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FIGURE 3 in Description of larva and pupa of Phylloicus cressae Prather 2003 (Trichoptera Calamoceratidae) from a montane forest stream in the peri-urban area of Caracas Venezuela
FIGURE 3: Phylloicus cressae, larva; thorax, dorsal. 3A, pronotum; 3B, mesonotum; 3C, metanotum. Chaetotaxy of mesonotum and metanotum: DSa1 = tactile seta in dorsal Sa1, DSa2 = tactile setae (2 or 3) in dorsal Sa2, DSa3 = group of long and short tactile setae in dorsal Sa3.
Data from: Urban forest fragments as unexpected sanctuaries for the rare endemic ghost butterfly from the Atlantic forest.
Anthropogenic land expansion, particularly urbanization, is pervasive, dramatically modifies the environment and is a major threat to wildlife with its associated environmental stressors. Urban remnant vegetation can help mitigate these impacts and could be vital for species unable to survive in harsh urban environments. Although resembling non-urban habitats, urban vegetation remnants are subject to additional environmental stresses. Here we evaluate the occurrence and density of the endemic ghost butterfly (Morpho epistrophus nikolajewna), that was once common, in the highly fragmented Atlantic forest of NE Brazil. We tested whether this butterfly would be found at lower densities in urban forest fragments of contrasting sizes as opposed to rural ones, given the number of environmental stressors found in urban areas. We surveyed 14 forest fragments (range 2.8 to over 3000 ha) of semi-deciduous Atlantic forest in rural and urban locations using transect based distance sampling. The ghost butterflies showed strong seasonality; flying only from April to June. They were only identified in an urban fragment (515 ha), with an estimate of 720 individuals and a density 1.4 ind/ha. All forest fragments had experienced some level of logging in the past, which might have had an effect in the butterfly population. Nevertheless, rural forest fragments were subject to increased particulate matter concentrations, associated to biomass burning, that we suggest might have had a more influential role driving the collapse of rural populations. Our findings show the importance of urban forest remnants to sustain population of this endangered species.
Comparative Study of the Restorative effects of Forest and Urban Videos during Covid-19 Lockdown: Intrinsic and Benchmark Value
<p>Article: "Comparative Study of the Restorative effects of Forest and Urban Videos during Covid-19 Lockdown: Intrinsic and Benchmark Value"</p> <p>Video S1: forest environment </p> <p>Video S2: urban environment</p>
Forest patch size predicts seed bank composition in urban areas
<p><b>Questions:</b></p> <p>As urban areas expand around the world, understanding how to restore and maintain forests within the urban environment becomes increasingly important. Given that a comprehensive understanding of regeneration dynamics is critical to designating appropriate management interventions we ask the following: how does regeneration, vis-à-vis the buried seed bank, vary in heterogenous urban forests? And, can forest patch size be used to predict regeneration and consequent management interventions?</p> <p><b>Location:</b></p> <p>Vacant lots and public parks throughout New Haven, CT, USA.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b></p> <p>We sampled buried seed banks in 131 plots distributed across three forest patch sizes ranging from large intact parks (95-126 ha), to small parks (1-19 ha), and vacant lots (.05-.65 ha). We collected soil samples from the surface mineral soil and stratified them over sand in a greenhouse over a period of 5 months to record germination.</p> <p><b>Results:</b></p> <p>By examining seed bank floristics in a range of forest patch sizes we found that species composition and dominance of specific functional groups shifted with patch size representing a spectrum of urbanization within just one city. Seed bank floristics in large parks more closely resembled results from seed bank studies in rural forests with over 85% native germinants on average. In contrast, vacant lots were dominated by non-native germinants and more ruderal species indicative of earlier successional stages. Seed banks in small parks were variable and in some cases were more similar to large parks or vacant lots.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b></p> <p>Our findings suggest that large parks in urban areas may be largely self-sustaining whereas smaller parks may require more intensive management for site rehabilitation, especially in early states of succession. Furthermore, our results confirm the highly heterogeneous nature of urban forest patches and call for more systematic sampling of urban areas to capture this variation and improve management prescriptions and outcomes.</p>
The future urban forest: a survey of tree planting programs in the Northeastern United States
<p>Cities around the world are pursuing tree planting as a way to increase tree cover. Despite the growing interest in planting trees as a way to offset climate change, counter the negative impacts of urbanization, and provide benefits to city dwellers, there has not been a recent effort to quantify the number of trees being planted nor the species composition of these plantings. Because ecosystem services and ecosystem threats can transcend municipal boundaries, understanding trends in tree planting at multiple spatial scales is critical. To overcome this knowledge gap, we used a survey to collate recent tree planting data from 52 cities with populations greater than 50,000 people in the Northeastern USA. The four largest cities in our study (New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C.) planted over 87% of all the trees that were planted in the region. Smaller cities, which are numerous in region, planted proportionally fewer trees and, in over 40% of the small cities surveyed, planting palettes included invasive tree species, highlighting both a resource and knowledge gap in smaller cities as compared with larger ones. Regardless of city size, records also illuminated an overreliance on certain genera for specific ecosystem services; nearly 20% of all shade trees were <i>Quercus</i> species and over 40% of ornamental trees were either <i>Syringa</i> or <i>Prunus</i> species. As cities continue to rely on tree-planting as a form of green infrastructure, our results demonstrate that more consideration to establishing diverse planting palettes will be an important way to ensure that ecological resilience is maintained. Achieving this will depend on increased opportunities to collaborate across municipal boundaries and promoting cross-learning from the experiences of more innovative urbanized regions to urban regions with less infrastructure and expertise.</p>
Data from: Impacts of habitat on butterfly dispersal in tropical forests, parks and grassland patches embedded in an urban landscape
<p>Dispersal distances of 17 species of butterflies in tropical Singapore were significantly greater in forest than in urban habitat. Butterflies in urban plots frequently moved within suitable habitat (park/grassland) patches but rarely crossed non-habitat patches suggesting potential isolation and a need for urban corridors.</p>
Maternal effects and urbanization: Variation of yolk androgens and immunoglobulin in city and forest blackbirds
<p>Wildlife inhabiting urban environments exhibit drastic changes in morphology, physiology and behaviour. It has often been argued that these phenotypic responses could be the result of micro-evolutionary changes following the urbanization process. However, other mechanisms such as phenotypic plasticity, maternal effects and developmental plasticity could be involved as well. To address maternal effects as potential mechanisms, we compared maternal hormone and antibody concentrations in eggs between city and forest populations of European blackbirds (<i>Turdus merula</i>), a widely distributed species for which previous research demonstrated differences in behavioural and physiological traits. We measured egg and yolk mass, yolk concentrations of androgens (androstenedione (A<sub>4</sub>), testosterone (T), 5α-dihydrotestosterone (5α-DHT), and immunoglobulins (IgY) and related them to population, clutch size, laying order, embryo sex, and progress of breeding season. We show: i) earlier onset of laying in the city than forest population, but similar egg and clutch size; ii) higher overall yolk androgen concentrations in the forest than the city population (sex-dependent for T); iii) greater among-female variation of yolk T and 5α-DHT concentrations in the forest than city population, but similar within-clutch variation; iv) similar IgY concentrations with a seasonal decline in both populations; and v) population-specific positive (city) or negative (forest) association of yolk A<sub>4</sub> and T with IgY concentrations. Our results are consistent with the hypotheses that hormone-mediated maternal effects contribute to differences in behavioural and physiological traits between city and forest individuals and that yolk androgen and immunoglobulin levels can exhibit population-specific relationships rather than tradeoff against each other. </p>
Data from: Influence of mortality factors and host resistance on the population dynamics of emerald ash borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in urban forests
The success of emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) in North America is hypothesized to be due to both the lack of significant natural enemies permitting easy establishment and a population of trees that lack the ability to defend themselves, which allows populations to grow unchecked. Since its discovery in 2002, a number of studies have examined mortality factors of the insect in forests, but none have examined the role of natural enemies and other mortality agents in the urban forest. This is significant because it is in the urban forest where the emerald ash borer has had the most significant economic impacts. We studied populations in urban forests in three municipalities in Ontario, Canada, between 2010 and 2012 using life tables and stage-specific survivorship to analyze data from a split-rearing manipulative experiment. We found that there was little overall mortality caused by natural enemies; most mortality we did observe was caused by disease. Stage-specific survivorship was lowest in small and large larvae, supporting previous observations of high mortality in these two stages. We also used our data to test the hypothesis that mortality and density in emerald ash borer are linked. Our results support the prediction of a negative relationship between mortality and density. However, the relationship varies between insects developing in the crown and those in the trunk of the tree. This relationship was significant because when incorporated with previous findings, it suggests a mechanism and hypothesis to explain the outbreak dynamics of the emerald ash borer.
Data from: Effects of undergrowth removal and edge proximity on ground beetles and vascular plants in urban boreal forests
Urban forests are regularly managed for human safety and aesthetic reasons, but they are crucial habitat for many species. Removals of undergrowth occur commonly in these forests, yet the ecological consequences of these operations are poorly understood. We sampled ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and vascular plants along 20-m edge gradients in Finnish urban forests, in five stands treated 0.5−2.5 years earlier with undergrowth removal and in five untreated stands. We hypothesized that undergrowth removal and edge proximity would benefit opportunistic and open-habitat species, whereas shady-habitat species would be affected negatively. (1) Regarding carabids, diversity and evenness indices, open-habitat species and Carabus nemoralis responded positively, and forest species, Leistus terminatus and Pterostichus oblongopunctatus responded negatively, to the undergrowth removal. Regarding plants, generalists, Maianthemum bifolium, Rubus saxatilis and Sorbus aucuparia responded positively, and forest species, Geranium sylvaticum, Oxalis acetocella and Vaccinium myrtillus responded negatively, to the undergrowth removal. (2) Edge proximity had little effect on both plants and carabids. However, open-habitat carabids were less abundant and less speciose, and the plants Oxalis acetocella, Trientalis europaea and Rubus saxatilis had higher cover, 10−20 m from than right at the edge. (3) Plant (but not carabid) community responded to the undergrowth removal but not to the edge proximity. While managing urban forests, we recommend an avoidance of undergrowth removals at sites that host rare or threatened forest-associated flora and fauna.
Data from: Urban versus forest ecotypes are not explained by divergent reproductive selection
Increasing urbanisation offers a unique opportunity to study adaptive responses to rapid environmental change. Numerous studies have demonstrated phenotypic divergence between urban and rural organisms. However, comparing the direction and magnitude of natural selection between these environments has rarely been attempted. Using seven years of nest-box breeding monitoring of great tits (Parus major) in the city of Montpellier and in a nearby oak forest, we find phenotypic divergence in four morphological and two life-history traits between urban and forest birds. We then measure reproductive selection on these traits, and compare selection between the habitats. Urban birds had significantly smaller morphological features than their rural counterparts, with shorter tarsus, lower body mass and smaller wing and tail lengths relative to their overall body size. While urban female tarsus length was under stabilising selection, and forest males show positive selection for tarsus length and negative selection for body mass, selection gradients were significantly divergent between habitats only for body mass. Urban great tits also had earlier laying dates and smaller clutches. Surprisingly, we found selection for earlier laying date in the forest but not in the city. Conversely, we detected no linear selection on clutch size in the forest, but positive selection on clutch size in the urban habitat. Overall, these results do not support the hypothesis that contemporary reproductive selection explains differences in morphology and life history between urban and forest breeding great tits. We discuss how further experimental approaches will help confirm whether the observed divergence is maladaptive while identifying the environmental drivers behind it.
Fig. 3 in Influence of urban noise in call traits of the Atlantic Forest treefrog Bokermannohyla hylax
Fig. 3. Parameters of individuals' advertisement calls in both sampling sites close to (lighter colors) and far (darker colors) from the boulevard. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
Fig. 1 in Influence of urban noise in call traits of the Atlantic Forest treefrog Bokermannohyla hylax
Fig. 1. Collecting sites of Bokermannohyla hylax in S˜ao Paulo, Brazil, with the distances from collecting sites to boulevard and city houses.
Fig. 2 in Influence of urban noise in call traits of the Atlantic Forest treefrog Bokermannohyla hylax
Fig. 2. Mean frequency spectrum of Bokermannohyla hylax advertisement call in both sites and average urban noise close (blue line) to and far (pink line) from the boulevard (frequency sampling 22.05 kHz, window length 1024 points). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
Wildland-urban interface fire dynamics simulator input files for pyric tree spatial patterning interactions in historical and contemporary mixed conifer forests, California, USA
<p><span>Tree spatial patterns in dry coniferous forests of the western US, and analogous ecosystems globally, were historically aggregated, comprising a mixture of single trees and groups of trees. Modern forests, in contrast, are generally more homogeneous and overstocked than their historical counterparts. As these modern forests lack regular fire, pattern formation and maintenance is generally attributed to fire. Accordingly, fires in modern forests may not yield historically analogous patterns. However, direct observations on how selective tree mortality among pre-existing forest structure shapes tree spatial patterns is limited. In this study, we (1) simulated fires in historical and contemporary counterpart plots in a Sierra Nevadan mixed-conifer forest, (2) estimated tree mortality, and (3) examined tree spatial patterns of live trees before and after fire, and of fire-killed trees. Tree mortality in the historical period was clustered and density-dependent, because trees were aggregated and segregated by tree size before fire. Thus, fires maintained an aggregated distribution of tree groups. Tree mortality in the contemporary period was widespread, except for dispersed large trees, because most trees were a part of large, interconnected tree groups. Thus, post-fire tree patterns were more uniform and devoid of moderately sized tree groups. Post-fire tree patterns in the historical period, unlike the contemporary period, were within the historical range of variability identified for the western US. This divergence suggests that decades of forest dynamics without significant disturbances has altered the historical means of pyric pattern formation. Our results suggest that ecological silvicultural treatments, such as forest restoration thinnings, which emulate qualities of historical forests may facilitate the reintroduction of fire as a means to reinforce forest structural heterogeneity.</span></p>
Diverging conditions of current and potential future urban forest patches
<p>Forested natural areas in cities provide a range of social, ecological, economic, and health benefits. Ensuring the delivery of these benefits requires an understanding of current and potential future forest conditions yet urban forest dynamics are not well understood. Here, we address this knowledge gap by examining forest structure and composition in 126 plots distributed across three forest patch sizes (large (95-126 ha), medium (1-19 ha), and small (0.05-0.65 ha) patches) in the city of New Haven, CT, USA. We detected significant shifts in forest structure and composition suggesting a suite of distinct successional trajectories within each patch size. Large patches comprised 95% native tree species in the canopy ( > 5 cm DBH), sapling (1-5 cm DBH), and seedling (< 1 cm DBH) layers, suggesting that these large patches will continue to be native-dominated in the future— a primary objective for urban forest management. Moreover, in these large patches, shifts in the dominant species in each strata suggest that as large patches move through succession they will transition from moderately-shade tolerant forest types (i.e., oaks) to shade-tolerant types (i.e., American beech)— a similar successional trajectory to surrounding second growth forests in the region. Medium patches were the most heterogenous patch size sampled. Despite this heterogeneity, they generally resembled large patches in the canopy and sapling layers but diverged in the seedling layer. In medium patches, the invasive Norway maple replaced American beech as primary seedling species suggesting a future shift towards non-native dominated forest in the future. Small patches were the most compositionally and structurally distinct patch size sampled. Only 36% of the canopy trees and saplings in small patches were native species, however, this increased to 71% native in the seedling layer. Additionally, the most important seedling species included those that are bird-dispersed highlighting the potentially valuable role that these small, non-native, forest fragments play as wildlife corridors. Collectively, our study demonstrates that multiple forest types, dynamics, and conditions can be found within a single city and that forest patch size offers a helpful framework to begin to parse out these differences.</p>
Differences in feather structure between urban and forest great tits – constraint or adaptation?
<p>Urbanization is one of the strongest habitat transforming processes today that has resulted in changes in the ecological conditions for wild populations. In birds, the limitation of natural food sources and a warmer microclimate in cities can potentially influence the development and functioning of the plumage that may have important fitness consequences. Despite its potential significance, the plumage structure of urban birds are largely unexplored and it is unclear whether and how they respond to urban ecological processes such as different constraints and selection pressures. In this study, we compared several structural properties of contour, primary and tail feathers between two forest and two urban great tit <em>(Parus major)</em> populations. Our results show that the urban environment affects only a few structural properties of feathers and only in the plumage of first-year birds. We found that both the plumulaceous and the pennaceous parts of their contour feathers are longer and have lower barb density in the urban than in the forest habitat. We also found that the primaries of first-year birds have narrower rachis and higher barbule density in the cities than in the forests, but there were no differences in other wing feather traits and in any tail feather traits between habitats. We did not find differences in the feather structure of urban versus forest adult birds. The habitat differences in first-year birds may indicate nutritional constraints or the effects of the warmer microclimate of the urban environment. These differences seem to disappear completely in adulthood that can be explained by the selective mortality of first-year birds, or by adults being less sensitive than first-year birds to environmental effects during their molt.</p>
FIGURE 4. A–C. Phyllanthus niruri. A in A new species of Phyllanthus (Phyllanthaceae) hiding in the shades in an urban Atlantic Forest in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
FIGURE 4. A–C. Phyllanthus niruri. A. Branches with pistillate flowers and fruits, B. Staminate flowers, C. Pistillate flowers. D–H. P. augustinii. D. Habit, E–F. Staminate flower. G. Pistillate flower. H. Fruits. (Fotos: A. Otávio Marques, B–C. Joyce Assunção; D–H. Jone Mendes).
FIGURE 1 in Phylloporia minuta sp. nov. (Basidiomycota, Hymenochaetales): a remarkable species discovered in a small protected urban area of Atlantic Forest
FIGURE 1. Best-scored tree from the ML analyses, showing the phylogenetic relationships of Phylloporia species inferred from 28S sequences. The tree was rooted with Inonotus cuticularis and I. hispidus. New species is highlighted in bold. Thickened branches represents bootstrap (BS) and posterior probability (PP) support values greater than or equal to 75% or 0.95, respectively. Support values are shown above those branches (BS/PP).
FIGURE 2. Phylloporia minuta. A in Phylloporia minuta sp. nov. (Basidiomycota, Hymenochaetales): a remarkable species discovered in a small protected urban area of Atlantic Forest
FIGURE 2. Phylloporia minuta. A. Basidioma in situ indicated by a white arrow growing on Doliocarpus schottianus (FLOR 63064 –paratype); B. Detail of the sulcate surface of the basidioma (FLOR 63063–paratype); C. Minute dried basidiomata, showing the hymenophore (SP–paratype); D. Detail of the basidiomata, showing the lower context and the upper tomentum separated by a thin black line indicated by a white arrow (FURB 55088–holotype); D. Generative hyphae from the hymenophoral trama (SP –paratype); E. Mass of collapsed basidiospores, observed in some specimens (SP–paratype); F. Basidiospores (FURB 55088–holotype). Bars: A, B = 10 mm; C, D = 2 mm, E, F = 20 μm. Photos by F. Bittencourt.
Data from: Influence of natural and novel organic carbon sources on denitrification in forest, degraded urban, and restored streams
Organic carbon is important in regulating ecosystem function, and its source and abundance may be altered by urbanization. We investigated shifts in organic carbon quantity and quality associated with urbanization and ecosystem restoration, and its potential effects on denitrification at the riparian–stream interface. Field measurements of streamwater chemistry, organic carbon characterization, and laboratory-based denitrification experiments were completed at two forested, two restored, and two unrestored urban streams at the Baltimore Long-Term Ecological Research site, Maryland, USA. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrate loads increased with runoff according to a power-law function that varied across sites. Stable isotopes and molar C:N ratios suggested that stream particulate organic matter (POM) was a mixture of periphyton, leaves, and grass that varied across site types. Stable-isotope signatures and lipid biomarker analyses of sediments showed that terrestrial organic carbon sources in streams varied as a result of riparian vegetation. Laboratory experiments indicated that organic carbon amendments significantly increased rates of denitrification (35.1 ± 9.4 ng N·[g dry sediment]−1·h−1; mean ± SE) more than nitrate amendments (10.4 ± 4.0 ng N·[g dry sediment]−1·h−1) across streamflow conditions and sites. Denitrification experiments with naturally occurring carbon sources showed that denitrification was significantly higher with grass clippings from home lawns (1244 ± 331 ng N·g dry sediment−1·h−1), and overall unrestored urban sites showed significantly higher denitrification rates than restored and forest sites. We found that urbanization influences organic carbon sources and quality in streams, which can have substantial downstream impacts on ecosystem services such as denitrification.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.