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FIGURE 3 in Description of two new species of goby-associated snapping shrimps from the tropical western Pacific (Decapoda: Alpheidae: Alpheus)

FIGURE 3. Alpheus thompsoni sp. nov., holotype, female (cl 13.3 mm) from Madang, Papua New Guinea (MNHN-2013- 16813): A, shrimp in life, dorsal; B, same, lateral. Photographs by the author, taken during Our Planet Reviewed—Papua Niugini Expedition (MNHN).

FIGURE 2 in Description of two new species of goby-associated snapping shrimps from the tropical western Pacific (Decapoda: Alpheidae: Alpheus)

FIGURE 2. Alpheus thompsoni sp. nov., holotype, female (cl 13.3 mm) from Madang, Papua New Guinea (MNHN-2013- 16813): A, major (left) cheliped, distal portion of merus, carpus and chela, lateral; B, same, mesial; C, same, ischium, merus and carpus, mesial; D, same, dactylus, lateral, setae omitted; E, minor (right) cheliped, ischium, merus and carpus, lateral; F, same, merus, mesial, setae omitted; G, same, chela, lateral.

FIGURE 1 in Description of two new species of goby-associated snapping shrimps from the tropical western Pacific (Decapoda: Alpheidae: Alpheus)

FIGURE 1. Alpheus thompsoni sp. nov., holotype, female (cl 13.3 mm) from Madang, Papua New Guinea (MNHN-2013- 16813): A, frontal region, dorsal; B, same, lateral; C, telson, dorsal, plumose setae omitted; D, tooth on ventromesial carina of first article of antennular peduncle, lateral; E, third maxilliped, lateral; F, second pereiopod, lateral; G, third pereiopod, lateral; H, same, distal portion of propodus and dactylus, ventrolateral, slender setae on propodus omitted; I, fifth pereiopod, lateral; J, same, propodus and dactylus, ventromesial; K, uropod, dorsal, plumose setae omitted.

FIGURE 6 in Description of two new species of goby-associated snapping shrimps from the tropical western Pacific (Decapoda: Alpheidae: Alpheus)

FIGURE 6. Alpheus sciolii sp. nov., non-type male (cl 14.5 mm) from Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam (MNHN-IU-2018-5671): A, left (major) cheliped, carpus and chela, lateral; B, right (minor) cheliped, chela, lateral; C, telson, dorsal, plumose setae omitted.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2022View details →

Datasets for Emergence of Climate Change in the Tropical Pacific

Datasets for Emergence of Climate Change in the Tropical Pacific

Tropical forest restoration in the Eastern Himalaya: Evaluating early survival and growth of native tree species

Asian tropical forests have among the highest rates of forest loss in the world. Ecological restoration is a vital step for biodiversity maintenance and climate change mitigation. For restoration practice, evaluation of species performance at early stages is crucial to avoid failure of the efforts and for screening species suitable to a region. Though the long-term performance of restoration plantings has been well-documented, few studies have evaluated the performance during the establishment of the planted saplings, especially in South and Southeast Asia. Restoration efforts in Northeast India, a region experiencing high forest loss, is limited by the lack of species-specific data on survival and growth. We compared inter-specific variation in seasonal survival and growth rates (diameter and height) for multiple native rainforest species from this region. We planted 3022 saplings of 50 species at a degraded open forest site. After 18 months, sapling survival varied between 9.1–94.3% for 32 species, and only six species showed "excellent" survival after 18 months. Eight out of 17 species that were tested for seasonal variation in survival showed significant differences in survival between seasons. While the diameter growth rate varied for species between seasons, the height growth rate was different between both species and season, but the interaction term between species and season was not significant. Certain animal-dispersed, medium to large-seeded primary forest species performed well and are vital for future restoration efforts in this region.

No short-term effect of sinking microplastics on heterotrophy or sediment clearing in the tropical coral Stylophora pistillata

Investigations of encounters between corals and microplastics have, to date, used particle concentrations that are several orders of magnitude above environmentally relevant levels. Here we investigate whether concentrations closer to values reported in tropical coral reefs affect sediment shedding and heterotrophy in reef-building corals. We show that single-pulse microplastic deposition elicits significantly more coral polyp retraction than comparable amounts of calcareous sediments. When deposited separately from sediments, microplastics remain longer on corals than sediments, through stronger adhesion and longer periods of examination by the coral polyps. Contamination of sediments with microplastics does not retard corals' sediment clearing rates. Rather, sediments speed-up microplastic shedding, possibly affecting its electrostatic behaviour. Heterotrophy rates are three times higher than microplastic ingestion rates when corals encounter microzooplankton (Artemia salina cysts) and microplastics separately. Exposed to cysts-microplastic combinations, corals feed preferentially on cysts regardless of microplastic concentration. Chronic-exposure experiments should test whether our conclusions hold true under environmental conditions typical of inshore marginal coral reefs.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2022View details →

Opportunities for seasonal forecasting to support water management outside the tropics: Supplementary information

Supporting information for Jackson-Blake et al. (2022), 'Opportunities for seasonal forecasting to support water management outside the tropics', HESS Contents (section numbers refer to sections in the HESS paper): <ul> <li>SI1_CatchmentMaps.pdf: Catchment maps for each of the five case study sites.</li> <li>SI2_FirstSurvey_HistoricEvent.pdf: Questions asked as part of the first assessment exercise described in Section 3. In this exercise, stakeholders were asked to pick a historic season when there were problems in their catchment/lake, and then seasonal forecasts were produced for that season. Stakeholders were then asked a set of questions designed to assess: (1) their interpretation of the forecasts, and (2) to what extent they thought forecasts would have been useful for them. Full questions and answers are provided in this pdf.</li> <li>SI3_WindowsOfOpportunity_Responses.xlsx: Full responses to the questionnaire described in Sections 2.2 and 3.2.</li> </ul>

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2022View details →

Tropical extreme droughts drive long-term increase in atmospheric CO2 growth rate variability

This repository includes the code and the processed climate data used to examine the long-term change in atmospheric CO2 growth rate. The code will generate the main figures (Figure 1, 2 and 3) in the paper - Luo, X. & Keenan, T. F. (2022) Tropical extreme droughts drive long-term increase in atmospheric CO2 growth rate variability. Nature Communications, doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28824-5. Please refer to the "Data Availability Statement" in the paper and cite the original sources if you need to use one or more datasets published here. There are three files in the repository: 1) CGR_analysis_input.mat is the processed data in matlab format to support the study; 2) master_figures_CGR_publish_v1.m is the main matlab routine that used to generate figures; 3) supporting code is a folder that contains third-party routines to support the main routine.

Phytogeographic origin determines Tropical Montane Cloud Forest hydraulic trait composition

Tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) have unique climatic conditions, which allow the coexistence of plant lineages with different phytogeographic origins from tropical versus temperate climates. Future climate projections suggest TMCFs will be subjected to increasing drought stress due to fog uplift and higher temperatures, possibly leading to tree mortality and local extinctions, and consequently changes in forest composition and functioning. Characterising community functional composition, trade-offs among traits and the drivers of community assembly is of utmost importance to improve our capacity to predict the response of montane plant communities to forecast climate change. Here, we aimed to test if species from different phytogeographic origins (i.e. tropical - evergreen x deciduous - and temperate) differ in drought vulnerability and how the co-existence of these groups change the hydraulic composition of TMCF`s. We used a framework based on measurements of key hydraulic traits (i.e. xylem embolism resistance, hydraulic safety margin, stomata control, turgor loss point, minimum water potential) of 16 dominant species (> 70% of the forest basal area) within a TMCF in the Atlantic Rain Forest Domain in southeast Brazil. We used community-weighted means to model whether removing each species group would change the community hydraulic functional composition. Temperate, tropical deciduous and tropical evergreen groups differ in their hydraulic functioning and these differences explain forest functional composition and taxa dominance. Temperate and tropical deciduous taxa were consistently more vulnerable hydraulically (i.e. lower safety margins and embolism resistance). The coexistence of different phytogeographic lineages is a key determinant of TMCF hydraulic composition. We also used models including phylogeny to evaluate the variation of hydraulic traits across Phytogeographic groups, and the results suggest some niche conservatism associated with plant hydraulic functioning. Our results provide evidence of the importance of species phytogeographic origin on TMCF functioning, and niche conservatism in the evolution of hydraulic traits. The higher drought vulnerability observed in temperate group might be a mechanistic explanation for the expansion of temperate taxa distribution to wetter places during past colder and drier climate. Thus, we suggest hydraulic functional traits may be useful to predict future dynamics of TMCFs under changing climatic conditions.

Supporting tables and figures for Cancel Villamil JJ, Locke SA (2022) - Fish assemblage response to removal of a low‐head dam in the lower reach of a tropical island river, Freshwater Biology

Table S1 summarizes studies of the effects of dams on freshwater fish assemblages Table S2 provides results of fishing in 39 samples in three rivers in Puerto Rico in 2017-2019. See 2, below. Figure S1 shows the relationship between fish species richness and time spent electrofishing in these samples. Abstract of article: 1. Dams are often removed from rivers to restore habitat connectivity for biota such as fish. Removal of inland dams is well studied in temperate mainland rivers but this approach has been little studied in fish assemblages in islands, tropic systems, or for dams near the mouth of the river. In Puerto Rico, one of the most intensively dammed territories in the world, all native river fishes migrate between fresh water and the sea, and previous work shows these movements are impeded or blocked by dams. 2. Fish assemblages were compared before and after removal of the Cambalache dam, a porous, low-head structure near the mouth of the Río Grande de Arecibo, as well as in two other rivers in Western Puerto Rico, one with a similarly sized and positioned dam, and one reference river without artificial barriers. Fish were sampled using backpack electrofishing on 39 occasions during 2017-2019, including seven samples collected after removal of the Cambalache dam, at between four and six sites per river. 3. Fish assemblages upstream from dams were poorer in species, and species richness showed a marginal tendency (P=0.0515) to increase upstream of the Cambalache dam three months after its removal. The two small lowland dams studied herein limited the upstream extent of marine species, which recolonized upstream sites of the Río Grande de Arecibo after removal of the Cambalache dam. An estimate of relative density (catch per unit effort) of common native freshwater species was higher above these two dams, and decreased at upstream sites after removal of the Cambalache dam. The estimated relative density of a native freshwater species that is of conservation concern, the American eel (Anguilla rostrata), was reduced above dams, and increased upstream of the former Cambalache dam after its removal. 4. In extensive surveys conducted previously in Puerto Rico, sampling was concentrated higher in the watershed, and native fishes were more common and abundant below than above dams. The present work was conducted near the river mouth, and opposite results were observed. These contrasting results suggest that the effects of dams (or dam removal) on fish assemblages vary along the river gradient, although data from other systems are needed to confirm this. 5. The present results suggest low-head dam removal to be a viable method of restoring connectivity in fish assemblages in lower reaches of rivers in Puerto Rico and, potentially, other tropical islands. Removal of dams near the mouth of the river appears to be of particular benefit to marine fish species that use lower river reaches.

Data from: Ecological and environmental predictors of escape among birds on a large tropical island

Ecological and environmental traits can influence avian escape behaviour but most data underpinning our current understanding relates to continental and temperate areas and species. We conducted a phylogenetically controlled comparative analysis of flight-initation distance (FID) against a variety of environmental, behavioural and life-history attributes for Sri Lankan birds (202 species; n = 2540). As with other studies, body mass was positively associated with FID, and longer FIDs occurred in areas where human population density was lower. We also found that the effect of human population density was more pronounced in larger birds. Birds that were in groups when approached tended to have longer FIDs. Unlike the findings of other comparative analyses, based mostly on continental, temperate populations, most other ecological variables did not feature in the best models predicting FID (time of year, breeding system, clutch size, habitat, migratory behaviour, development [altricial/precocial], elevation and diet). Thus, some associations (body mass and exposure to humans) may be universal, while others may not manifest themselves among tropical avifaunas. Further tropical datasets are required to confirm truly universal associations of environmental and ecological attributes and escape distances among birds.

The Little Yellow and its guild in tropical meadows

Many butterfly species have benefitted from the expansion of their open grassland habitat. One of these is the little yellow, Eurema lisa, a widespread species occurring in North America in Florida and the Gulf states, throughout Central America south to Panama, the Caribbean Islands, and Bermuda. I examined the guild of meadow butterflies in a dairy pasture system in the Dominican Republic over a six-month period, surveyed possible nectar sources, and investigated the behavior of the little yellow within this guild. Twenty-three species of insect pollinated forbs were recorded. Thirty-three species of meadow butterflies were found in this habitat, and seven species of woodland edge butterflies transited the meadows in crossing between woodland patches. The little yellow nectared mostly on Sphagneticola trilobata, and divided its time nearly equally between nectar foraging flights and active, nonstop flight. It engaged in ascending flights with conspecifics and heterospecific congeners.

Sapwood area~DBH allometries for 14 common tree species in a successional tropical forest in Thailand

Sapwood area is an important parameter for estimating canopy transpiration in the forest water cycle. However, sapwood area highly varies across species and forest ecosystems and is difficult to measure directly. Therefore, species- and site-specific allometric equations are needed to estimate the sapwood area of all trees in a forest. Here, we conducted a comprehensive campaign to measure sapwood thickness and to estimate the sapwood area of 14 common tree species in a successional forest in Thailand. These data represent the first comprehensive measurements of sapwood area in south-east Asian successional forests growing under diverse environmental conditions in terms of soil moisture and canopy density. The results show that a power function can significantly explain the relationship between sapwood area and stem size, represented by diameter at breast height (DBH), in all species in both primary and secondary forests. Interestingly, a single equation could describe the sapwood area~DBH relationship in all species and forest stages, except for Dipterocarpus gracilis, an emergent, dominant species in the primary forest. The latter showed slower growth in sapwood area once the trees reached a DBH of ~30 cm. Overall, our results can benefit future studies that estimate canopy transpiration of tropical forests with similar conditions as in our study sites.

Taxonomic and functional homogenization of farmland birds along an urbanization gradient in a tropical megacity

Urbanization is a major driver of land use change and biodiversity decline. While most of the ongoing and future urbanization hot spots are located in the Global South, the impact of urban expansion on agricultural biodiversity and associated functions and services in these regions has widely been neglected. Additionally, most studies assess biodiversity responses at local scale (α-diversity), however, ecosystem functioning is strongly determined by compositional and functional turnover of communities (β-diversity) at regional scales. We investigated taxonomic and functional β-diversity of farmland birds across three seasons on 36 vegetable farms spread along a continuous urbanization gradient in Bangalore, a South Indian megacity. Increasing amount of grey area in the farm surroundings was the dominant driver affecting β-diversity and resulting in taxonomic and functional homogenization of farmland bird communities. Functional diversity losses were higher than expected from species declines (i.e. urbanization acts as an environmental filter), with particular losses of functionally important groups such as insectivores of crop pests. Moreover, urbanization reduced functional redundancy of bird communities, which may further weaken ecosystems resilience to future perturbations. Our study underscores urbanization as a major driver of taxonomic and functional homogenization of species communities in agricultural systems, potentially threatening crucial ecosystem services for food production.

opencc-zeroDec 2021View details →

Species-level tree crown maps improve predictions of tree recruit abundance in a tropical landscape

Predicting forest recovery at landscape scales will aid forest restoration efforts. The first step in successful forest recovery is tree recruitment. Forecasts of tree recruit abundance, derived from the landscape-scale distribution of seed sources (i.e. adult trees), could assist efforts to identify sites with high potential for natural regeneration. However, previous work has revealed wide variation in the effect of seed sources on seedling abundance, from positive to no effect. We quantified the relationship between adult tree seed sources and tree recruits, and predicted where natural recruitment would occur in a fragmented tropical agricultural landscape. We integrated species-specific tree crown maps generated from hyperspectral imagery and property boundaries data on individual property ownership with field data on the spatial distribution of tree recruits from five species. We then developed hierarchical Bayesian models to predict landscape-scale recruit abundance. Our models revealed that species-specific maps of tree crowns improved recruit abundance predictions. Conspecific crown area had a much stronger impact on recruitment abundance (8.00% increase in recruit abundance when conspecific tree density increases from zero to one tree; 95% CI: 0.80 to 11.57%) than heterospecific crown area (0.03% increase with the addition of a single heterospecific tree, 95% CI: -0.60 to 0.68%).Individual property ownership was also an important predictor of recruit abundance: the best performing model had varying effects of conspecific and heterospecific crown area on recruit abundance, depending on individual property ownership. We demonstrate how novel remote sensing approaches and cadastral data can be used to generate high-resolution and landscape-level maps of tree recruit abundance. Spatial models parameterized with field, cadastral, and remote sensing data are poised to assist decision support for forest landscape restoration.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2021View details →

Dataset of Tropical Cyclone IR-to-Rainfall Prediction (TCIRRP)

Dataset of Tropical Cyclone IR-to-Rainfall Prediction (TCIRRP)

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

Megafruit and megafauna diversity are positively associated, while megafruit traits are related to abiotic factors, in Tropical Asia

Aim For tens of millions of years, herbivorous megafauna were abundant across the globe, fulfilling important ecological roles including seed dispersal. Megafruits are very large fruits that are dispersed most effectively by megafauna. However, megafruits also occur in ecosystems where megafauna are extinct or were never present, emphasizing our incomplete understanding of megafauna-megafruit relationships. Here we use the complex biogeography of tropical Asia to investigate how megafruit diversity and traits are associated with the diversity of megafauna, smaller animals, and abiotic factors. Location Tropical Asia, from the Indian subcontinent in the west to tropical China in the north to the Maluku archipelago (Indonesia) in the east. Time period Late Pleistocene to the present day. Major taxa studied Megafauna (body weight >500 kg) that consume fruits, including stegodons, elephants, rhinoceroses, giant tapirs, and large bovids. Fleshy-fruited plant species across the region with a fruit width >40 mm (i.e., megafruits). Methods We compiled a list of all megafruits along with selected plant, fruit, and seed traits in 16 subregions across tropical Asia. We explored biogeographic patterns in megafruit diversity and traits in relation to the diversities of past and present megafauna, large- and medium-sized animals and abiotic factors (mean temperature, mean precipitation, precipitation seasonality, insularity). Results We identified 496 megafruits in tropical Asia. Megafruit diversity was highest in subregions with high megafaunal diversity, particularly extant species. Megafruit traits were influenced most strongly by abiotic factors (mainly temperature and land area), and weakly by megafauna and smaller dispersers. Main conclusions Our results are consistent with megafauna maintaining or responding to megafruit diversity, but variation in megafruit traits is primarily associated with abiotic factors. Given the massive megafaunal losses in tropical Asia since the Late Pleistocene, it is important to identify fruit traits that can increase megafauna-dependence and thus vulnerability to these losses.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2022View details →

Data for the publication "Low sensitivity of three terrestrial biosphere models to soil texture over the South-American tropics"

Code and data for the aforementionned publication