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256 results for “Forest Ecology”
Habitat suitability analysis reveals high ecological flexibility in a "strict" forest primate
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Hydrochory, a key ecological function of a tropical dry forest river threatened by a dam and open-pit coal mining in Colombia
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Ecological data on evergreen forest types of central plains Cambodia
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Ecological and metabolomic responses of plants to deer exclosure in a suburban forest
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Diversity patterns along ecological succession in tropical dry forests: A multi-taxonomic approach
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Historical anthropogenic stressors affect bird ecology and feather development in neotropical forests
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Data from: Water restriction alters seed bank traits and ecology in Atlantic Forest seasonal forests under climate change
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Data from: Changing ecological communities along an elevation gradient in seasonally dry tropical forest on Hispaniola (Sierra Martín García, Dominican Republic)
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Data from: Species Delimitation of Endemic Atlantic Forest Inga subnuda (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, mimosoid clade) Subspecies Based on Morphological, Ecological and Palaeoecological Data
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Data for L.R. Johnson and S.N. Handel - Restoration treatments in urban park forests drive long-term changes in vegetation trajectories - Ecological Applications doi:10.1890/14-2063.1
Initial data from long-term research plots in New York City Park forest patches invaded by exotic woody plant species. Half (n = 30) of the sites were restored 15-20 years prior to first sampling in 2009-2010. The same suite of invasive plants was recorded in the other half of the sites at the time of initial restoration in the late 1980s and early 1990s (n = 30), but they were not restored in 2009-2010.
Data from: Echolocation and roosting ecology determine sensitivity of forest-dependent bats to coffee agriculture
Species differ in vulnerability to anthropogenic landuse changes. Knowledge of the mechanisms driving differential sensitivity can inform conservation strategies but is generally lacking for species-rich taxa in the tropics. The diverse bat fauna of Southeast Asia is threatened by rapid loss of forest and expanding agricultural activities, but the associations between species, traits, vulnerability to agriculture and the underlying drivers have yet to be elucidated. We studied the responses of speciose insectivorous bat assemblages to robusta coffee cultivation in Sumatra, Indonesia. We compared abundance, species richness and assemblage structures of bats between forests and coffee farms based on trapping data and evaluated the influence of vegetation complexity on assemblage composition and species-level reactions. Bat abundance and species richness were significantly lower in coffee farms than in forests. Bat assemblage structure differed between landuses, and the overall variation can be largely explained by vegetation simplification. Species sensitive to coffee agriculture were associated with more complex vegetation structure, whereas tolerant species were associated with simpler vegetation structure. Sensitive and tolerant species differed in the type, frequency, and bandwidth of echolocation calls and roost use. Species sensitive to coffee use broadband and high-pitched frequency-modulated calls, which are efficient at detecting insects in complex vegetation, and roost in plant structures that may be lost as vegetation is simplified. In contrast, tolerant species used lower-pitched constant frequency calls and roost in caves. We advocate for greater use of trait analyses in studies seeking to clarify the influence of agriculture on diverse tropical bat faunas.
Data from: From pristine forests to high-altitude pastures: an ecological approach to prehistoric human impact on vegetation and landscapes in the western Italian Alps
1. This paper addresses the origin and development of the oldest prehistoric pasture in the timberline ecotone known so far in the Alps and its relation to anthropogenic pressure and natural climate change. 2. Paleoecological and geochemical techniques were applied on the Crotte Basse mire stratigraphy (2365 m asl, western Italy) to describe changes in vegetation composition, forest biomass, land use and fertilization between ca. 6400 - 1800 yrs cal BP. 3. Subalpine forests dominated by Pinus cembra occurred at very high-altitude up to ca. 5600 yrs cal BP, when a sharp contraction of woody vegetation took place. This major vegetation shift is matched by increasing charcoal input and markers of pastoral/grazing activities (pollen, dung spores, and forms of phosphorus) in the sediment sequence in this small basin. 4. Major phases of landscape change detected in our multiproxy record chronologically match intervals of cumulative probability density of 14C ages from nearby archaeological sites, suggesting that human activity was the factor leading to massive landscape change from the onset of the Copper Age (ca. 5600 yrs cal BP). The change may have been reinforced by climate variability in the period 5700 - 5300 years cal BP. 5. Sensitivity of woody species to fires was statistically explored (Appendix S3 in Supporting Information), revealing negative reactions of Pinus cembra and Betula to frequent fire episodes and positive reactions of Alnus viridis and Juniperus. Fire episodes do not affect Larix dynamics. 6. Synthesis: Mt. Fallère provides some of the oldest and consistent evidence so far available in the Alps for major anthropogenic pressure at the upper forest limit. As far back as 5600 cal years BP, high-elevation forest ecosystems were permanently disrupted and the alpine pastures were created. Palaeoecological data enable a clear distinction between a random and sporadic use of the alpine space, typical for Mesolithic and Neolithic societies, and an organized seasonal exploitation of natural resources, starting from the Copper Age onwards. The chronological comparison of independent climate proxies, paleoecological information and pollen-based temperature reconstructions sheds light on the relationships between climate and humans since prehistoric times.
Data from: Forest trees in human modified landscapes: ecological and genetic drivers of recruitment failure in Dysoxylum malabaricum (Meliaceae)
Tropical agro-forest landscapes are global priority areas for biodiversity conservation. Little is known about the ability of these landscapes to sustain large late successional forest trees upon which much forest biodiversity depends. These landscapes are subject to fragmentation and additional habitat degradation which may limit tree recruitment and thus compromise numerous ecosystem services including carbon storage and timber production. Dysoxylum malabaricum is a large canopy tree species in the Meliaceae, a family including many important tropical timber trees. This species is found in highly fragmented forest patches within a complex agro-forest landscape of the Western Ghats biodiversity hot spot, South India. In this paper we combined a molecular assessment of inbreeding with ecological and demographic data to explore the multiple threats to recruitment of this tree species. An evaluation of inbreeding, using eleven microsatellite loci in 297 nursery-reared seedlings collected form low and high density forest patches embedded in an agro-forest matrix, shows that mating between related individuals in low density patches leads to reduced seedling performance. By quantifying habitat degradation and tree recruitment within these forest patches we show that increasing canopy openness and the increased abundance of pioneer tree species lead to a general decline in the suitability of forest patches for the recruitment of D. malabaricum. We conclude that elevated inbreeding due to reduced adult tree density coupled with increased degradation of forest patches, limit the recruitment of this rare late successional tree species. Management strategies which maintain canopy cover and enhance local densities of adult trees in agro-forest mosaics will be required to ensure D. malabaricum persists in these landscapes. Our study highlights the need for a holistic understanding of the incipient processes that threaten populations of many important and rare tropical tree species in human dominated agro-forest landscapes.
Data from: Effects of forest certification on the ecological condition of Mediterranean streams
1. Forest certification, a proxy for sustainable forest management, covers more than 10% of the world's forests. Under forest certification, forest managers and landowners must comply with environmental, economic and social management standards aiming to promote forest conservation. Despite an increasing area of certified forests, there is a dearth of data on how forest certification is affecting the conservation of forest ecosystems and associated habitats. 2. Here we assess the effects of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, one of the largest certification schemes in the world, on the ecological condition of streams crossing Mediterranean evergreen oak woodlands. 3. We used the Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP) to compare the ecological condition of streams located in areas with three and five years of certification, in non-certified areas and in least-disturbed streams. 4. Forest certification positively affected the ecological condition of the surveyed streams but its effects were only measurable after five years of certification. Streams with five years of certification had more continuous, dense and diverse riparian vegetation when compared to streams located in non-certified areas. Moreover, the condition of streams located in areas with five years of forest certification was similar to the condition of least- disturbed streams. 5. Synthesis and applications. Forest certification promotes the ecological condition of streams occurring within Mediterranean evergreen oak woodlands. This mainly happens because in areas under forest certification managers and landowners have to comply with management practices that require them to remove or reduce the main causes for stream degradation, allowing riparian habitats to recover. Within landscapes with large and increasing areas under forest certification, such as the Mediterranean cork oak woodlands, the positive effects of certification on the ecological condition of streams may spread across the hydrographic network in the medium to long term.
Data from: The past ecology of Abies alba provides new perspectives on future responses of silver fir forests to global warming
Paleoecology can provide valuable insights into the ecology of species that complement observation and experiment-based assessments of climate-impact dynamics. New paleoecological records (e.g. pollen, macrofossils) from the Italian Peninsula suggest a much wider climatic niche of the important European tree species Abies alba (silver fir) than observed in its present spatial range. To explore this discrepancy between current and past distribution we analyse climatic data (e.g. temperature, precipitation, frost, humidity, sunshine) and vegetation-independent paleoclimatic reconstructions (e.g. lake levels, chironomids) and use global coupled carbon-cycle climate (NCAR CSM1.4) and dynamic vegetation (LANDCLIM) modelling. The combined evidence suggests that during the mid-Holocene (ca. 6000 years ago), prior to humanization of vegetation, A. alba formed forests under conditions that exceeded modern (1961-1990) upper temperature limit of the species by ca. 5-7 {degree sign}C (July means). Annual precipitation during this natural period was comparable to today (>700-800 mm), with drier summers and wetter winters. In the meso-mediterranean to sub-mediterranean forests A. alba co-occurred with thermophilous taxa such as Quercus ilex, Q. pubescens, Olea europaea, Phillyrea, Arbutus, Cistus, Tilia, Ulmus, Acer, Hedera helix, Ilex aquifolium, Taxus, and Vitis. Results from the last interglacial (ca. 130,000-115,000 BP), when human impact was negligible, corroborate the Holocene evidence. Thermophilous Mediterranean A. alba stands became extinct during the last 5000 years when land-use pressure and specifically excessive anthropogenic fire and browsing disturbance increased. Our results imply that the ecology of this key European tree species is not yet well understood. On the basis of the reconstructed realized climatic niche of the species, we anticipate that the future geographic range of A. alba may not contract regardless of migration success, even if climate should become significantly warmer than today with summer temperatures increasing by up to 5-7{degree sign}C, as long as precipitation does not fall below 700-800 mm/year, and disturbance (e.g. fire, browsing) does not become excessive. Our finding contradicts recent studies that projected range contractions under global-warming scenarios, but did not factor how millennia of human impacts reduced the realized climatic niche of A. alba.
Data from: A global meta-analysis on the ecological drivers of forest restoration success
Two billion ha have been identified globally for forest restoration. Our meta-analysis encompassing 221 study landscapes worldwide reveals forest restoration enhances biodiversity by 15–84% and vegetation structure by 36–77%, compared with degraded ecosystems. For the first time, we identify the main ecological drivers of forest restoration success (defined as a return to a reference condition, that is, old-growth forest) at both the local and landscape scale. These are as follows: the time elapsed since restoration began, disturbance type and landscape context. The time elapsed since restoration began strongly drives restoration success in secondary forests, but not in selectively logged forests (which are more ecologically similar to reference systems). Landscape restoration will be most successful when previous disturbance is less intensive and habitat is less fragmented in the landscape. Restoration does not result in full recovery of biodiversity and vegetation structure, but can complement old-growth forests if there is sufficient time for ecological succession.
Data from: Ecological and phylogenetic predictors of mobbing behavior in a tropical dry forest
Mobbing represents a well-known anti-predatory behavior, where potential prey display aggressively against a predator. Despite considerable experimental and descriptive work, no models predict species participation in mobbing assemblages. Here, we aimed to understand why some bird species engage in this behavior, while others do not, and what factors can be used to predict mobbing engagement within an avian community. We investigated whether certain functional traits, such as body size, foraging guild, foraging mode, and strata, as well species abundance and evolutionary relatedness, are important mobbing predictors. To address these goals, we simulated the presence of the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) by broadcasting its voice in 230 experiments conducted in 115 points, systematically distributed in a dry forest of northeastern Brazil. We compared these results to 162 avian surveys (point counts) conducted in the same area. Our avian surveys detected 108 bird species (local avian community), whereas our playback experiments attracted 72 species (mobbing assemblage). In general, small, canopy insectivorous or frugivorous birds dominated the mobs. The best mobbing predictors were body mass and guild, whereas species abundance, foraging mode, and strata were not retained in the best models. We found a strong phylogenetic component in body mass and mobbing propensity (almost 90% of the species and individuals participating in the mobs were passerines). At the community level, we found significant differences in the functional and phylogenetic structure of the mobbing assemblage in relation to the avian community. Our results suggest that mobbing behavior is tightly associated to predation risk and the capacity of individual species to find and detect predators, and that functional and phylogenetic features can predict species participation in this complex animal behavior.
Data from: Resource availability and roosting ecology shape reproductive phenology of rain forest insectivorous bats
Bats in temperate and subtropical regions typically synchronize birth of a single young with peaks in resource availability driven by local climate patterns. In tropical rain forest, insects are available throughout the year, potentially allowing departures from seasonal monoestry. However, reproductive energy budgets may be constrained by the cost of commuting to foraging grounds from distant roosts. To test these hypotheses, we simultaneously tracked female reproductive activity of 11 insectivorous bat species, insect biomass, and local weather variables for 20 months in a Malaysian rain forest. Five species roost in forest structures and hence have low commuting costs, whereas six species depend on caves, which are limited in the landscape, and are presumed to incur higher commuting costs to foraging sites. Monthly insect biomass was positively correlated with monthly rainfall, and there was a significant relationship between insect biomass and lactation in cave-roosting but not forest-roosting species. Cave-roosting species were seasonally monoestrus, with parturition confined to a two-month period, whereas in forest-roosting species, pregnancy and lactation were recorded throughout the year. Our results suggest that the energetic costs of commuting from roosts to foraging grounds shape annual reproductive patterns in tropical rain forest insectivorous bats. Ongoing changes in forest landscapes are likely to increase these costs for cave-roosting bats, further restricting reproductive opportunities. Climate change is projected to influence the timing of rainfall events in many tropical habitats, which may disrupt relationships between rainfall, insect biomass, and bat reproductive timing, further compromising reproductive success.
Data from: Ants as ecological indicators of rainforest restoration: community convergence and the development of an Ant Forest Indicator Index in the Australian wet tropics
Ecosystem restoration can help reverse biodiversity loss, but whether faunal communities of forests undergoing restoration converge with those of primary forest over time remains contentious. There is a need to develop faunal indicators of restoration success that more comprehensively reflect changes in biodiversity and ecosystem function. Ants are an ecologically dominant faunal group and are widely advocated as ecological indicators. We examine ant species and functional group responses on a chronosequence of rainforest restoration in northern Australia, and develop a novel method for selecting and using indicator species. Four sampling techniques were used to survey ants at 48 sites, from grassland, through various ages (1–24 years) of restoration plantings, to mature forest. From principal components analysis of seven vegetation metrics, we derived a Forest Development Index (FDI) of vegetation change along the chronosequence. A novel Ant Forest Indicator Index (AFII), based on the occurrences of ten key indicator species associated with either grassland or mature forest, was used to assess ant community change with forest restoration. Grasslands and mature forests supported compositionally distinct ant communities at both species and functional levels. The AFII was strongly correlated with forest development (FDI). At forest restoration sites older than 5–10 years that had a relatively closed canopy, ant communities converged on those of mature rainforest, indicating a promising restoration trajectory for fauna as well as plants. Our findings reinforce the utility of ants as ecological indicators and emphasize the importance of restoration methods that achieve rapid closed-canopy conditions. The novel AFII assessed restoration status from diverse and patchily distributed species, closely tracking ant community succession using comprehensive species-level data. It has wide applicability for assessing forest restoration in a way that is relatively independent of sampling methodology and intensity, and without a need for new comparative data from reference sites.
Data from: Impact of prey occupancy and other ecological and anthropogenic factors on tiger distribution in Thailand's Western Forest Complex
1. Despite conservation efforts, large mammals such as tigers and their main prey, gaur, banteng, and sambar, are highly threatened and declining across their entire range. The only large viable source population of tigers in mainland Southeast Asia occurs in Thailand's Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM), an approximately 19,000 km2 landscape of 17 contiguous protected areas. 2. We used an occupancy modeling framework, which accounts for imperfect detection, to identify the factors that affect tiger distribution at the approximate scale of a female tiger's home range, 64 km2, and site use at a scale of 1 km2 in WEFCOM. At the larger scale, we estimated the proportion of sites occupied by tigers; at the finer scale, we identified the key variables that influence site-use and developed a predictive distribution map. At both scales, we examined key ecological and anthropogenic factors that help explain distribution and preferred habitat use. 3. WEFCOM is virtually only "half full" of tigers, it occupied 37% or 5,858 km2 of the landscape which was largely influenced by the combined presence of all three large prey species; in contrast, site use was most strongly influenced by presence of sambar. 4. By modeling occupancy while accounting for imperfect probability of detection, we established reliable benchmark data on the distribution of tigers. This study also identified factors that limit tiger distributions; which managers can then target to expand tiger distribution in WEFCOM and guide recovery elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
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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.