The consequences of tropical forest fragmentation on herbivory are poorly understood. The limited evidence suggests that forest fragmentation can have positive, negative or neutral effects on herbivory. Inconsistencies may be partly explained by plant interspecific variation and differential responses related to plant life history. In this study we examined the effects of forest fragmentation and plant regeneration mode (shade‐tolerant and light‐demanding species) on sapling herbivory using a large sample of the community (97 species, representing 25% of the woody flora of the study site), and a subset of species shared by forest fragments and continuous forest. For the latter, we also analyzed the effects of species identity on variation in herbivory. Also, for the shared species we used two techniques to measure herbivory: standing herbivory (i.e. instantaneous, actual damage) and cumulative herbivory (i.e. damage, accumulated over time, on initially intact leaves). Insect herbivory was the predominant type of damage in the two forest types, and standing herbivory at both the community and the shared species level was significantly higher in continuous forest than in fragments. Considering shared species, both standing and cumulative herbivory were significantly higher in light‐demanding than in shade‐tolerant species. Cumulative herbivory also showed a significant interaction between forest fragmentation and plant regeneration mode, whereby a significant decline in herbivory in fragments was driven by reduced herbivory in shade‐tolerant species, whereas for light‐demanding species herbivory did not change significantly, due to contrasting species‐specific responses. We conclude that tropical forest fragmentation reduces insect herbivory, but this depends on plant regeneration mode and species identity. These changes could have effects on plant regeneration and diversity in forest fragments via long‐term demographic consequences.

The consequences of habitat alteration on the role of understory insectivorous birds as predators of herbivorous insects in tropical forests are poorly understood. To examine whether fragmentation may affect the top-down controls of herbivory, we compared the number of species, individuals, and the community structure of insectivorous birds between fragments and continuous tropical moist forest in Mexico. We also registered insect herbivore abundances and conducted a larvae predation experiment to evaluate the potential role of insectivorous birds as predators of herbivorous insects. We recorded 63 bird species from 22 families, 43 percent of which were insectivorous birds. Species richness, abundance, and diversity of the avian community were higher in continuous forest compared with forest fragments. For insectivorous birds in particular, there was low similarity in avian insectivore communities between forest types, and forest fragments had more heavily dominated communities of avian insectivores. During the dry season, forest fragments presented significantly higher predation rates on artificial caterpillars, and lower abundance of herbivorous Lepidoptera larvae, compared with continuous forest. Furthermore, there was a significant negative correlation between artificial caterpillar predation rate and larval Lepidoptera abundance, with higher rates of predation in sample sites of low Lepidoptera abundance. Hence, the potentially greater light in the dry season combined with a more dominated avian insectivore community in forest fragments may facilitate increased predation by avian insectivores, resulting in a decline in abundance of larval Lepidoptera, with implications for the process of insect-driven herbivory in forest fragments.

Zuelania guidonia is a tree species of cultural importance in Totonac society. This tree is a central element of the Los Voladores (the "flying men") pre-Hispanic ritual ceremony. However, the populations of Z. guidonia have decreased due to anthropogenic activity. This study aimed to codesign an agroforestry model for the recovery of Z. guidonia populations by combining scientific and traditional agroforestry knowledge at the El Tajín archaeological site in Veracruz, Mexico. We assessed the abundance of Z. guidonia and analyzed plant species richness and diversity in forest fragments. Species were classified according to plant regeneration modes (light-demanding and shade-tolerant) and to the local uses of secondary forests and conserved forest fragments. In addition, we worked collaboratively in a project that consisted of workshops, focus groups, open interviews, drawings, and field walks with community members. We studied a small population of Z. guidonia and recorded 116 woody species. Our findings showed that conserved forests were more diverse than secondary forests. Seventy-four percent of the species are useful to people. The Totonac people chose traditional vanilla plantations as a guiding model to shape their agroforestry system for restoring native vegetation. The results of our collaborative work revealed the Totonac extensive Traditional Ecological Knowledge and the need for the Voladores' group to strengthen alliances with other government and nongovernment organizations. They designed a model of a diversified traditional agroforestry vanilla system enriched with multipurpose plants as the outset of local well-being and regional agrobiodiversity restoration. This study reveals a distinct heterogenous land management scheme that provides the necessary conditions for preserving plant diversity, which will be used by local people for different purposes. We argue for studies that build on the relationship between scientific knowledge and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in transformed landscapes as a step forward for the long-term conservation of biocultural diversity.

The abundance, species richness, similarity and dominance of braconid parasitoid wasps were estimated for 4 types of land use (secondary forest, rubber plantations, living fences and pastures), and remnants of preserved tropical rain forest in southern Mexico. We also analyzed whether specialist (koinobionts) taxa are more negatively affected by forest disturbance than generalists (idiobionts), and whether braconid abundance is correlated with adult host abundance. Braconids were sampled using 3 Malaise traps for each type of land use during March 2010 and May 2011. We collected 143 individuals belonging to 65 species and 15 subfamilies. Species richness and abundance were higher in preserved and secondary forests, than in other types of land use. Although abundance and richness were low in pastures, these sites potentially contain hosts for braconids. We detected no variation in abundance or species richness by land use, even when comparing idio-and koinobionts. The most dominant species belonged to the genera Apanteles (Microgastrinae) and Hetersopilus (Doryctinae) in all land use types, except pasture, where Bracon (Braconinae) dominated. We detected a positive relationship between braconids and adult host abundance. Altogether, the 4 types of land use and the preserved forest are able to host a diverse braconid community.

This study analyzes the potential uses of live fences and pastures as reservoirs of plant diversity for two regions with different management histories, Los Tuxtlas (LT) and Uxpanapa (UX), Veracruz, México. We studied two habitats, live fences and pastures, analyzed their species richness, diversity, structure and plant composition and classified species according to plant regeneration modes (light-demanding and shade tolerant), seed dispersal syndrome and their local uses. We recorded 62 species of trees at LT and 48 at UX. Live fences were more diverse than pastures in both regions. The LT site showed to analyze the relationship a higher diversity of plants in regeneration stages than the one at UX. However, UX had higher diversity of adult plants in the pastures than LT. Composition and structure of live fences were different between regions, as well as within live fences and pastures, 53 % of species were light-demanding and 40 % were shade tolerant; 70 % of the species were dispersed by birds. Differences between sites are associated with the modifications in live fences structure, which changed according to managerial practices and the use of local species; this may influence plant regeneration modes as well as the visits of avian dispersal agents. In LT, all species found in live fences were useful to humans, whereas in UX, less than half were used by the local population. Our results underline the importance of live fences and isolated trees in pasture habitats as potential sites to host native and useful species from tropical rain forests in livestock landscapes.

Herbivory is ubiquitous. Despite being a potential driver of plant distribution and performance, herbivory remains largely undocumented. Some early attempts have been made to review, globally, how much leaf area is removed through insect feeding. Kozlov et al., in one of the most comprehensive reviews regarding global patterns of herbivory, have compiled published studies regarding foliar removal and sampled data on global herbivory levels using a standardized protocol. However, in the review by Kozlov et al., only 15 sampling sites, comprising 33 plant species, were evaluated in tropical areas around the globe. In Brazil, which ranks first in terms of plant biodiversity, with a total of 46,097 species, almost half (43%) being endemic, a single data point was sampled, covering only two plant species. In an attempt to increase knowledge regarding herbivory in tropical plant species and to provide the raw data needed to test general hypotheses related to plant-herbivore interactions across large spatial scales, we proposed a joint, collaborative network to evaluate tropical herbivory. This network allowed us to update and expand the data on insect herbivory in tropical and temperate plant species. Our data set, collected with a standardized protocol, covers 45 sampling sites from nine countries and includes leaf herbivory measurements of 57,239 leaves from 209 species of vascular plants belonging to 65 families from tropical and temperate regions. They expand previous data sets by including a total of 32 sampling sites from tropical areas around the globe, comprising 152 species, 146 of them being sampled in Brazil. For temperate areas, it includes 13 sampling sites, comprising 59 species. Thus, when compared to the most recent comprehensive review of insect herbivory (Kozlov et al.), our data set has increased the base of available data for the tropical plants more than 460% (from 33 to 152 species) and the Brazilian sampling was increased 7,300% (from 2 to 146 species). Data on precise levels of herbivory are presented for more than 57,000 leaves worldwide. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this paper when using the current data in publications; the authors request to be informed how the data is used in the publications.

Background: Morphologic variation in fruits and seeds affects the performance and adaptation of plants.Only a few studies have integrally analyzed these variables and their effects in plant germination and early growth in tropical dry forest (TDF). Questions: Do the size and shape of fruits influence the number and mass of seeds? Is there a positive relation between seed traits, germination and seedling growth? Species studied: Ceiba aesculifolia. Study site: A TDF growing in a lava field in Actopan, Veracruz: Methods: The fruits of 35 individuals of one population were classified into three size categories (small, medium and large), from which fresh fruit mass and length, number and mass of seeds, and seed lipid and water content were determined. In addition, lag time, germination rate (velocity) and percentage, and seedling biomass were assessed. Results: Fruit mass was positively related to seed mass, but fruit weight was negatively related to number of seeds. Larger seeds had higher lipid and water content. No differences were registered in lag time or final germination percentage. Heavier seeds produced seedlings with higher biomass. Conclusions:The number and size of seeds in fruits may determine differential capabilities for seedling establishment. Key words: tropical dry forest, Ceiba aesculifolia, germination, fruit size, seedling size.Variación morfológica en frutos y semillas de Ceiba aesculifolia y su relación con la germinación y la biomasa de las plántulas Resumen Antecedentes: La variación morfológica de frutos y semillas afecta el desempeño y adaptación de las plantas. En pocos estudios se han analizado estas variables, sus efectos en la germinación y crecimiento en plántulas de bosques tropicales secos. Preguntas: ¿El tamaño y forma de los frutos determina el número y peso de las semillas? ¿Existe una relación positiva entre las características de las semillas, la germinación y el crecimiento de las plántulas? Especie en estudio: Ceiba aesculifolia. Sitio de estudio: Bosque tropical seco desallorrandose sobre mal país en Actopan, Veracruz. Métodos: En una población de 35 individuos se clasificaron los frutos en tres categorías de tamaño (pequeño, medio, grande). En cada categoría se determinó el peso fresco, largo, número de semillas por fruto, así como el peso, contenido de lípidos y agua de las semillas. Además se determinó el tiempo de reposo, la velocidad y porcentaje de germinación y la biomasa de las plántulas. Resultados: El peso de los frutos estuvo relacionado positivamente con el peso de las semillas, y negativamente con el número de semillas. Las semillas más grandes tuvieron mayor contenido de lípidos y agua. No se registraron diferencias en el tiempo de reposo, ni en los porcentajes de germinación. Las semillas con mayor peso producen las plántulas con mayor biomasa. Conclusiones: El número y tamaño de las semillas en los frutos puede determinar capacidades diferenciales de establecimiento de las plántulas. Palabras clave: bosque tropical seco, Ceiba aesculifolia, germinació...

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