Taxonomic status of Oenocarpus bataua (Euterpeae, Arecaceae) inferred from plastid sequences

With the aim of testing the evolutionary relationships between Oenocarpus bataua (formerly Jessenia bataua) and other Oenocarpus species (Arecaceae), a phylogenetic study of tribe Euterpeae (Arecaceae) was conducted using 3,6 kb of non-coding chloroplast DNA sequence data. The results of maximum parsimony analysis support the monophyly of Euterpeae and the inclusion of O. bataua within the Oenocarpus clade. Our results show substantial molecular divergence between O. bataua var. bataua and var. oligocarpus suggesting that, according to their original description, these two taxa may indeed represent different species. However, our phylogenies should be considered as tentative due to low statistical support

Intergenerational livelihood dependence on ecosystem services: A descriptive analysis of the ivory palm in coastal Ecuador

Research on ecosystem services (ES) is heavily concentrated on ecological and economic indicators and values, with a much more limited understanding of communities’ dependence on cultural ES. That body of research is also typically focused on current generations and generates limited insights into the intergenerational dynamics of ES dependence. We use a survey of six palm harvesting communities in coastal western Ecuador to assess the livelihood dependence of four generations on 17 ES provided by the ivory palm, a near-threatened keystone species in Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama. Despite the historical prominence of the use of the ivory palm’s nut, we find that dependence is highest for regulating, supporting, and cultural ES, a result that holds across generations. We find a negative association between the current generation’s dependence on the ivory palm’s provisioning ES and that of their grandparents, who experienced the historical boom of the ivory palm’s nut exports. In contrast, respondents expect the future generation’s dependence to be positively associated with that of the grandparents’ generation. We find that provisioning ES have a complementary relationship with cultural ES and a substitutive relationship with supporting ES. Relationships across ES categories can be reversed from one generation to the next

Fertilización edáfica con tres niveles de silicato de calcio y tres de nitrógeno en el cultivo de cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) en la zona de Quinsaloma

The cultivation of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is projected as one of the most important agricultural alternatives in the country, thanks to the fact that we have the most favorable environmental conditions for the optimal development of the crop. The research was carried out in the Quinsaloma canton, province of Los Ríos and whose objective was to evaluate the edaphic fertilization of this crop with three levels of calcium silicate and three of nitrogen, through the design of a randomized complete block design under a scheme 3x3 factorial, evaluating three levels of application at a rate of 150, 250 and 350 kg / ha of calcium silicate and three of urea obtaining 9 different doses plus a control treatment. Periodic evaluations were carried out every 15 days during the 120 days of the trial, in which the flowering, fruiting index and the incidence of Cherrelle Will was assessed. A scale was used to account for the quantity of flowers and Cherrelles produced more effectively. The results showed that the combination of 350 kg of silicate plus 250 kg of urea (T8) reached a higher flowering rate, in the same way in the fruiting variable a similar behavior was observed reaching an average of 24.87 ears per tree. An incidence of Cherrelle was also observed after 60 days of evaluation. With this investigation, he demonstrated the positive effect of edaphic fertilization using calcium silicate and a nitrogen source.El cultivo de cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) se proyecta como una de las alternativas agrícolas más importantes en el país, gracias a que contamos con las condiciones ambientales más propicias para el óptimo desarrollo del cultivo. La investigación se desarrolló en el cantón Quinsaloma, provincia de Los Ríos y cuyo objetivo fue evaluar la fertilización edáfica de este cultivo con tres niveles de silicato de calcio y tres de nitrógeno, mediante el planteamiento de un diseño de bloques completos al azar bajo un esquema factorial 3x3, evaluándose tres niveles de aplicación a razón de 150, 250 y 350 kg/ha de silicato de calcio y tres de úrea obteniéndose 9 dosis diferentes más un tratamiento testigo. Se realizaron evaluaciones periódicas cada 15 días durante los 120 días que duró el ensayo, en las que se valoró el índice de floración, fructificación y la incidencia de Cherrelle Will. Se empleó una escala para contabilizar la cantidad de flores y Cherrelles producidas de manera más efectiva. Los resultados demostraron que la combinación de 350 kg de silicato más 250 kg de úrea (T8) alcanzó un mayor índice de floración, del mismo modo en la variable de fructificación se observó un comportamiento similar alcanzando una media de 24.87 mazorcas por árbol. Se observó además una incidencia de Cherrelle a partir de los 60 días de evaluación. Con esta investigación de demostró el efecto positivo de la fertilización edáfica empleando silicato de calcio y una fuente de nitrógeno

Effect of leaf harvest on wax palm (Ceroxylon echinulatum Galeano) growth, and implications for sustainable management in Ecuador.

The wax palm (Ceroxylon echinulatum) is an arborescent, dioecious and slow-growing palm distributed on Andean slopes at 1000-2000 m elevation in Ecuador and northern Peru. The leaves of wax palm have been traditionally harvested and used for the making of handicrafts during Easter celebrations. It has been suggested that removal of unexpanded leaves may be the main source of threat to the survival of the species. The goal of this work was to evaluate the impact of leaf removal on growth and development of C. echinulatum. Leaf production and growth were monitored in 60 young individuals divided into three treatments: T0 - control, T1- without damage to adjacent leaves; T2- with damage to adjacent leaves. Results from two years of observation reveal that leaf growth rate and the number of new leaves produced per individual are not adversely affected by this practice. Harvest treatments were equal or even higher than the control for both variables. Balance of leaf number in the crown (before and after the extraction) was negative in the harvest treatments, indicating a factor of unsustainability in the annual harvest management of the species. The results suggest that biennial harvesting of one young leaf per individual could be sustainable. An appropriate management strategy could be to distinguish young individual populations by marking palms with nine or more leaves in the crown in different quadrants of extraction, in order to perform rotational, biennial and monitored cropping

High genetic diversity with low connectivity among Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae) stands from Ecuadorean Amazonia

Mauritia flexuosa dominated palm swamps are an important forest resource covering over 30,000 km2 across the Amazon basin. In Ecuadorean Amazonia, Mauritia flexuosa, a dioecious and arborescent palm species, forms small and isolated populations or large and dense stands on poorly drained soils. How these populations are genetically interconnected and how genetic diversity varies between cohorts of different ages remains little studied although they are important for conservation of these ecosystems. The genetic structure of Mauritia flexuosa was studied in five natural stands using eight microsatellite loci and two cohorts (seedling and adults). In addition, age structure and sex ratio within the stands were assessed using transects. The age structure of the studied Mauritia flexuosa stands is represented by a high number of seedlings (mean = 1,153.6/ha) and adults (mean = 563.2/ha), with a sex ratio favoring female individuals (1.42:1). These stands are also characterized by a fine-scale genetic structure, high observed heterozygosity (mean: HO seedlings=0.52; HO adults=0.52), high inbreeding (mean: FIS seedlings = 0.26; FIS adults = 0.26), low number of migrants (Nm=0.29), strong genetic differentiation (mean: pairwise RST/ D-values seedlings = 0.08/ 0.74; mean RST/D-values adults = 0.17/ 0.76), and an average effective population size (Ne) of 191.42 individuals. No intergenerational genetic variation was detected between seedlings and adults. We suggest that the high genetic diversity and inbreeding as well as the strong differentiation among stands of these populations could be explained, at least partially, by a low genetic connectivity among populations. Destructive harvesting of its fruits and defaunation will be major threats to Mauritia flexuosa populations in the future

Productivity and managemente of Phytelephas aequatorialis (arecaceae) in Ecuador.

Phytelephas aequatorialis is endemic to western Ecuador. Vegetable ivory (tagua, the hard endosperm) and leaves for thatch (cade) are harvested from the palm and commercialised. Export of vegetable ivory from Ecuador reached a value of 14 million US$ in 2011, making it the second most important product from native palms in the country. Vegetable ivory and leaves are harvested mainly from the wild, although the palm is occasionally cultivated. Most seeds harvested for vegetable ivory are collected from the ground. In times of high demand, however, some harvesters collect immature infructescences; these young seeds are of inferior quality and unsuitable for the fabrication of tagua discs for export. Premature harvest reduces the amount of fully mature, high-quality seed leading to resource limitation for the processing industry that already is unable to satisfy international demand. Fruit production in lowland agroforestry systems strongly correlates to the level of exposure to light. The development of infructescences takes 3 years in the lowlands (≤93 m a.s.l.) and over 4 years on the Andean slopes at around 1400 m a.s.l. Data from 365 tagged individuals show that male palms produce significantly more leaves than female palms and palms growing in the shade produce fewer, but longer and higher quality leaves for thatch. Leaf harvest has little impact on leaf production, but substantially reduces fruit production. Natural regeneration of Phytelephas populations in pastures is negatively affected, rendering the survival of these populations problematic. Sustainable use and commercialization of the two partially exclusive and locally competing products tagua (vegetable ivory) and cade (leaves for thatch) must be carefully designed. Application of unsustainable practices in the harvest of seeds and leaves, population decline in pastures, and resource limitation in the processing industry represent the main challenges in the sustainable use of this valuable palm species in the future

Patterns and origin of intraspecific functional variability in a tropical alpine species along an altitudinal gradient.

Background: Intraspecific functional variability (IFV) along altitudinal gradients is a powerful proxy to infer the responses of plants to abrupt environmental changes. We envisage that IFV shows distinctive patterns in tropical and extratropical alpine regions. Aims: To characterise the patterns and explore the origin of IFV in a tropical alpine species in a context of upward range extension. Methods: We examined variations in a series of plant functional traits in Lasiocephalus ovatus, inside and outside a nurse plant along a 600 m altitudinal gradient in the Ecuadorian Andes, and we studied its genetic variability. Results: More conservative traits were developed at higher elevation, in contrast to extratropical alpine plants, which commonly develop opportunistic traits in response to late snowmelt close to their upper altitudinal limit. The presence of nurse cushions did not alter this trend. Increasing genetic distance along the gradient suggested that IFV might be partly genetically induced. Conclusions: Our data combined with existing literature in tropical alpine environments lead the way to a stimulating scientific challenge: determining if patterns of plant altitudinal distribution in tropical alpine areas in response to climate change are predictable from patterns described in extratropical alpine areas

Heat production by an Ecuadorian palm

When asked to think about heat production in the natural world, our thoughts first turn to mammals, birds, and other warm-blooded animals. As mammals ourselves, we are often thankful for our ability to produce heat internally to raise body temperature above ambient temperature, through a process called endothermy. This phenomenon has fascinated naturalists and biologists for centuries (Heinrich 1999) and still has the capacity to surprise modern scientists, with new discoveries concerning the occurrence and evolution of endothermy in the animal world. Last year, for example, saw the discovery of the first entirely warm-blooded fish (Wegner et al. 2015). The endothermy of this fish is a remarkable adaptation for swimming in cold waters. Endothermy also occurs in some plants. Since the first description of heat production in arum flowers by Lamarck (1778), many other flowering and seed-bearing species have been shown to produce heat. The reasons for the evolution and ecological importance of endothermy in temperate and tropical plants are still a matter of debate, and any new field observations of plant endothermy constitute potentially interesting pieces in this eco-evolutionary jigsaw