Aim Despite the evidenced importance of insects in savannah ecosystems, the drivers of their diversity patterns remain poorly understood, particularly in the Afrotropical region. This study addresses part of this gap by investigating the effects of climate, habitat, disturbance and vegetation variables on species richness and community composition of phytophagous and predatory insects in South African savannahs. Location Kruge...

Aim One of the fundamental tools in biogeography is the classification of the Earth surface into spatially coherent units based on assemblage distinctiveness. However, spatial coherence of biogeographical regions may be scale‐dependent, that is, it may change with changing the size of spatial units used. We ask (1) how the clusters resulting from the classification of animal assemblages at different spatial scales differ in th...

Aim To show that the frequently reported positive trend in the abundance–range‐size relationship does not hold true within a montane bird community of Afrotropical highlands; to test possible explanations of the extraordinary shape of this relationship; and to discuss the influence of island effects on patterns of bird abundance in the Cameroon Mountains. Location Bamenda Highlands, Cameroon, Western Africa. Methods We censuse...