Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 28 in total

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  1. Hussain Ismail AM, Solomon JA, Hansard M, Mareschal I
    Proc Biol Sci, 2019 Nov 06;286(1914):20191492.
    PMID: 31690239 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1492
    Ambiguous images are widely recognized as a valuable tool for probing human perception. Perceptual biases that arise when people make judgements about ambiguous images reveal their expectations about the environment. While perceptual biases in early visual processing have been well established, their existence in higher-level vision has been explored only for faces, which may be processed differently from other objects. Here we developed a new, highly versatile method of creating ambiguous hybrid images comprising two component objects belonging to distinct categories. We used these hybrids to measure perceptual biases in object classification and found that images of man-made (manufactured) objects dominated those of naturally occurring (non-man-made) ones in hybrids. This dominance generalized to a broad range of object categories, persisted when the horizontal and vertical elements that dominate man-made objects were removed and increased with the real-world size of the manufactured object. Our findings show for the first time that people have perceptual biases to see man-made objects and suggest that extended exposure to manufactured environments in our urban-living participants has changed the way that they see the world.
  2. Kingston T, Lara MC, Jones G, Akbar Z, Kunz TH, Schneider CJ
    Proc Biol Sci, 2001 Jul 7;268(1474):1381-6.
    PMID: 11429138
    We present evidence that a relatively widespread and common bat from South East Asia comprises two morphologically cryptic but acoustically divergent species. A population of the bicoloured leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros bicolor) from Peninsular Malaysia exhibits a bimodal distribution of echolocation call frequencies, with peaks in the frequency of maximum energy at ca. 131 and 142 kHz. The two phonic types are genetically distinct, with a cytochrome b sequence divergence of just under 7%. We consider the mechanisms by which acoustic divergence in these species might arise. Differences in call frequency are not likely to effect resource partitioning by detectable prey size or functional range. However, ecological segregation may be achieved by differences in microhabitat use; the 131kHz H. bicolor is characterized by significantly longer forearms, lower wing loading, a lower aspect ratio and a more rounded wingtip, features that are associated with greater manoeuvrability in flight that may enable it to forage in more cluttered environments relative to the 142 kHz phonic type. We suggest that acoustic divergence in these species is a consequence of social selection for a clear communication channel, which is mediated by the close link between the acoustic signal and receptor systems imposed by the highly specialized nature of the hipposiderid and rhinolophid echolocation system.
  3. Horowitz J, Quattrini AM, Brugler MR, Miller DJ, Pahang K, Bridge TCL, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2023 Oct 11;290(2008):20231107.
    PMID: 37788705 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1107
    Deep-sea lineages are generally thought to arise from shallow-water ancestors, but this hypothesis is based on a relatively small number of taxonomic groups. Anthozoans, which include corals and sea anemones, are significant contributors to the faunal diversity of the deep sea, but the timing and mechanisms of their invasion into this biome remain elusive. Here, we reconstruct a fully resolved, time-calibrated phylogeny of 83 species in the order Antipatharia (black coral) to investigate their bathymetric evolutionary history. Our reconstruction indicates that extant black coral lineages first diversified in continental slope depths (∼250-3000 m) during the early Silurian (∼437 millions of years ago (Ma)) and subsequently radiated into, and diversified within, both continental shelf (less than 250 m) and abyssal (greater than 3000 m) habitats. Ancestral state reconstruction analysis suggests that the appearance of morphological features that enhanced the ability of black corals to acquire nutrients coincided with their invasion of novel depths. Our findings have important conservation implications for anthozoan lineages, as the loss of 'source' slope lineages could threaten millions of years of evolutionary history and confound future invasion events, thereby warranting protection.
  4. Boyero L, Pearson RG, Hui C, Gessner MO, Pérez J, Alexandrou MA, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2016 Apr 27;283(1829).
    PMID: 27122551 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2664
    Plant litter breakdown is a key ecological process in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Streams and rivers, in particular, contribute substantially to global carbon fluxes. However, there is little information available on the relative roles of different drivers of plant litter breakdown in fresh waters, particularly at large scales. We present a global-scale study of litter breakdown in streams to compare the roles of biotic, climatic and other environmental factors on breakdown rates. We conducted an experiment in 24 streams encompassing latitudes from 47.8° N to 42.8° S, using litter mixtures of local species differing in quality and phylogenetic diversity (PD), and alder (Alnus glutinosa) to control for variation in litter traits. Our models revealed that breakdown of alder was driven by climate, with some influence of pH, whereas variation in breakdown of litter mixtures was explained mainly by litter quality and PD. Effects of litter quality and PD and stream pH were more positive at higher temperatures, indicating that different mechanisms may operate at different latitudes. These results reflect global variability caused by multiple factors, but unexplained variance points to the need for expanded global-scale comparisons.
  5. Ord TJ, Blazek K, White TE, Das I
    Proc Biol Sci, 2021 06 09;288(1952):20210706.
    PMID: 34102889 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0706
    Social animals are expected to face a trade-off between producing a signal that is detectible by mates and rivals, but not obvious to predators. This trade-off is fundamental for understanding the design of many animal signals, and is often the lens through which the evolution of alternative communication strategies is viewed. We have a reasonable working knowledge of how conspecifics detect signals under different conditions, but how predators exploit conspicuous communication of prey is complex and hard to predict. We quantified predation on 1566 robotic lizard prey that performed a conspicuous visual display, possessed a conspicuous ornament or remained cryptic. Attacks by free-ranging predators were consistent across two contrasting ecosystems and showed robotic prey that performed a conspicuous display were equally likely to be attacked as those that remained cryptic. Furthermore, predators avoided attacking robotic prey with a fixed, highly visible ornament that was novel at both locations. These data show that it is prey familiarity-not conspicuousness-that determine predation risk. These findings replicated across different predator-prey communities not only reveal how conspicuous signals might evolve in high predation environments, but could help resolve the paradox of aposematism and why some exotic species avoid predation when invading new areas.
  6. Keith SA, Maynard JA, Edwards AJ, Guest JR, Bauman AG, van Hooidonk R, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2016 05 11;283(1830).
    PMID: 27170709 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0011
    Coral spawning times have been linked to multiple environmental factors; however, to what extent these factors act as generalized cues across multiple species and large spatial scales is unknown. We used a unique dataset of coral spawning from 34 reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans to test if month of spawning and peak spawning month in assemblages of Acropora spp. can be predicted by sea surface temperature (SST), photosynthetically available radiation, wind speed, current speed, rainfall or sunset time. Contrary to the classic view that high mean SST initiates coral spawning, we found rapid increases in SST to be the best predictor in both cases (month of spawning: R(2) = 0.73, peak: R(2) = 0.62). Our findings suggest that a rapid increase in SST provides the dominant proximate cue for coral mass spawning over large geographical scales. We hypothesize that coral spawning is ultimately timed to ensure optimal fertilization success.
  7. Edwards DP, Larsen TH, Docherty TD, Ansell FA, Hsu WW, Derhé MA, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2011 Jan 7;278(1702):82-90.
    PMID: 20685713 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.1062
    Southeast Asia is a hotspot of imperiled biodiversity, owing to extensive logging and forest conversion to oil palm agriculture. The degraded forests that remain after multiple rounds of intensive logging are often assumed to be of little conservation value; consequently, there has been no concerted effort to prevent them from being converted to oil palm. However, no study has quantified the biodiversity of repeatedly logged forests. We compare the species richness and composition of birds and dung beetles within unlogged (primary), once-logged and twice-logged forests in Sabah, Borneo. Logging had little effect on the overall richness of birds. Dung beetle richness declined following once-logging but did not decline further after twice-logging. The species composition of bird and dung beetle communities was altered, particularly after the second logging rotation, but globally imperiled bird species (IUCN Red List) did not decline further after twice-logging. Remarkably, over 75 per cent of bird and dung beetle species found in unlogged forest persisted within twice-logged forest. Although twice-logged forests have less biological value than primary and once-logged forests, they clearly provide important habitat for numerous bird and dung beetle species. Preventing these degraded forests from being converted to oil palm should be a priority of policy-makers and conservationists.
  8. O'Brien MJ, Hector A, Kellenberger RT, Maycock CR, Ong R, Philipson CD, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2022 Jun 08;289(1976):20220739.
    PMID: 35703055 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0739
    The role of conspecific density dependence (CDD) in the maintenance of species richness is a central focus of tropical forest ecology. However, tests of CDD often ignore the integrated effects of CDD over multiple life stages and their long-term impacts on population demography. We combined a 10-year time series of seed production, seedling recruitment and sapling and tree demography of three dominant Southeast Asian tree species that adopt a mast-fruiting phenology. We used these data to construct individual-based models that examine the effects of CDD on population growth rates (λ) across life-history stages. Recruitment was driven by positive CDD for all species, supporting the predator satiation hypothesis, while negative CDD affected seedling and sapling growth of two species, significantly reducing λ. This negative CDD on juvenile growth overshadowed the positive CDD of recruitment, suggesting the cumulative effects of CDD during seedling and sapling development has greater importance than the positive CDD during infrequent masting events. Overall, CDD varied among positive, neutral and negative effects across life-history stages for all species, suggesting that assessments of CDD on transitions between just two stages (e.g. seeds seedlings or juveniles mature trees) probably misrepresent the importance of CDD on population growth and stability.
  9. Teyssier A, Matthysen E, Hudin NS, de Neve L, White J, Lens L
    Proc Biol Sci, 2020 02 12;287(1920):20192182.
    PMID: 32019440 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2182
    Urban sprawl increasingly affects the ecology of natural populations, including host-microbiota interactions, with observed differences in the gut microbiota between urban and rural hosts. While different mechanisms could explain this pattern, dietary uptake constitutes a likely candidate. To assess the contribution of diet in explaining urban-rural variation in gut microbiota, we performed an aviary experiment in which urban and rural house sparrows were fed with mimics of urban or rural diets. Before the experiment, rural sparrows hosted more diverse gut communities, with a higher relative abundance of Enterococcaceae and Staphylococcaceae and lower abundance of genes involved in xenobiotic degradation and lipid metabolism than their urban counterparts. The experimental diets significantly altered gut microbiota α- and β-diversity and taxonomic composition, with the strongest shifts occurring in individuals exposed to contrasting diets. Overall, diet-induced shifts resembled initial differences between free-ranging urban and rural hosts. Furthermore, rural diet had a positive impact on urban host body mass but only in hosts with the highest initial gut diversity. Overall, our results indicate that diet constitutes an important factor contributing to differences in gut microbiota along the urbanization gradient and provide new insights on possible fitness consequences of a reduced gut diversity in urban settings.
  10. Jessop TS, Ariefiandy A, Purwandana D, Ciofi C, Imansyah J, Benu YJ, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2018 11 14;285(1891).
    PMID: 30429305 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1829
    Loss of dispersal typifies island biotas, but the selective processes driving this phenomenon remain contentious. This is because selection via, both indirect (e.g. relaxed selection or island syndromes) and direct (e.g. natural selection or spatial sorting) processes may be involved, and no study has yet convincingly distinguished between these alternatives. Here, we combined observational and experimental analyses of an island lizard, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis, the world's largest lizard), to provide evidence for the actions of multiple processes that could contribute to island dispersal loss. In the Komodo dragon, concordant results from telemetry, simulations, experimental translocations, mark-recapture, and gene flow studies indicated that despite impressive physical and sensory capabilities for long-distance movement, Komodo dragons exhibited near complete dispersal restriction: individuals rarely moved beyond the valleys they were born/captured in. Importantly, lizard site-fidelity was insensitive to common agents of dispersal evolution (i.e. indices of risk for inbreeding, kin and intraspecific competition, and low habitat quality) that consequently reduced survival of resident individuals. We suggest that direct selection restricts movement capacity (e.g. via benefits of spatial philopatry and increased costs of dispersal) alongside use of dispersal-compensating traits (e.g. intraspecific niche partitioning) to constrain dispersal in island species.
  11. Xu X, Liu F, Cheng RC, Chen J, Xu X, Zhang Z, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2015 Jun 07;282(1808):20142486.
    PMID: 25948684 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2486
    Living fossils are lineages that have retained plesiomorphic traits through long time periods. It is expected that such lineages have both originated and diversified long ago. Such expectations have recently been challenged in some textbook examples of living fossils, notably in extant cycads and coelacanths. Using a phylogenetic approach, we tested the patterns of the origin and diversification of liphistiid spiders, a clade of spiders considered to be living fossils due to their retention of arachnid plesiomorphies and their exclusive grouping in Mesothelae, an ancient clade sister to all modern spiders. Facilitated by original sampling throughout their Asian range, we here provide the phylogenetic framework necessary for reconstructing liphistiid biogeographic history. All phylogenetic analyses support the monophyly of Liphistiidae and of eight genera. As the fossil evidence supports a Carboniferous Euramerican origin of Mesothelae, our dating analyses postulate a long eastward over-land dispersal towards the Asian origin of Liphistiidae during the Palaeogene (39-58 Ma). Contrary to expectations, diversification within extant liphistiid genera is relatively recent, in the Neogene and Late Palaeogene (4-24 Ma). While no over-water dispersal events are needed to explain their evolutionary history, the history of liphistiid spiders has the potential to play prominently in vicariant biogeographic studies.
  12. Venkataraman VV, Yegian AK, Wallace IJ, Holowka NB, Tacey I, Gurven M, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2018 11 07;285(1890).
    PMID: 30404871 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1492
    The convergent evolution of the human pygmy phenotype in tropical rainforests is widely assumed to reflect adaptation in response to the distinct ecological challenges of this habitat (e.g. high levels of heat and humidity, high pathogen load, low food availability, and dense forest structure), yet few precise adaptive benefits of this phenotype have been proposed. Here, we describe and test a biomechanical model of how the rainforest environment can alter gait kinematics such that short stature is advantageous in dense habitats. We hypothesized that environmental constraints on step length in rainforests alter walking mechanics such that taller individuals are expected to walk more slowly due to their inability to achieve preferred step lengths in the rainforest. We tested predictions from this model with experimental field data from two short-statured populations that regularly forage in the rainforest: the Batek of Peninsular Malaysia and the Tsimane of the Bolivian Amazon. In accordance with model expectations, we found stature-dependent constraints on step length in the rainforest and concomitant reductions in walking speed that are expected to compromise foraging efficiency. These results provide the first evidence that the human pygmy phenotype is beneficial in terms of locomotor performance and highlight the value of applying laboratory-derived biomechanical models to field settings for testing evolutionary hypotheses.
  13. Brodie JF, Strimas-Mackey M, Mohd-Azlan J, Granados A, Bernard H, Giordano AJ, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2017 01 25;284(1847).
    PMID: 28100818 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2335
    The responses of lowland tropical communities to climate change will critically influence global biodiversity but remain poorly understood. If species in these systems are unable to tolerate warming, the communities-currently the most diverse on Earth-may become depauperate ('biotic attrition'). In response to temperature changes, animals can adjust their distribution in space or their activity in time, but these two components of the niche are seldom considered together. We assessed the spatio-temporal niches of rainforest mammal species in Borneo across gradients in elevation and temperature. Most species are not predicted to experience changes in spatio-temporal niche availability, even under pessimistic warming scenarios. Responses to temperature are not predictable by phylogeny but do appear to be trait-based, being much more variable in smaller-bodied taxa. General circulation models and weather station data suggest unprecedentedly high midday temperatures later in the century; predicted responses to this warming among small-bodied species range from 9% losses to 6% gains in spatio-temporal niche availability, while larger species have close to 0% predicted change. Body mass may therefore be a key ecological trait influencing the identity of climate change winners and losers. Mammal species composition will probably change in some areas as temperatures rise, but full-scale biotic attrition this century appears unlikely.
  14. Finnegan SR, White NJ, Koh D, Camus MF, Fowler K, Pomiankowski A
    Proc Biol Sci, 2019 Sep 11;286(1910):20191414.
    PMID: 31480972 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1414
    A number of species are affected by Sex-Ratio (SR) meiotic drive, a selfish genetic element located on the X-chromosome that causes dysfunction of Y-bearing sperm. SR is transmitted to up to 100% of offspring, causing extreme sex ratio bias. SR in several species is found in a stable polymorphism at a moderate frequency, suggesting there must be strong frequency-dependent selection resisting its spread. We investigate the effect of SR on female and male egg-to-adult viability in the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni. SR meiotic drive in this species is old, and appears to be broadly stable at a moderate (approx. 20%) frequency. We use large-scale controlled crosses to estimate the strength of selection acting against SR in female and male carriers. We find that SR reduces the egg-to-adult viability of both sexes. In females, homozygous females experience greater reduction in viability (sf = 0.242) and the deleterious effects of SR are additive (h = 0.511). The male deficit in viability (sm = 0.214) is not different from that in homozygous females. The evidence does not support the expectation that deleterious side effects of SR are recessive or sex-limited. We discuss how these reductions in egg-to-adult survival, as well as other forms of selection acting on SR, may maintain the SR polymorphism in this species.
  15. Krug PJ, Caplins SA, Algoso K, Thomas K, Valdés ÁA, Wade R, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2022 Apr 13;289(1972):20211855.
    PMID: 35382597 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1855
    Transitions to terrestriality have been associated with major animal radiations including land snails and slugs in Stylommatophora (>20 000 described species), the most successful lineage of 'pulmonates' (a non-monophyletic assemblage of air-breathing gastropods). However, phylogenomic studies have failed to robustly resolve relationships among traditional pulmonates and affiliated marine lineages that comprise clade Panpulmonata (Mollusca, Gastropoda), especially two key taxa: Sacoglossa, a group including photosynthetic sea slugs, and Siphonarioidea, intertidal limpet-like snails with a non-contractile pneumostome (narrow opening to a vascularized pallial cavity). To clarify the evolutionary history of the panpulmonate radiation, we performed phylogenomic analyses on datasets of up to 1160 nuclear protein-coding genes for 110 gastropods, including 40 new transcriptomes for Sacoglossa and Siphonarioidea. All 18 analyses recovered Sacoglossa as the sister group to a clade we named Pneumopulmonata, within which Siphonarioidea was sister to the remaining lineages in most analyses. Comparative modelling indicated shifts to marginal habitat (estuarine, mangrove and intertidal zones) preceded and accelerated the evolution of a pneumostome, present in the pneumopulmonate ancestor along with a one-sided plicate gill. These findings highlight key intermediate stages in the evolution of air-breathing snails, supporting the hypothesis that adaptation to marginal zones played an important role in major sea-to-land transitions.
  16. Deith MCM, Brodie JF
    Proc Biol Sci, 2020 03 11;287(1922):20192677.
    PMID: 32156211 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2677
    Unsustainable hunting is emptying forests of large animals around the world, but current understanding of how human foraging spreads across landscapes has been stymied by data deficiencies and cryptic hunter behaviour. Unlike other global threats to biodiversity like deforestation, climate change and overfishing, maps of wild meat hunters' movements-often based on forest accessibility-typically cover small scales and are rarely validated with real-world observations. Using camera trapping data from rainforests across Malaysian Borneo, we show that while hunter movements are strongly correlated with the accessibility of different parts of the landscape, accessibility measures are most informative when they integrate fine-scale habitat features like topography and land cover. Measures of accessibility naive to fine-scale habitat complexity, like distance to the nearest road or settlement, generate poor approximations of hunters' movements. In comparison, accessibility as measured by high-resolution movement models based on circuit theory provides vastly better reflections of real-world foraging movements. Our results highlight that simple models incorporating fine-scale landscape heterogeneity can be powerful tools for understanding and predicting widespread threats to biodiversity.
  17. Brock PM, Fornace KM, Grigg MJ, Anstey NM, William T, Cox J, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2019 Jan 16;286(1894):20182351.
    PMID: 30963872 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2351
    The complex transmission ecologies of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases pose challenges to their control, especially in changing landscapes. Human incidence of zoonotic malaria ( Plasmodium knowlesi) is associated with deforestation although mechanisms are unknown. Here, a novel application of a method for predicting disease occurrence that combines machine learning and statistics is used to identify the key spatial scales that define the relationship between zoonotic malaria cases and environmental change. Using data from satellite imagery, a case-control study, and a cross-sectional survey, predictive models of household-level occurrence of P. knowlesi were fitted with 16 variables summarized at 11 spatial scales simultaneously. The method identified a strong and well-defined peak of predictive influence of the proportion of cleared land within 1 km of households on P. knowlesi occurrence. Aspect (1 and 2 km), slope (0.5 km) and canopy regrowth (0.5 km) were important at small scales. By contrast, fragmentation of deforested areas influenced P. knowlesi occurrence probability most strongly at large scales (4 and 5 km). The identification of these spatial scales narrows the field of plausible mechanisms that connect land use change and P. knowlesi, allowing for the refinement of disease occurrence predictions and the design of spatially-targeted interventions.
  18. Harrison RD
    Proc Biol Sci, 2000 May 7;267(1446):911-5.
    PMID: 10853734
    Figs (Ficus spp.) and their species-specific pollinators, the fig wasps (Agaonidae), have coevolved one of the most intricate interactions found in nature, in which the fig wasps, in return for pollination services, raise their offspring in the fig inflorescence. Fig wasps, however, have very short adult lives and hence are dependent on the near-continuous production of inflorescences to maintain their populations. From January to March 1998 northern Borneo suffered a very severe drought linked to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation event of 1997-1998. This caused a substantial break in the production of inflorescences on dioecious figs and led to the local extinction of their pollinators at Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia. Most pollinators had not recolonized six months after the drought and, given the high level of endemism and wide extent of the drought, some species may be totally extinct. Cascading effects on vertebrate seed dispersers, for which figs are often regarded as keystone resources, and the tree species dependent on their services are also likely. This has considerable implications for the maintenance of biodiversity under a scenario of climate change and greater climatic extremes.
  19. Moleón M, Sánchez-Zapata JA, Donázar JA, Revilla E, Martín-López B, Gutiérrez-Cánovas C, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2020 03 11;287(1922):20192643.
    PMID: 32126954 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2643
    Concern for megafauna is increasing among scientists and non-scientists. Many studies have emphasized that megafauna play prominent ecological roles and provide important ecosystem services to humanity. But, what precisely are 'megafauna'? Here, we critically assess the concept of megafauna and propose a goal-oriented framework for megafaunal research. First, we review definitions of megafauna and analyse associated terminology in the scientific literature. Second, we conduct a survey among ecologists and palaeontologists to assess the species traits used to identify and define megafauna. Our review indicates that definitions are highly dependent on the study ecosystem and research question, and primarily rely on ad hoc size-related criteria. Our survey suggests that body size is crucial, but not necessarily sufficient, for addressing the different applications of the term megafauna. Thus, after discussing the pros and cons of existing definitions, we propose an additional approach by defining two function-oriented megafaunal concepts: 'keystone megafauna' and 'functional megafauna', with its variant 'apex megafauna'. Assessing megafauna from a functional perspective could challenge the perception that there may not be a unifying definition of megafauna that can be applied to all eco-evolutionary narratives. In addition, using functional definitions of megafauna could be especially conducive to cross-disciplinary understanding and cooperation, improvement of conservation policy and practice, and strengthening of public perception. As megafaunal research advances, we encourage scientists to unambiguously define how they use the term 'megafauna' and to present the logic underpinning their definition.
  20. Magrach A, Senior RA, Rogers A, Nurdin D, Benedick S, Laurance WF, et al.
    Proc Biol Sci, 2016 Mar 16;283(1826):20153008.
    PMID: 26936241 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.3008
    Selective logging is one of the major drivers of tropical forest degradation, causing important shifts in species composition. Whether such changes modify interactions between species and the networks in which they are embedded remain fundamental questions to assess the 'health' and ecosystem functionality of logged forests. We focus on interactions between lianas and their tree hosts within primary and selectively logged forests in the biodiversity hotspot of Malaysian Borneo. We found that lianas were more abundant, had higher species richness, and different species compositions in logged than in primary forests. Logged forests showed heavier liana loads disparately affecting slow-growing tree species, which could exacerbate the loss of timber value and carbon storage already associated with logging. Moreover, simulation scenarios of host tree local species loss indicated that logging might decrease the robustness of liana-tree interaction networks if heavily infested trees (i.e. the most connected ones) were more likely to disappear. This effect is partially mitigated in the short term by the colonization of host trees by a greater diversity of liana species within logged forests, yet this might not compensate for the loss of preferred tree hosts in the long term. As a consequence, species interaction networks may show a lagged response to disturbance, which may trigger sudden collapses in species richness and ecosystem function in response to additional disturbances, representing a new type of 'extinction debt'.
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