Ecological rhythms and the management of humid tropical forests. Examples from the Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico

A common premise in modern forest management is that land management should operate over large enough spatial and temporal scales that common natural disturbances are present and implicitly considered. Less emphasis has been focused on managing humid tropical forest ecosystems with the periodic ecological processes that occur between disturbances. The central premise of this paper is that timing management activities to periodic ecological processes that occur between disturbances is an additional prerequisite for the effective management of humid tropical forests. Ecological rhythms are defined here as biological or biogeochemical processes that have definable periodicities and include phenological, circadian, biogeochemical, and behavioral processes. The paper documents the use of ecological rhythms in the management of endangered species and water resources in the Caribbean National Forest of Northeastern Puerto Rico. While this type of dynamic management has proven benefits, managers and regulatory agencies have been hesitant to utilize complex, ecologically based dynamic management schedules because they can be difficult to monitor and regulate. Fortunately, recent technological advantages greatly increase the ability to conduct complex real-time, spatially explicit management. Identifying important ecological rhythms and developing administrative structures that can integrate them into management will be a major challenge in both tropical and temperate environments in the coming decades

Eutrophic overgrowth in the self-organization of tropical wetlands illustrated with a study of swine wastes in rainforest plots

The relationship of plant species diversity to cultural eutrophy in tropical wetlands was studied in Puerto Rico with experimental plots, a survey of 25 eutrophic sites developing from the wastes of society, and a simulation mini-model. The model is a quantitative hypothesis which contains the mechanisms to maximize empower (gross production) by reinforcing low diversity, net production overgrowth when resources are in excess, but switches to high diversity efficiency and recycle to maximize gross production when excess resources are absent. To study self-organization with eutrophy, six wetland plots (3×2 m) were seeded with many plant species and treated for five months with pig wastewaters and control plots with groundwater. Vegetation was seeded: (1) with seed bank; (2) with ten species of local rainforest and wetland trees (60 individuals in each plot); and (3) with weedy species invading from fertile surroundings. The fertilized waste plots filled in with vegetation in less than half the time (9 weeks) required for the clear water control plots (21 weeks). Vegetative diversity in both waste and control plots was maximum (2.73–3.34 bits per individual) shortly before 100% cover was reached, and then declined with the competitive overgrowth of a few species (mixed grasses and Commelina diffusa). Of the planted seedlings, there was little growth, and individuals of only four species survived. Survival of Andira inermis and Cyrilla racemiflora was 42 and 53%, respectively. Dominants of oligotrophic wetlands (Pterocarpus officinalis and Prestoea montana) were displaced. A survey of 25 other wetland sites, receiving high nutrient waters from developments, found low diversity overgrowth, but different species prevailing. Eighty-five species were involved in wetland self-organizational processes and ecological engineering management. Eutrophic wetlands, such as those released from sugar cane closure in Puerto Rico and elsewhere, may be in a state of marshy, arrested succession because there may not be a forest species already adapted for rapid reforestation of the excess nutrient habitat. The study provides evidence of the overgrowth principle as the natural means for ecological engineering of eutrophic interfaces between the current civilization and environment

Hurricane Hugo: Damage to a Tropical Rain Forest in Puerto Rico

Hurricane Hugo of September 1989 caused severe damage to the rain forest in the north-east corner of Puerto Rico. We assessed the severity of damage distributed in space, species, and size-classes of trees in the Bisley Watersheds of the Luquillo Experimental Forest. We analyzed pre- and post-hurricane data for vegetation from transects established in 1987 and 1988. The severity of damage was significantly greater in valleys than on ridges and slopes. All the species except Dacryodes excelsa, Sloanea berteriana, and Guarea guidonia showed 100% severe damage. Large trees (\u3e 70 cm DBH) were highly susceptible to hurricane damage, but there was no clear pattern in the small size-classes. D. excelsa (tabonuco) was the most resistant to damage by the hurricane. Tabonuco which has extensive root-grafts and root anchorage to bedrock and subsurficial rocks, apparently can survive frequent hurricanes and continue as a dominant species in this montane tropical rain forest. The high frequency of hurricanes, which can override other ecological and topographic factors, may largely determine the overall spatial pattern of species in this rain forest

Helping HELP with limited resources: The Luquillo experience

By definition the HELP approach involves the active participation of individuals from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds, including representatives of industry, academics, natural resource managers, and local officials and community leaders. While there is considerable enthusiasm and support for the integrated HELP approach, a central problem for all HELP basins is how to effectively engage individuals and groups with few, if any financial resources. In the Luquillo HELP project we have managed this issue by focusing our efforts on holding small, public meetings and workshops with technocrats and managers who are engaged in local water resource management. To date several forums have been organised, including: technical meetings with the directors of natural resource agencies; presentations and panel discussions at the meetings of local professional societies, including the societies of Civil Engineers and Architects, the Commonwealth Association of Tourism, the Association of Builders and Developers, and the Puerto Rican Association of Lawyers. During these forums HELP specialists gave presentations and led discussions on how integrated watershed management can help resolve local problems. Because the audience are directly involved with these issues, they are quite responsive to these discussions and have often provided unique solutions to common problems. Technical workshops are co-sponsored by local municipalities – these day-long workshops are hosted by a municipality and include managers from other municipalities, the local water authority, and local community leaders. Additional activities include: technical advice on water infrastructure projects is given; there are educational exchanges between local and international students, scientists, natural resource managers, and community leaders; and synthesis publications relevant to integrated water resource management are produced. Other activities have included compiling oral environmental histories and organising watershed restoration activities. This paper describes these activities and discusses the benefits and costs of each approach

The effects of the frog Eleutherodactylus coqui on invertebrates and ecosystem processes at two scales in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico

Determining the ubiquity of top-down control effects of predators on their prey and ecosystem processes is important for understanding community and ecosystem-level consequences that may result from predator loss. We conducted experiments at two spatial scales to investigate the effects of terrestrial frogs (Eleutherodactylus coqui) on aerial and litter invertebrates, plant growth and herbivory, and litter decomposition. At both scales, frogs reduced aerial invertebrates and leaf herbivory, but had no effect on litter invertebrates. At the smaller scale, frogs increased foliage production rates, measured as the number of new leaves and new leaf area produced, by 80% and decomposition rates by 20%. The influence of E. coqui on increasing primary productivity and decomposition rates at the smaller scale appeared to be a result of elimination and excretion rather than of controlling prey. While the results provide evidence for frogs controlling herbivorous prey at both scales, species effects on ecosystem processes were only detectable at the smaller scale. The results highlight the difficulties in conducting experiments at large spatial scales. The findings from this study imply that the loss of amphibians and other species of higher trophic levels may affect nutrient cycling rates in tropical forests

Metabolism of a tropical rainforest stream

Gradients in photosynthesis (P) and respiration (R) were measured on an unperturbed portion of the Rio Mameyes, a tropical stream in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, northeastern Puerto Rico. Rates of P, which were similar to those of streams in temperate-deciduous forests, were low in the heavily canopied headwaters (\u3c70 g O2 m−2 y−1) and were higher (453–634 g O2 m−2 y−1) in middle and lower reaches. Periphyton biomass did not show the expected increase as the canopy opened downstream, probably because of increasing herbivory in downstream reaches. Rates of R, which were much higher than in most temperate streams, also were lower in the headwaters (767 g O2 m−2 y−1) than in the middle and lower reaches (1550–1660 g O2 m−2 y−1). High rates of R and suppressed periphyton abundance caused annual P/R to be \u3c\u3c1 from headwaters to lower reaches. Results for the Rio Mameyes suggest that intense herbivory, which is favored by the presence of large herbivores and consistently high temperatures, may be more typical of tropical than temperate streams. Results also show that the tropical rainforest provides the stream with sufficient amounts of labile organic C to support high rates of respiration over long distances across the basin

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery