V. 1995. Complex edge effects on soil moisture and microclimate in central Amazonian forest. J. Trop. Ecol. 11: 205–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cappuccino, N. and Root, R. B. 1992. the significance of host patch edges to the colonisation and development of Corythucha inamorata (Hemiptera, Tingidae). Ecol. Ent. 17 (2): 109–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, J. Q., Franklin, J. F. and Spies, T. A 1995. Growing-season microclimatic gradients from clear-cut edges into old-growth douglas-fir forests. Ecol. Appl. 5 (1): 74–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chey, V. K., Holloway, J. D. and Speight, M. R. 1997. Diversity of moths in forest plantations and natural forests in Sabah. Bull. Ent. Res. 87 (4): 371–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, K. R. and Ainsworth, M. 1993. A method of linking multivariate community structure to environmental variables. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 92: 205–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke K. R. and Warwick, R. M. 1994. Change in marine communities: an approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. Natural Environment Research Council, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell, J. H. 1979. Tropical rain forests and coral reefs as open nonequilibrium systems. Pp. 141–163. In: R. M. Anderson, B. D. Turner and L. R. Taylor (eds.), Population Dynamics. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cudjoe, A. R, Neuenschwander, P. and Copland, M. J. W. 1993. Interference by ants in biological-control of the cassava mealybug Phenacoccus manihoti (Hemiptera, Pseudococcidae) in Ghana. Bull. Ent. Res. 83 (1): 15–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis A. J. and Sutton, S. E. 1998. The effects of rain forest canopy loss on arboreal dung beetles in Borneo: implications for the measurement of biodiversity in derived tropical ecosystems. Diversity Distrib. 4: 167–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, K. F. and Margules, C. R. 1998. Effects of habitat fragmentation on carabid beetles: experimental evidence. J. Anim. Ecol. 67 (3): 460–471.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeCasenave, J. L., Pelotto, J. P., Caziani, S. M., Mermoz, M. and Protomastro, J. 1998. Responses of avian assemblages to a natural edge in a Chaco semiarid forest in Argentina. Auk 115 (2): 425–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Didham, R. K. 1998. Altered leaf-litter decomposition rates in tropical forest fragments. Oecologia 116 (3): 397–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Didham, R. K. Ghazoul, J., Stork, N. E. and Davis, A. J. 1996. Insects in fragmented forests: a functional approach. Trends Ecol. Evol. 11 (6): 255–260.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Didham, R. K., Hammond, P. M., Lawton, J. H., Eggleton, P. and Stork, N. E. I998a. Beetle species responses to tropical forest fragmentation. Ecol. Monog. 68 (3): 295–323.

    Google Scholar 

  • Didham, R. K., Lawton, J. H., Hammond, P. M. and Eggleton, P. 1998b. Trophic structure stability and extinction dynamics of beetles (Coleoptera) in tropical forest fragments. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London B 353 (1367): 437–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, R. P., Buckley, H. L., Ulrich, S. C., Stewart, G. H. and Geritzlehner, J. 1998. Small-scale species richness in forest canopy gaps: The role of niche limitation versus the size of the species pool. J. Veg. Sci. 9: 455–460.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyer, L. E. and Landis, D. A. 1997. Influence of noncrop habitats on the distribution of Eriborus terebrans, (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) in cornfields. Ecol. Ent. 26 (4): 924–932

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, K. L. and Hambler, C. 1995. The microhabitat of Tuberta maerens (Araneae, Aglenidae). Bull. Brit. Arach. Soc. 10 (3): 101–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garwood, N. C. 1989. Tropical seed banks: a review. Pp. 149–210. In Leck, M. A., Parker, V. T. and Simpson, R. L. (eds), Ecology of seed banks. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greig, N. 1993. Predispersal seed predation on 5 piper species in tropical rain forest. Oecologia 93 (3): 412–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, M. O. 1979. DECORANA: a FORTRAN program for de-trended correspondence analysis and reciprocal averaging. Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howe, H. F. and Westerley, L. C. 1988. Ecological relationships of plants and animals. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingham, D. S. and Samways, M. J. 1996. Application of fragmentation and variegation models to epigaeic invertebrates in South Africa. Cons. Biol. 10 (5): 1353–1358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janzen, D. H. 1987. Insect diversity of a Costa Rican dry forest: why keep it and how? Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 30: 343–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiang, G., Han, X. Zhou, G. 1997. Changes of atmospheric CO2, photosynthesis of the grass layer and soil CO2 evolution in a typical temperate deciduous forest stand in the mountainous areas of Beijing. Acta Bot. Sinica 39: 653–660.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jose, S., Gillespie, A. R., George, S. J. and Kumar, B. M. 1996. Vegetation responses along edge-to-interior gradients in a high altitude tropical forest in peninsular India. For. Ecol. Man. 87 (1–3): 51–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kapos, V. 1989. Effects of isolation on the water status of forest patches in the Brazilian Amazon. J. Trop. Ecol. 5 (2): 173–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, M. L. and Tripathi, R. S. 1991. Seedling survival and growth of early and late successional tree species as affected by insect herbivory and pathogen attack in subtropical humid forest stands of north-east India. Acta Oecol.-lnt. J. Ecol. 12 (5): 569–579.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kruess, A. and Tscharntke, T. 1994. Habitat fragmentation, species loss, and biological-control. Science 264 (5165): 1581–1584.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laurance, W. F. 1991. Edge effects in tropical forest fragments–application of a model for the design of nature-reserves. Biol. Cons. 57 (2): 205–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laurance, W. F. and Yensen, E. 1991. Predicting the impacts of edge effects in fragmented habitats. Biol. Cons. 55 (1): 77–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laurance, W. F. and Harrington, G. N. 1997. Ecological associations of feeding sites of feral pigs in the Queensland wet tropics. Wild. Res. 24 (5): 579–590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leopold, A. 1933. Game management. Charles Scribner and Sons, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerdau, M. and Keller, M. 1997. Controls on isoprene emission from trees in a subtropical dry forest. Plant Cell Env. 20: 569–578.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lopez Zent, E. 1998. Creative perspective of environmental impacts by native Amazonian human populations. Interciencia 23 (4): 232–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovejoy, T. E., Bierregaard, R. O., Rylands, A. B., Malcolm, J. R., Quintela, C. E., Harper, L. H., Brown, K. S.Jr., Powell, A. H., Powe, G. V. N., Shubart, H. O. R. and Hays, M. B. 1986. Edge and other effects of isolation on Amazon Forest fragments. Pp. 275–285. In: M. E. Soulé (ed.), Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity. Sinauer, Sunderland.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacGarvin, M., Lawton, J. H. and Heads, P. A. S. 1986. The herbivorous insect communities of open and woodland bracken–observations, experiments and habitat manipulations. Oikos 47 (2): 135–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malcolm, J. R. 1997. Insect biomass in Amazonian forest fragments. Pp. 510–533. In: N. E. Stork, N. E., Adis, J. and Didham, R. K. (eds), Canopy arthropods. Chapman and Hall, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Malcolm, J. R. 1998. A model of conductive heat flow in forest edges and fragmented landscapes. Clim. Chan. 39 (2–3): 487502.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murcia, C. 1995. Edge effects in fragmented forests -implications for conservation. Trends Ecol. Evol. 10 (2): 58–62.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, N. 1996. Two key challenges for biodiversity: Discontinuities and synergisms. Biodiv. Cons. 5 (9): 1025–1034.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nason, J. D. and Hamrick, J. L. 1997. Reproductive and genetic consequences of forest fragmentation: two case studies of neotropical canopy trees. J. Hered. 88 (4): 264–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, S. C. and Campbell, C. L. 1993. Comparative spatial-analysis of foliar epidemics)n white clover caused by viruses, fungi, and a bacterium. Phytopathology 83 (3) 288–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholsorians, C. M. 1991. The effects of light on foliar chemistry, growth and susceptibility of seedlings of a canopy tree to an attinine ant. Oecologia 86 (4): 552–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozanne, C. M. P., Hambler, C. Foggo, A. and Speight, M. R. 1997. The significance of edge effects in the management of forests for invertebrate biodiversity. Pp. 535–550. In: Stork, N. E., Adis, J. and Didham, R. K. (eds), Canopy arthropods. Chapman and Hall, London. Parsons, P. A. 1991. Biodiversity conservation under global climatic-change–the insect Drosophila as a biological indicator. Glob. Ecol. Biogeog. Lett. 1 ( 3 ): 77–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peltonen, M. and Heliovaara, K. 1998. Incidence of Xylechinus pilosus and Cryphalus saltuarius (Scolytidae) in forest-clearcut edges. For. Ecol. Manag. 103 (2–3): 141–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ranta, P., Blom, T., Niemela, J., Joensuu, E. and Siitonen, M. 1998. The fragmented Atlantic rain forest of Brazil: size, shape and distribution of forest fragments. Biodiv. Cons. 7 (3): 385–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Regal, P. J. 1982. Pollination by wind and animals: ecology of geographic patterns. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Sys. 13: 497–524.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roland, J. 1993 Large-scale forest fragmentation increases the duration of tent caterpillar outbreak. Oecologia 93 (1): 25–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roland, J. and Taylor, P. D. 1997. Insect parasitoid species respond to forest structure at different spatial scales. Nature 386 (6626): 710–713.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rothman, L. D. and Roland, J. 1998. Forest fragmentation and colony performance of forest tent caterpillar. Ecography 21 (4): 383–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samways, M. J. 1994. Insect conservation. Biology. Chapman and Hall, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saunders, D. A., Hobbs, R. J. and Margules, C. R. 1991. Biological consequences of ecosystem fragmentation: a review. Cons. Biol. 5: 18–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schowalter, T. D. 1994. Invertebrate community structure and herbivory in a tropical rain forest canopy in Puerto-Rico following hurricane Hugo. Biotropica 26 (3): 312–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schowalter, T. D.and Ganio, L. M. 1998. Vertical and seasonal variation in canopy arthropod communities in an old-growth conifer forest in southwestern Washington, USA. Bull. Ent. Res. 88 (6): 633–640.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shibata, H., Satoh, F., Tanaka, Y. and Sakuma, T. 1996. The role of organic horizons and canopy to modify the chemistry of acidic deposition in some forest ecosystems. Water Air Soil Pollut. 85 (3): 1119–1124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soulé, M. J. 1986 (ed) 1986. Conservation, the science of scarcity and diversity. Sinauer, Sunderland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stouffer, P. C. and Bierregaard, R. O. 1995. Use of Amazonian forest fragments by understorey insectivorous birds. Ecology 76 (8): 2429–2445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suarez, A. V., Bolger, D. T. and Case, T. J. 1998. Effects of fragmentation and invasion on native ant communities in coastal southern California. Ecology 79 (6): 2041–2056.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toda, M. J. 1992. 3-dimensional dispersion of drosophilid flies in a cool temperate forest of northern Japan. Ecol. Res. 7 (3): 283–295.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, I. M. 1996. Species loss in fragments of tropical rain forest: a review of the evidence. J. Appl. Ecol. 33 (2): 200–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walter, P. 1984. Contribution à la connaissance des Scarabéides coprophages du Gabon (Col.) 2. Présence de populations dans la conopée de la forêt gabonaise. Bull. Soc. Ent. France 88: 514–521.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren, M. S. 1987. The ecology and conservation of the heath fritillary butterfly, Mellicta athalia II and III. J. Appl. Ecol. 24: 483–514.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, B. and Gillman, M. P. 1998. The effects of disturbance on forest butterflies using two methods of sampling in Trinidad. Biodiv. Cons. 7 (5): 597–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitt, L. J., Avila Pires, T. C. S., Caldwell, J. P. and Oliveira, V. R. L. 1998. The impact of individual tree harvesting on thermal environments of lizards in Amazonian rain forest. Cons. Biol. 12 (3): 654–664.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plymouth Environmental Research Centre & Department of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK

    Andrew Foggo

  2. School of Life Sciences, Roehampton Institute London, West Hill, London, SW15 3SN, UK

    Claire M. P. Ozanne

  3. Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK

    Martin R. Speight & Clive Hambler

Authors
  1. Andrew Foggo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Claire M. P. Ozanne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Martin R. Speight
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Clive Hambler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology Biozentrum, University of Wuerzburg, Germany

    K. Eduard Linsenmair

  2. Green College, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

    A. J. Davis

  3. Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology Biozentrum, Wuerzburg, Germany

    B. Fiala

  4. St. Anne’s College and Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

    M. R. Speight

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Foggo, A., Ozanne, C.M.P., Speight, M.R., Hambler, C. (2001). Edge effects and tropical forest canopy invertebrates. In: Linsenmair, K.E., Davis, A.J., Fiala, B., Speight, M.R. (eds) Tropical Forest Canopies: Ecology and Management. Forestry Sciences, vol 69. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3606-0_28

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3606-0_28

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5724-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-3606-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation