Aquatic islands in the sky: 100 years of research on water-filled tree holes.

ABSTRACT: Water-filled tree holes are unique ecosystems that may occur high up in tree crowns and are essentially aquatic islands in the sky. Insect larvae, mesofauna, and other organisms colonize the waterbodies and feed on the accumulating detritus. Water-filled tree holes are not only important habitats for these species but have been used as model systems in ecology. Here, we review more than 100 years of research on tree-hole inhabiting organisms and show that most studies focus on selected or even single species (most of which are mosquitoes), whereas only few studies examine groups other than insects, especially in the tropics. Using a vote counting of results and a meta-analysis of community studies, we show that the effects of tree-hole size and resources on abundance and richness were inve

SUBMITTER: Petermann JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9374645 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature