Bird's nest ferns promote resource sharing by centipedes

• Published in: Biotropica 2020-03, Vol.52 (2), p.335-344
• Main Authors: Phillips, Josie W., Chung, Arthur Y. C., Edgecombe, Gregory D., Ellwood, M. D. Farnon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asplenium; Asplenium epiphytes; Birds; Borneo; Canopies; Canopy; Chilopoda; competition; Decomposers; ecosystem function; Epiphytes; Ferns; forest canopies; Forest management; Geophilomorpha; Invertebrates; Lithobiomorpha; Nests; predation; Predators; Protected species; Rainforests; resource sharing; Scolopendromorpha; Scutigeromorpha; Tropical climate
• ISSN: 0006-3606; 1744-7429
• DOI: 10.1111/btp.12713

Bird's nest ferns (Asplenium spp.) support large numbers of invertebrates, including centipedes. As top invertebrate predators, centipedes drive ecosystem function, for example, by regulating decomposer populations, but we know little of their ecology in forest canopies. We provide the first detailed observations of the diversity and structure of the centipede communities of bird's nest ferns, revealing the importance of these epiphytes as nurseries for centipedes. We collected 305 centipedes equating to ˜11,300 mg of centipede biomass from 44 bird's nest ferns (22 of which were from the high canopy and 22 from the low canopy) in primary tropical rainforest in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Most abundant were the Scolopendromorpha (n = 227 individuals), followed by the Geophilomorpha (n = 59), Lithobiomorpha (n = 14), and Scutigeromorpha (n = 5). Although we observed very little overlap in species between the forest strata, scolopendromorph centipedes dominated throughout the canopy. Null model analysis revealed no significant competitive interactions; on the contrary, we observed centipedes sharing nest sites within the ferns on three of the ten occasions that we found nests. All nests belonged to centipedes of the family Scolopendridae, which are typically aggressive, and usually show negative spatial association. This study reveals a diverse community of canopy centipedes, providing further evidence of the importance of bird's nest ferns to a wide range of animals, many of which use the ferns at critical life stages. Future conservation strategies should regard these ubiquitous epiphytes as umbrella species and protect them accordingly in landscape management decisions. in Malay is available with online material. ABSTRAK Pakis sarang burung (Asplenium spp.) adalah tumbuhan epifitik kanopi yang menjadi perumah kepada banyak invertebrata, termasuklah lipan. Sebagai pemangsa invertebrata utama, lipan memainkan peranan memantau populasi pengurai sebagai fungsi ekosistem. Namun, maklumat berkenaan dengan ekologi atau kepentingan fungsi pemangsa ini di kanopi hutan sangatlah kurang. Kami memberikan pemerhatian pertama mengenai kepelbagaian dan komposisi komuniti lipan di pakis sarang burung, serta mengutarakan kepentingan pakis ini sebagai tapak tumbesaran untuk lipan. Kami telah mengutip 305 ekor lipan dari 44 pakis sarang burung (22 pakis di kanopi yang tinggi dan 22 pakis lagi di kanopi yang rendah, di hutan hujan tropika yang asli di Sabah. Ini adalah bersamaan