Arctic Fox (Alopex Lagopus) Dens in the Disko Bay Area, West Greenland

Seventeen arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) dens in the Disko Bay area, West Greenland are described regarding location, type, size and vegetation cover. The dens were found in ridges, screes and level ground, mainly of dwarf-scrub heath. The mean number of entrances was 17.8±18.4 SD (range 1-63), with more than half of the dens having fewer than 10 entrances. For dens in slopes, there was a prevalence for south-facing slopes, but for dens with an open exposure, entrances were most frequently oriented towards the north and east. The dens were not found to be lush green, as reported from several other areas. A visual difference between the den vegetation and the surrounding vegetation could only be recognized at a few den sites. A vegetation analysis revealed a significant difference between the den and the surrounding area in the occurrence of eight plant species. Among the species occurring more frequently on the den than in the adjacent area, Stellaria longipes was the most conspicuous because of its white flowers. This species is therefore suggested as a guide species in the search for new dens in the Disko Bay area. Dens with recent fox activity were larger and more conspicuous than dens without sign of recent activity.Key words: Arctic fox, Alopex lagopus, den site, den vegetation, Disko Bay, West GreenlandOn donne une description des terriers de 17 renards arctiques (Alopex lagopus) dans la région de la baie de Disko, à l'ouest du Groenland, selon l'emplacement, le type, la dimension et le couvert végétal. Ces terriers avaient été creusés dans des crêtes, des éboulis et en terrain plat, surtout dans des zones où la végétation se composait d'arbustes nains. Le nombre d'entrées était de 17,8, avec un écart-type de 18,4 (gamme de 1 à 63), plus de la moitié des terriers ayant moins de 10 entrées. Les terriers creusés dans les talus étaient plutôt exposés au sud, mais ceux qui étaient ouverts avaient leurs entrées orientées le plus fréquemment vers le nord et vers l'est. On n'a pas trouvé de végétation très dense autour du terrier, comme cela avait été rapporté pour plusieurs autres endroits. On n'a pu faire de différence visuelle entre la végétation du terrier et la végétation à l'entour que sur quelques sites. Une analyse de la végétation a révélé une différence significative entre le terrier même et la zone à l'entour dans la présence de huit espèces de plantes. Parmi les espèces apparaissant plus fréquemment sur le site du terrier que dans la zone à l'entour, Stellaria longipes était la plus visible en raison de ses fleurs blanches. C'est pourquoi on suggère d'utiliser cette espèce comme un guide dans la recherche de nouveaux terriers creusés dans la région de la baie de Disko. Les terriers qui portaient des traces de la présence récente des renards étaient plus grands et plus visibles que les terriers qui ne montraient pas de traces de présence récente.Mots clés: renard arctique, Alopex lagopus, site du terrier, végétation de terrier, baie de Disko, Groenland occidenta

Explorando los patrones de estructura del bosque y ecología florística en el Chocó Ecuatorial, provincia de Esmeraldas

The Chocó biome is characterized by high levels of precipitation, temperature, and endemism within a threatened landscape. This study compared the forest structure, floristic diversity, and forest ecology patterns of the Chocoan forests within the Esmeraldas province of Ecuador. In four permanent plots (4 ha), all trees with a diameter at breast height ≥ 10 cm were recorded. A data analysis regarding forest structure and floristic ecology showed a range of 441-624 individual trees per hectare with an average diameter of 21 cm, over a range of 10-202 cm, and a basal area of 24-34 m2. Meanwhile, the Simpson index exhibited great variation in alpha diversity, ranging from 9.12 to 45.12, with a total richness of 79 families and 360 species. In addition, a non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed a high beta diversity. 18 endemic species were recorded, highlighting the importance of the bioregion for conservation.El bioma del Chocó se caracteriza por su precipitación, temperatura y endemismo elevados dentro de un paisaje amenazado. En este estudio se compararon los patrones de estructura del bosque, diversidad florística y composición forestal de los bosques chocoanos ubicados en la provincia de Esmeraldas de Ecuador. En cuatro parcelas permanentes (4 ha) se registraron todos los individuos de árboles con un diámetro a la altura del pecho ≥ 10 cm. Un análisis de datos de estructura forestal y ecología florística indicó un rango de entre 441 y 624 individuos por hectárea, con un diámetro promedio de 21 cm, en un rango de 10-202 cm, y un área basal de 24-34 m2. Entretanto, el índice de Simpson presentó gran variación en cuanto a la diversidad alfa, oscilando entre 9.12 y 45.12, con una riqueza total de 79 familias y 360 especies. Adicionalmente, un análisis de escalamiento multidimensional no métrico reveló una alta diversidad beta. Se registraron 18 especies endémicas, destacando la importancia de esta biorregión para efectos de conservación

Towards a new online species-information system for legumes

The need for scientists to exchange, share and organise data has resulted in a proliferation of biodiversity research-data portals over recent decades. These cyber-infrastructures have had a major impact on taxonomy and helped the discipline by allowing faster access to bibliographic information, biological and nomenclatural data, and specimen information. Several specialised portals aggregate particular data types for a large number of species, including legumes. Here, we argue that, despite access to such data-aggregation portals, a taxon-focused portal, curated by a community of researchers specialising on a particular taxonomic group and who have the interest, commitment, existing collaborative links, and knowledge necessary to ensure data quality, would be a useful resource in itself and make important contributions to more general data providers. Such an online species-information system focused on Leguminosae (Fabaceae) would serve useful functions in parallel to and different from international data-aggregation portals. We explore best practices for developing a legume-focused portal that would support data sharing, provide a better understanding of what data are available, missing, or erroneous, and, ultimately, facilitate cross-analyses and direct development of novel research. We present a history of legume-focused portals, survey existing data portals to evaluate what is available and which features are of most interest, and discuss how a legume-focused portal might be developed to respond to the needs of the legume-systematics research community and beyond. We propose taking full advantage of existing data sources, informatics tools and protocols to develop a scalable and interactive portal that will be used, contributed to, and fully supported by the legume-systematics community in the easiest manner possible

Efecto de la pérdida de cobertura natural sobre la flora endémica del Área Tropical Importante para Plantas (TIPA) Concepción (Santa Cruz, Bolivia)

In this study, the richness of endemic taxa that inhabits in the Tropical Important Vegetal Area (TIPA) Concepción was inventoried, and the effect of the historical loss of natural cover on these floristic attributes. The inventory was carried out using secondary data sources (databases and herbarium specimens) and primary data (field inventories). The loss of vegetation cover was determined by multi-temporal analysis of satellite images from three time periods (1990-2000, 2001-2010, 2011-2020). Based on historical records and field inventories, a total of 28 endemic taxa were inventoried (two are new species to science). The endemism that inhabits each of the types of coverage that make up the landscape of the study area was different when compared to each other (<30% similarity). Until 2020, the natural cover was progressively reduced to 72.6%, with an annual loss rate of 0.88% ± 0.27%. As a consequence of the loss of vegetation cover, eight of the 28 endemic taxa have disappeared in the TIPA Concepción, since these habitats were replaced by areas of agricultural and livestock production. Therefore, the remaining taxa face a high risk of local extinction.En el presente estudio se inventarió la riqueza de taxones endémicos que habitan en el Área Tropical Importante para Plantas (TIPA) Concepción, así como el efecto de la pérdida de la cobertura natural sobre estos atributos florísticos. El inventario fue realizado mediante fuentes de datos primarios (prospecciones de campo) y secundarios (bases de datos y especímenes de herbarios). La pérdida de la cobertura vegetal fue determinada mediante el análisis multitemporal de imágenes satelitales de tres periodos de tiempo (1990-2000, 2001-2010, 2011-2020). Basados en los registros históricos e inventarios de campo, un total de 28 taxones endémicos fueron inventariados (dos son nuevas especies para la ciencia). El endemismo que resguardan los hábitats que conforman el paisaje del área de estudio resultó distinto cuando comparados unos con otros (<30% de similaridad). Hasta el 2020, la cobertura natural se redujo progresivamente al 72.6%, bajo una tasa de pérdida anual de 0,88% ± 0,27%. Como consecuencia de la pérdida de la cobertura vegetal, ocho de los 28 taxones endémicos han desaparecido en la TIPA Concepción, ya que los hábitats donde fueron registrados se sustituyeron por áreas de producción agropecuaria. Por lo cual, los taxones remanentes enfrentan un alto riesgo de extinción local

Local hydrological conditions influence tree diversity and composition across the Amazon basin

Tree diversity and composition in Amazonia are known to be strongly determined by the water supplied by precipitation. Nevertheless, within the same climatic regime, water availability is modulated by local topography and soil characteristics (hereafter referred to as local hydrological conditions), varying from saturated and poorly drained to well-drained and potentially dry areas. While these conditions may be expected to influence species distribution, the impacts of local hydrological conditions on tree diversity and composition remain poorly understood at the whole Amazon basin scale. Using a dataset of 443 1-ha non-flooded forest plots distributed across the basin, we investigate how local hydrological conditions influence 1) tree alpha diversity, 2) the community-weighted wood density mean (CWM-wd) – a proxy for hydraulic resistance and 3) tree species composition. We find that the effect of local hydrological conditions on tree diversity depends on climate, being more evident in wetter forests, where diversity increases towards locations with well-drained soils. CWM-wd increased towards better drained soils in Southern and Western Amazonia. Tree species composition changed along local soil hydrological gradients in Central-Eastern, Western and Southern Amazonia, and those changes were correlated with changes in the mean wood density of plots. Our results suggest that local hydrological gradients filter species, influencing the diversity and composition of Amazonian forests. Overall, this study shows that the effect of local hydrological conditions is pervasive, extending over wide Amazonian regions, and reinforces the importance of accounting for local topography and hydrology to better understand the likely response and resilience of forests to increased frequency of extreme climate events and rising temperatures

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

Aim: Amazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types. Location: Amazonia. Taxon: Angiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots). Methods: Data for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran\u27s eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny. Results: In the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R$^{2}$ = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R$^{2}$ = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types. Main Conclusion: Numerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions

Geographic patterns of tree dispersal modes in Amazonia and their ecological correlates

Aim: To investigate the geographic patterns and ecological correlates in the geographic distribution of the most common tree dispersal modes in Amazonia (endozoochory, synzoochory, anemochory and hydrochory). We examined if the proportional abundance of these dispersal modes could be explained by the availability of dispersal agents (disperser-availability hypothesis) and/or the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits (resource-availability hypothesis). Time period: Tree-inventory plots established between 1934 and 2019. Major taxa studied: Trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 9.55 cm. Location: Amazonia, here defined as the lowland rain forests of the Amazon River basin and the Guiana Shield. Methods: We assigned dispersal modes to a total of 5433 species and morphospecies within 1877 tree-inventory plots across terra-firme, seasonally flooded, and permanently flooded forests. We investigated geographic patterns in the proportional abundance of dispersal modes. We performed an abundance-weighted mean pairwise distance (MPD) test and fit generalized linear models (GLMs) to explain the geographic distribution of dispersal modes. Results: Anemochory was significantly, positively associated with mean annual wind speed, and hydrochory was significantly higher in flooded forests. Dispersal modes did not consistently show significant associations with the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits. A lower dissimilarity in dispersal modes, resulting from a higher dominance of endozoochory, occurred in terra-firme forests (excluding podzols) compared to flooded forests. Main conclusions: The disperser-availability hypothesis was well supported for abiotic dispersal modes (anemochory and hydrochory). The availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits seems an unlikely explanation for the distribution of dispersal modes in Amazonia. The association between frugivores and the proportional abundance of zoochory requires further research, as tree recruitment not only depends on dispersal vectors but also on conditions that favour or limit seedling recruitment across forest types

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

AimAmazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types.LocationAmazonia.TaxonAngiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots).MethodsData for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny.ResultsIn the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R2 = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R2 = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types.Main ConclusionNumerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions