Rapid, accurate assessment of arboreal vertebrates in tropical forests remains a bottleneck for large-scale biodiversity monitoring, due to the challenges and effort associated with traditional survey methods. To bridge this gap, arboreal camera-trapping is emerging as a promising way to observe otherwise elusive species, opening new avenues to advance behavioural ecology, community ecology and conservation biology. Yet, unlike ground-based camera-trapping, which has greatly benefited from machine learning innovations for automated species classification, equivalent tools for arboreal wildlife are almost non-existent. Here, we introduce TropiCam-AI, the first algorithm for automated species classification of Neotropical arboreal mammals and birds. We trained a deep learning architecture to recognize 84 taxa (63 species, 13 genera, 5 families and 3 orders), using a diverse set of camera-trap databases from Brazil (77,657 images), Peru (48,670 images), Costa Rica (44,857 images) and French Guiana (18,221 images). We also included in the training phase citizen science images from the iNaturalist platform (53,960 images) to increase generalizability and taxonomic coverage. Finally, we implemented a post-hoc aggregation strategy to further refine uncertain predictions by classifying them at higher taxonomic levels. TropiCam-AI reaches state-of-the-art testing accuracy of 95.0%, with the majority of taxa (50 out of 84) achieving >90% precision and recall, and 36 exceeding 95%. When allowing our model to return uncertain predictions at higher taxonomic ranks, predictive accuracy increased significantly, with a net gain of +4.3% in accuracy. Thanks to the carefully tuned data augmentation from iNaturalist, our model covers all 24 genera of New World monkeys and reliably classifies a wide array of other arboreal vertebrates. TropiCam-AI is available to use on the no-code AddaxAI platform, enabling a smooth and rapid uptake by a broad range of professionals working in the Neotropics. By reducing reliance on labour-intensive manual review of camera-trap data, TropiCam-AI empowers ecologists to accelerate data processing and ultimately enable effective assessment of Neotropical arboreal wildlife. This versatility can support not only targeted conservation actions but also fundamental ecological research in one of the world's most biodiverse yet under-surveyed ecosystems.

Recent arrivals of lace bug species to New Caledonia pushed us to update the catalog of this family. We listed the endemics and the recently arrived species, making a total of 51 species currently recorded. We also reported new sites and new hosts in New Caledonia. A partial lace bug fauna from Wallis and Futuna is also given. Their environmental and agricultural impacts are reviewed in the context of a biodiversity hotspot.

ABSTRACT Motivation Overhunting is a major driver of defaunation in tropical ecosystems, yet its impacts and spatial extent remain challenging to quantify through conventional remote sensing approaches. Novel modelling frameworks based on quantitative relationships between impacts on wildlife populations and the main drivers of hunting pressure have provided a mean to identify hotspots of defaunation for avian and mammalian communities at a pantropical scale. However, the absence of spatially explicit predictions of hunting impacts at the species level hinders comprehensive assessments of biodiversity loss. Here, we present species‐specific defaunation raster maps for 4992 birds and mammals. Main Types of Variables Contained Raw abundance datasets reporting paired abundance estimates in hunted and unhunted areas, year and location of data collection, reference of the original study, taxonomic information, and predictor variables. Defaunation index maps in raster format at 1 km × 1 km resolution for 3680 species of birds and 1312 species of mammals. Spatial Location Pantropical. Time Period and Grain 1980–2025 for the abundance estimates, 2020 for the defaunation rasters. Major Taxa and Level of Measurement Tropical bird and mammal species. Software Format One dataset in csv format with raw abundance estimates from local studies, 4992 raster files in tif format with defaunation values per grid cell.

Arboreal habitats are three-dimensionally complex and are composed of substrates that differ in size, compliance, and continuity. In response, arboreal vertebrates have evolved morphological and behavioral traits allowing them to successfully move through these environments. Prehensile tails constitute one of such adaptations, yet remain poorly studied. Variation in prehensile tail use between species might result in anatomical variations, as has been shown in primates but remains undocumented in most species. The present study, therefore, sought to describe prehensile tail use and substrate type utilization between two primates, the Guianan red howler (Alouatta macconnelli) and Brown capuchin (Sapajus apella) and one carnivoran, the Kinkajou (Potos flavus). To do so, we used 1431 photographs obtained from camera traps placed in the canopy in French Guyana. The results showed that P. flavus exhibits a greater diversity of overall positional and prehensile tail-associated behaviors compared to S. apella and A. macconnelli. Moreover, P. flavus used its tail for both stability and mass-bearing purposes during locomotor and postural behaviors, while A. macconnelli and S. apella used their tails mainly for mass bearing and stability, respectively, and this was only during postural behaviors. P. flavus mostly used large substrates but A. macconnelli used more small substrates. S. apella showed a preference for both medium and large substrates. Multivariate analyses showed that the three species were well discriminated regarding positional behaviors, with P. flavus exhibiting several postural and especially locomotor behaviors not shared by the two primate species, as well as a combination of behaviors shared with either of the two aforementioned species. A. macconnelli was mainly characterized by suspensory posture and vertical displacements, whereas S. apella mainly used above-branch postures using its tail to anchor itself.

Mountains are an ideal context to study species community and adaptation in relation to environmental changes such as temperature and vegetation profile. Such changes produce different ecological niches that can be a source of local adaptations in the communities, like body size varying with elevation, for example. In this context, planthoppers (Insects, Hempitera, Fulgoromorpha) community and their species traits were studied along an altitudinal gradient in Mount Wilhelm (Papua New Guinea) to test niche and morphological trait conservatism in relation to environmental filtering. Niche conservatism is significant at high altitude for Cixiidae, and forewing shape is conserved. This is not the case for Achilidae and Derbidae, for which forewing shape is not conserved and forewing relative length increases in size with altitude. These variations in size and shape translate an adaptation of Achilidae and Derbidae to high altitudes; while closely related species of Cixiidae tend to keep the same ecological niche, and then, forewing size and shape are maintained.

Biological invasions increase with the intensity of globalization, human activities, and climate change. Insects represent a high potential of invasive species due to their adaptability to new environment. We analysed here the potential of an Asian phytophagous bug, Corythauma ayyari (Heteroptera, Tingidae) to become widespread, recently recorded in Europe, and that depends on Jasminum spp., an ornamental plant widespread in Europe. We modelled its current distribution, projected it into the future and tested its niche overlap between native and invaded areas. When considering the host plants as environmental variables, the analysis shows that C. ayyari shifted to a new ecological niche but its distribution is restricted by its host plant distribution. Including or excluding the host plants as environmental variables has an impact on C. ayyari distribution. We recommend to consider host plant interactions when dealing with niche modelling of phytophagous species.

AimWildlife overexploitation, either for food consumption or for the pet trade, is one of the main threats to bird species in tropical forests. Yet, the spatial distribution and intensity of harvesting pressure on tropical birds remain challenging to quantify. Here, we identify the drivers of hunting-induced declines in bird abundance and quantify the magnitude and the spatial extent of avian defaunation at a pantropical scale.LocationPantropical.MethodsWe compiled 2968 abundance estimates in hunted and non-hunted sites across the tropics spanning 518 bird species. Using a Bayesian modelling framework, we fitted species' abundance response ratios to a set of drivers of hunting pressure and species traits. Subsequently, we applied our model to quantify the spatial patterns of avian defaunation across tropical forests and to assess avian defaunation across biogeographic realms, and for species captured for the pet trade or for food consumption.ResultsBody mass and its interactions with hunter accessibility and proximity to urban markets were the most important drivers of hunting-induced bird abundance declines. We estimated a mean abundance reduction of 12% across the tropics for all species, and that 43% of the extent of tropical forests harbour defaunated avian communities. Large-bodied species and the Indomalayan realm displayed the greatest abundance declines. Further, moderate to high levels of defaunation extended over 24% of the pantropical forest area, with distinct spatial patterns for species captured for the pet trade (Brazil, China and Indonesia) and for food consumption (SE Asia and West Africa).Main ConclusionsOur study emphasizes the role of hunter accessibility and the proximity to urban markets as major drivers of bird abundance declines due to hunting and trapping. We further identified hotspots where overexploitation has detrimental effects on tropical birds, encompassing local extinction events, thus underscoring the urgent need for conservation efforts to address unsustainable exploitation for both subsistence and trade.

In this research, multivariate data analysis method called partial triadic analysis (PTA) were derived to unravel spatiotemporal variations in water quality and to identify potential sources of water pollution in the Northern Tunisia. The sampling was conducted in ten sites located in the north-eastern Tunisia part at the Cap Bon-Meliane watershed. We collected 16 environmental parameters of which were find significant spatial variations, suggesting the issue of anthropogenic activities by multiple stressors such as organic pollution and nutrients (agricultural activities); oxygen-consuming organic pollution (industry wastewater), salinization (agricultural activities, organic decomposition and geologic deposits). Therefore, the identification of the main potential environmental hazards in north-eastern of Tunisia by this study is a useful way of reporting the water quality status and developing better water resources protection.

Studying positional behaviors is important for understanding how animals interact with their immediate environment. This is particularly important in arboreal species since arboreal milieus are primarily characterized by three-dimensional problems that arboreal species must overcome to efficiently access resources. Similarly, a fundamental aspect of an animal's ecology is its daily activity pattern. This information is important for understanding the basic ecology of animal species and their eco-evolutionary dynamics. This study sought to understand the habitat use and nocturnal lifestyle of the highly arboreal kinkajou (Potos flavus) by documenting variation in positional behaviors and activity patterns using 2223 photographs obtained from 27 camera traps in French Guiana. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kernel density estimation (KDE), and Gantt charts. Our results indicate that kinkajous show a strictly nocturnal activity pattern beginning from 19:00 h to 05:57 h, with peak active periods between 01:00 h and 02:00 h. The most frequent activities were scanning (48.33%) and traveling (47.13%). Quadrupedal walking (95.43%) was the main locomotor behavior during traveling. However, when crossing gaps between two substrates, kinkajous would either bridge (42.22%), leap (33.33%), or drop (26.67%) across gaps. Inactive periods were characterized by grooming (77.32%) and resting (27.84%) while mostly assuming a sitting (90.67%) or a catlike body curl posture (92.59%), interchangeably. This study highlights the broad array of positional behaviors displayed by kinkajous, further providing information to understand its basic ecology and eco-evolutionary dynamics.

With 175 described genera and 1556 described species, Family Cercopidae is currently divided into two subfamilies: the paraphyletic Cercopinae and the monophyletic Ischnorhininae. This study, with emphasis on the family Cercopidae, is in line with the extensive work of Cryan and Svenson which is the first phylogenetic study testing the monophyly of this family and higher-level relationships within Cercopoidea. This study includes more representative taxa from Old World regions. The results of the phylogenetic analysis based on DNA nucleotide sequence data (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, histone 3, and cytochrome oxidase I) show that Cercopidae is not monophyletic. Three major lineages are recovered: (1) the lineage Microsargane Fowler, 1897 + Hemitriecphora Lallemand, 1949 which is the sister group to Aphrophoridae + Epipygidae, (2) most of the Old World Cercopidae appear as a monophyletic lineage that can be subdivided into two clades, and (3) the monophyletic New World Ischnorhininae, which is separated from the rest of Cercopidae and basal to the two other lineages. It is proposed that Microsargane and Hemitriecphora should be removed from Cercopidae and placed within Aphrophoridae, and only the monophyletic Old World lineage should be kept as Cercopidae sensu stricto. The two subfamilies Cercopinae and Cosmoscartinae, corresponding respectively to the monophyletic lineage groups 2 and 3, should be kept with minimal changes on the tribal level, and the subfamily Ischnorhininae should be raised to family level Ischnorhinidae stat. nov.

The interplay between chemical reaction and substrate deformation is discussed by adapting Ranz's formulation for scalar mixing to the case of a reactive mixture between segregated reactants, initially separated by an interface whose thickness may not be vanishingly small. Experiments in a simple shear flow demonstrate the existence of three regimes depending on the Damköhler number $Da=t_s/t_c$ where $t_s$ is the mixing time of the interface width and $t_c$ is the chemical time. Instead of treating explicitly the chemical cross-term, we rationalize these different regimes by globalizing it as a production term involving a flux which depends on the rate at which the reaction zone is fed by the reactants, a formulation valid for $Da>1$ . For $Da<1$ , the reactants interpenetrate before they react, giving rise to a ‘diffusio-chemical’ regime where chemical production occurs within a substrate whose width is controlled by molecular diffusion.

French Guiana forests are threatened by increasing human activity such as infrastructure development, facilitating access to the forest and, therefore, logging, mining, farming and hunting. To highlight the impact of human pressure on the forest fauna, dung beetle assemblage was analyzed near Saint-Georges-de-l’Oyapock and compared with other sites in French Guiana, considering the distance to the main city and forest cover loss as proxies of human activities. Hill numbers and beta diversity were calculated. Non-metric multidimensional scaling and redundancy analyses were carried out to disentangle the effect of the distance to the nearest city and forest cover loss as proxies of human pressure, but also temperature and rainfall as proxies of climatic variations on dung beetle assemblage. Species richness increased significantly with the distance to the nearest city and decreasing forest cover loss. Assemblage structure varied among sites mainly with distance to the nearest city but also with rainfall. It varied also with forest cover loss, but not significantly. This study showed that human disturbances and climatic conditions, even if represented by proxies, affected dung beetle assemblage structures in French Guiana forests.

Ecological interactions are being affected at unprecedented rates by human activities in tropical forests. Yet, the continuity of ecological functions provided by animals, such as seed dispersal, is crucial for forest regeneration and species resilience to anthropogenic pressures. The construction of new roads in tropical forests is one of the main boosters of habitat destruction as it facilitates human access to previously isolated areas and increases defaunation and loss of ecological functions. It, therefore, becomes increasingly urgent to rapidly assess how recently opened roads and associated anthropogenic activities affect ecological processes in natural habitats, so that appropriate management measures to conserve diversity can be taken. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of anthropogenic pressures on the health status of a mature rainforest crossed by a newly opened road in French Guiana. For this, we combined different methods to conduct a rapid assessment of the forest’s health status. Firstly, we evaluated the activity of frugivores using camera traps deployed in four forest patches located near (<1 km) ecological corridors preserved as canopy bridges over the road during the fruiting periods of four animal-dispersed tree species. Secondly, we analyzed the fate of seeds enclosed in animal-dispersed tropical fruits by calculating the proportions of fruits consumed and seeds removed (either dispersed or predated) by frugivores. Results show that the proportion of fruits opened and consumed was lower in the forest areas located near the road than in the control forest, and this difference was more significant for plant species strictly dependent on large-bodied primates for seed dispersal than for species relying on both primates and birds. Camera traps showed the presence of small primates and kinkajous feeding on Virola fruits in the forest impacted by the road, where large primates were absent. It is thus likely that smaller frugivores exert a compensatory effect that maintains ecological functions near the road. Despite efforts made to preserve forest continuity through ecological corridors, anthropogenic pressures associated with road proximity are affecting wildlife and disrupting associated ecological functions crucial for plant regeneration, contributing to further forest degradation.

Heteropteran communities form a key component of aquatic ecosystems but have not been widely studied compared to other freshwater faunal groups. This research examined the environmental parameters influencing the diversity, seasonal distribution and structure of aquatic Heteroptera assemblages in the Mediterranean region of Tunisia, northern Africa. Heteropterans were most abundant during spring and summer, coinciding with the emergence of several species and the most favorable environmental conditions for benthic aquatic fauna. Three-way multivariate analyses (combining community composition data from all sites and seasons) highlighted the longitudinal spatial organization of Heteropteran communities. Headwater regions were dominated by hal-ophobic sensitive taxa, and lowland sites were characterized by high salinity resistant taxa (halophilic taxa). The longitudinal organization was driven by gradients of mineralization (salinity and electrical conductivity) and oxygen (DO, COD and BOD) concentrations. Taxonomic composition differed between river catchments, with significantly higher diversity (taxa richness) in the streams with adjacent riparian forest cover. These sites were characterized by the presence of endemic species, such as Velia africana and Velia eckerleini, and rare species, Notonecta meridionalis, and Aquarius najas. Results recorded highlight the importance of aquatic vegetation and water quality in driving the seasonal and spatial variability of Heteropterans, and provide important information to inform the management and conservation of freshwater biodiversity in Northern Africa.

Paranotella taragui, a new genus and species of Tingidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) recorded from the province of Corrientes, Argentina, is described. Its taxonomic position is justified, it is compared with the closest genera and the corresponding bibliography is offered.

An annotated catalogue is presented for the type specimens of the peiratine Reduviidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) preserved in the Musum National dHistoire Naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France. The Peiratinae collection in MNHN contains type specimens representing 58 nominal species and five varieties (including 48 species and one subspecies currently recognized as valid) of 16 genera. The great majority of the type specimens concerns taxa described by Andr Villiers and Ren Jeannel; there are also several type specimens representing species described by Johann Christian Fabricius, Gustave Fallou and, more recently, Jean-Michel Brenger. The information provided for each taxon and its type specimens includes: original data, type status, label information, type locality, current status and related remarks. Colour images of representative types and their labels are also provided. Specimens of four additional peiratine species, erroneously labelled as Type, are also listed.