Ecology History Research Articles

Spatial variation in the intensity of interactions via heterospecific pollen transfer may contribute to local and global patterns of plant diversity

Studies that aim to understand the processes that generate and organize plant diversity in nature have a long history in ecology. Among these, the study of plant-plant interactions that take place indirectly via pollinator choice and floral visitation has been paramount. Current evidence, however, indicates that plants can interact more directly via heterospecific pollen (HP) transfer and that these interactions are ubiquitous and can have strong fitness effects. The intensity of HP interactions can also vary spatially, with important implications for floral evolution and community assembly. Interest in understanding the role of heterospecific pollen transfer in the diversification and organization of plant communities is rapidly rising. The existence of spatial variation in the intensity of species interactions and their role in shaping patterns of diversity is also well recognized. However, after 40 years of research, the importance of spatial variation in HP transfer intensity and effects remains poorly known, and thus we have ignored its potential in shaping patterns of diversity at local and global scales. Here, I develop a conceptual framework and summarize existing evidence for the ecological and evolutionary consequences of spatial variation in HP transfer interactions and outline future directions in this field. The drivers of variation in HP transfer discussed here illustrate the high potential for geographic variation in HP intensity and its effects, as well as in the evolutionary responses to HP receipt. So far, the study of pollinator-mediated plant-plant interactions has been almost entirely dominated by studies of pre-pollination interactions even though their outcomes can be influenced by plant-plant interactions that take place on the stigma. It is hence critical that we fully evaluate the consequences and context-dependency of HP transfer interactions in order to gain a more complete understanding of the role that plant-pollinator interactions play in generating and organizing plant biodiversity.

From Gods to God: Impacts of Historical Ecology in the Christian Co-Option of Hawaiian Sacred Spaces

From Gods to God: Impacts of Historical Ecology in the Christian Co-Option of Hawaiian Sacred Spaces

Studies on the phenology of some terrestrial orchids of Western Ghats, India

The present paper describes the distribution, natural habitat and phenology of some terrestrial orchids in Shimoga district, Karnataka. The phenophases viz., leafing, flowering, fruiting, fruit dehiscence are observed for 25 orchid taxa belonging to 13 genera in Shimoga district. They are Dienia ophrydis (J. Koenig) Seidenf., Disperis zeylanica Trimen., Epipogium roseum (D. Don) Lindl., Eulophia spectabilis (Dennst.) Suresh., Geodorum densiflorum (Lam.) Schltr., Habenaria crinifera Lindl., Habenaria elwesii Hook f., Habenaria furcifera Lindl., Habenaria grandifloriformis Blatt. & Mc Cann., Habenaria heyneana Lindl., Habenaria longicorniculata J. Graham., Habenaria multicaudata Sedgw., Habenaria plantaginea Lindl., Liparis deflexa Hook. f., Liparis odorata (Willd) Lindl., Malaxis versicolor (Lindl.) Abeyw., Nervilia concolor (Blume) Schltr. Nervilia crociformis (Zoll. & Moritzi) Seidenf., Nervilia infundibulifolia Blatt. & Mc Cann., Nervilia plicata (Andrews) Schltr., Pecteilis gigantea (Sm.) Raf.. Peristylus plantagineus (Lindl.), Peristylus spiralis A. Rich., Satyrium nepalense D. Don, Zeuxine longilabris (Lindl.) Trimen. Phenology is the timing of plant life cycle events. Regular field visits were carried to observe the different life events. Most of the terrestrial orchids complete their life cycle in April to September or October month. The present research gives additional phenological aspects of terrestrial orchids in Shimoga district. Vegetative phenology is important to understand the ecology and instinct history of a plant species and may help to develop the conservation strategies of endangered species.

Solving a long-standing enigma: Myrmicinosporidium durum belongs to Blastocladiomycota, a phylum of primarily aquatic fungi

Myrmicinosporidium durumHölldobler (1933) is a widely distributed fungal endoparasite of ants. However, little is known about its biology, ecology, or evolutionary history. Our study investigated the phylogenetics of this entomopathogenic fungus using a molecular approach. Samples of M. durum were obtained from infected Solenopsis fugax workers collected in Warsaw (Poland). Analyses of rDNA markers revealed that M. durum belongs to a phylum of primarily aquatic fungi, Blastocladiomycota. It is currently the only species from this group known to parasitise hymenopterans. Our findings have clarified this fungus’ taxonomy and suggest future directions for research into its biology, ecology, and infection dynamics.

Biological Correlates of Extinction Risk in Resident Philippine Avifauna

The majority of the world’s biodiversity occurs in the tropics, but human actions in these regions have precipitated an extinction crisis due to habitat degradation, overexploitation, and climate change. Understanding which ecological, biogeographical, and life-history traits predict extinction risk is critical for conserving species. The Philippines is a hotspot of biodiversity and endemism, but it is a region that also suffers from an extremely high level of deforestation, habitat degradation, and wildlife exploitation. We investigated the biological correlates of extinction risk based on the IUCN Red List threat status among resident Philippine birds using a broad range of ecological, biogeographical, and life history traits previously identified as correlates of extinction risk in birds. We found strong support across competing models for endemism, narrower elevational ranges, high forest dependency, and larger body size as correlates significantly associated with extinction risk. Additionally, we compared observed threat status with threat status fitted by our model, finding fourteen species that are not currently recognized by the IUCN Red List as threatened that may be more threatened than currently believed and therefore warrant heightened conservation focus, and predicted threat statuses for the four Philippine Data Deficient bird species. We also assessed species described in recent taxonomic splits that are recognized by BirdLife International, finding 12 species that have a fitted threat status more severe than their IUCN-designated ones. Our findings provide a framework for avian conservation efforts to identify birds with specific biological correlates that increase a species’ vulnerability to extinction both in the Philippine Archipelago and elsewhere on other tropical islands.

Considerations for management strategy evaluation for small pelagic fishes

AbstractManagement strategy evaluation (MSE) is the state‐of‐the‐art approach for testing and comparing management strategies in a way that accounts for multiple sources of uncertainty (e.g. monitoring, estimation, and implementation). Management strategy evaluation can help identify management strategies that are robust to uncertainty about the life history of the target species and its relationship to other species in the food web. Small pelagic fish (e.g. anchovy, herring and sardine) fulfil an important ecological role in marine food webs and present challenges to the use of MSE and other simulation‐based evaluation approaches. This is due to considerable stochastic variation in their ecology and life history, which leads to substantial observation and process uncertainty. Here, we summarize the current state of MSE for small pelagic fishes worldwide. We leverage expert input from ecologists and modellers to draw attention to sources of process and observation uncertainty for small pelagic species, providing examples from geographical regions where these species are ecologically, economically and culturally important. Temporal variation in recruitment and other life‐history rates, spatial structure and movement, and species interactions are key considerations for small pelagic fishes. We discuss tools for building these into the MSE process, with examples from existing fisheries. We argue that model complexity should be informed by management priorities and whether ecosystem information will be used to generate dynamics or to inform reference points. We recommend that our list of considerations be used in the initial phases of the MSE process for small pelagic fishes or to build complexity on existing single‐species models.

The effects of biodiversity gradient on plant mass and metabolism of individual submerged macrophytes

BackgroundThe effects of biodiversity on community function and services are frequently studied in the history of ecology, while the response of individual species to biodiversity remains great elusive. In this study, we determined the biodiversity effects on community productivity as well as species level plant mass and carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) metabolism of eight submerged plants. These macrophytes in Lake Erhai were selected and planted in a water depth of one meter along a diversity gradient of 1, 2, 4 or 8 species. Then, the community productivity or species level plant mass, soluble protein, free amino acid and soluble carbohydrate were correlated to species richness to determine the biodiversity effects on community and single species.ResultsThe results showed that the community level biomass was positively correlated to plant species richness although the species level plant mass of individual species responded differently to the overall plant species richness. Namely, only one plant mass positively correlated to species richness and the others decreased or showed no significant correlation with the increase of species richness. The soluble proteins of most macrophytes were positively correlated to species richness; however, both the free amino acid and soluble carbohydrate of the plants were negatively or not significantly correlated to species richness.ConclusionsThese results indicated that the selection effects might dominate in our aquatic communities and the negative impacts of biodiversity on C and N metabolism of the macrophytes increased with the increase of species richness, which might result from the strong competition among the studied species. The biodiversity effects on the plant mass, and C and N metabolism of individual submerged species were first reported in this study, while more such field and control experiments deserve further research.

Effects of historical co‐infection on host shift abilities of exploitative and competitive viruses

Rapid evolution contributes to frequent emergence of RNA viral pathogens on novel hosts. However, accurately predicting which viral genotypes will emerge has been elusive. Prior work with lytic RNA bacteriophage ɸ6 (family Cystoviridae) suggested that evolution under low multiplicity of infection (MOI; proportion of viruses to susceptible cells) selected for greater host exploitation, while evolution under high MOI selected for better intracellular competition against co-infecting viruses. We predicted that phage genotypes that had experienced 300 generations of low MOI ecological history would be relatively advantaged in initial growth on two novel hosts. We inferred viral growth through changes in host population density, specifically by analyzing five attributes of growth curves of infected bacteria. Despite equivalent growth of evolved viruses on the original host, low MOI evolved clones were generally advantaged relative to high MOI clones in exploiting novel hosts. However, the specific attributes of growth curves that supported their advantage differed by host, indicating interactions between both viral and host genotype. Although there will be host specificity in viral growth, we suggest based on infectivity differences of viruses from high versus low MOI histories that prior MOI selection can later affect emergence potential.

Land use and social-ecological legacies of Rio de Janeiro's Atlantic urban forests: from charcoal production to novel ecosystems.

Historical ecology is an important tool in deciphering human–environment interactions imprinted on landscapes throughout time. However, gaps of knowledge still remain regarding the land use legacies hidden in the current Atlantic Forest landscape; and also regarding how this information can help management of the remaining forest cover. The social-ecological systems framework was applied to understand charcoal production in the urban forests of Rio de Janeiro, from the nineteenth to mid-twentieth century, and their current social-ecological legacies. Charcoal production carried out by former enslaved populations, allowed for rapid forest regeneration. Forest thinning instead of forest felling was carried out by small groups in these urban remnant forests, sparing large native trees and facilitating natural regeneration. Currently, more than one thousand former charcoal production sites are accounted for hidden underneath the forest cover. The forest landscape of today is a result of novel forest successional trajectories that recovered structural and functional attributes of the forest ecosystem. However, this came at the cost of social invisibility and marginalization of these populations. The management practices of charcoal production dispersed in the landscape is one of Rio de Janeiro's most important, albeit hidden, land use legacies. Currently, the forested landscape is comprised of regenerated forests, both structurally and functionally sound, though with significant changes in species composition including the introduction of exotic species throughout recent centuries. These urban forests are today a complex mosaic of novel ecosystems, with rich biocultural diversity, and together with managed lands and well conserved forest tracts, provide not only livelihood and sustenance for forest dwelling families, but also important ecosystem services for the entire population of Rio de Janeiro. We believe that these concepts and frameworks can offer practical solutions for urban forest management, taking into account the biocultural diversity of Rio de Janeiro, increasing awareness of sustainability and promoting food security.

State of knowledge of the Chilean giant frog (Calyptocephalella gayi)

Globally, at least 43% of amphibian species are declining, due primarily to habitat destruction and modification, over-exploitation, emerging diseases, and invasive alien species. In Chile there are 60 species of amphibians and of these, 62% are endemic and 73% are in a conservation category, such as the Chilean giant frog (Calyptocephalella gayi), a living fossil classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its decline is associated with over-exploitation for sale of its meat as a gourmet product, together with the “megadrought” experienced by Chile in recent years, and the presence of the pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which is causing amphibian mortalities all over the world. The sustained increase in threats to this frog species requires strategic conservation planning, which should be based on the knowledge of aspects of their basic biology. This led us to search for the available published information on this species, compiling the reachable data on the web from 1927 to 2019. We found 353 publications, and our two main conclusions about the knowledge on this species are that there is a high percentage (43%) of publications focused on studies of the morpho-physiological aspects, and that there is a significant lack of data on its ecology and natural history. We discuss how these deficiencies limit the possibility of implementing adequate management and/or conservation plans for this species, and finally propose areas of study that should provide a solid contribution towards the preservation of this species.

Fighting forest fires in the Kuibyshev Region in 1931-1940: a little-known aspect of the ecological history of the Middle Volga region

The paper deals with the spread of forest fires and measures to combat them in the course of implementing the policy of preserving the forests of the Volga region in the years of the pre-war five-year plans. The paper is written mainly on the basis of archival materials of the Russian State Archive of Economics, the Central State Archive of the Samara Region, and the State Archive of the Ulyanovsk Region, which were first introduced into historical circulation. In the 1930s, large-scale logging was carried out in the Kuibyshev Region in violation of the rules of forestry. One of the problems of forest exploitation was the growth of forest fires, which caused significant economic and environmental damage. The forest industry trust Sredles and the Srednevolzhsky Forestry Trust could not significantly change the situation with the fire protection of forests for the better. The most unfavorable years for the forests of the Middle Volga region and the Kuibyshev Region were 1933 and 1938. After the creation of the Srednevolzhsky (Kuibyshev) Forest Protection Department, the effectiveness of fire-fighting measures increased. Fire fighting was carried out by the most modern means at that time. As a result, the annual number of fires decreased. But it was not possible to completely solve the problem of fires in the forests of the Middle Volga during the third five-year plan.

984. RHODODENDRON MAGNIFICUM

Rhododendron magnificum Kingdon Ward is a Myanmar member of the Subsection Grandia Sleumer. Its history of discovery, introduction, habitat, ecology and cultivation in British and Irish gardens and further afield are discussed.

Holocene environmental history of a freshwater wetland in southern Louisiana: a sedimentary record of delta development, coastal evolution and human activity

AbstractThe world's most extensive and active deltas, Louisiana's wetlands, are deteriorating rapidly due to multiple stressors. Their ecological and anthropogenic histories on a multimillennial timescale have not been thoroughly documented. This study investigates hydrological and anthropogenic impacts on southern Louisiana wetlands to guide future efforts toward environmental restoration. A 3.6 m sediment core (JOYWMA) extracted from a freshwater wetland adjacent to Lake Pontchartrain yielded a 5000‐year record. Multiproxy data indicate four distinct stages, with the earliest period representing an oyster reef (~4.5 cal yr bp) marked by elevated Ca and Sr concentrations. Evolution to a freshwater marsh occurred 4.5–4.0 cal yr bp during the St. Bernard delta progradation, marked by increased Zr and Br concentrations. The site transitioned to a lake due to the isolation from the St. Bernard delta and local subsidence (4.0–2.0 cal yr bp), marked by increased Ti, Fe, Mn and K concentrations. The site altered to a cypress swamp after 2.0 cal yr bp due to increased sediment supply during the St. Bernard subdelta progradation. Both natural (delta progradation and subsidence) and anthropogenic (fire, deforestation) stressors have impacted the site over the last 4500 years. Delta‐switching of the Mississippi River caused the significant geomorphological and ecological changes.

A historical and ethnobotanical study on local botanical knowledge recorded in the book \u201cMongolia and Amdo and the Dead City of Khara-Khoto\u201d

BackgroundThere is a plentiful amount of local knowledge on plants hidden in the literature of foreign exploration to China in modern history. Mongolia and Amdo and the Dead City of Khara-Khoto (MAKK) is an expedition record on the sixth scientific expedition to northwestern China (1907–1909) initiated by P. K. Kozlov (1863–1935), a famous Russian Central Asian explorer. Used as a non-professional biology book, MAKK contains some botanical knowledge. The information noted down over more than 100 years ago is about the traditional knowledge of the Mongolian folks lived on the Mongolian plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for the understanding and utilization of plants, which is of a highlighted function for the study of the botany and the history of science and technology. We therefore have carried on relevant collation, analysis, investigation and criticism to Mongolian local knowledge on plants in MAKK, and obtained the status quo of these local knowledge.MethodsThe authors used the literature research method to sort and compare the two versions of MAKK, separating out the Mongolian local knowledge about plant naming and utilization. Then, these contents were verified through literature textual method and were catalogued according to the method of ethnobotany. Based on these, the authors carried out field investigations along with Kozlov’s expedition routes in Alxa in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The methods of key informants interview, snowball sampling, and rational sampling were all used in field investigations. By analyzing the interview data of 34 key informants, we obtained the status quo of local knowledge recorded in MAKK.ResultsBy means of regulation and research, it is found that Mongolian plant folk names of one genus and eight species were recorded in MAKK. Their morphological characteristics and traditional grazing knowledge are crucial naming basis. There are three types on the structures of Mongolian plant name: simple primary name, complex primary name, and secondary name. Corresponding relations between Mongolian folk name and scientific name are existed in “one-to-one,” “multitude-to-one,” and “one-to-multitude” forms. The classification of certain plants by Mongolian people has reached the level of species or varieties.In addition, the Mongols’ usage for nine species of plants was noted in MAKK. These plants are mainly used for edible, graziery, fuelwood, building material, toponym, and belief. With the development and change of the society, it is found that some utilization methods have been replaced or even disappeared, while the remainders still continue to be applied.ConclusionsFirstly, the Mongols have indigenous rules and systems for nominating and classifying plants. Secondly, the Mongolian local knowledge on plants possesses multiform character. Thirdly, the Mongolian local knowledge on plants and Mongolian culture have mutual influence and interdependence relationship. Fourthly, the Mongolian local knowledge on plants urgently needs to be protected in many forms. Finally, it is veritable and reliable for the records of Mongolian botanical local knowledge in MAKK by textual research, and it is valuable for scientific research. The historical notes more than 100 years ago are not only supply dependable information and momentous historical data for Mongolian ethnobotany and Chinese minority science and technology history research, but also offer references for ecology, flora, and botanical history study.

Disturbance type and species life history predict mammal responses to humans.

Human activity and land use change impact every landscape on Earth, driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others. Species ecological and life history traits may predict success in human-dominated landscapes such that only species with "winning" combinations of traits will persist in disturbed environments. However, this link between species traits and successful coexistence with humans remains obscured by the complexity of anthropogenic disturbances and variability among study systems. We compiled detection data for 24 mammal species from 61 populations across North America to quantify the effects of (1) the direct presence of people and (2) the human footprint (landscape modification) on mammal occurrence and activity levels. Thirty-three percent of mammal species exhibited a net negative response (i.e., reduced occurrence or activity) to increasing human presence and/or footprint across populations, whereas 58% of species were positively associated with increasing disturbance. However, apparent benefits of human presence and footprint tended to decrease or disappear at higher disturbance levels, indicative of thresholds in mammal species' capacity to tolerate disturbance or exploit human-dominated landscapes. Species ecological and life history traits were strong predictors of their responses to human footprint, with increasing footprint favoring smaller, less carnivorous, faster-reproducing species. The positive and negative effects of human presence were distributed more randomly with respect to species trait values, with apparent winners and losers across a range of body sizes and dietary guilds. Differential responses by some species to human presence and human footprint highlight the importance of considering these two forms of human disturbance separately when estimating anthropogenic impacts on wildlife. Our approach provides insights into the complex mechanisms through which human activities shape mammal communities globally, revealing the drivers of the loss of larger predators in human-modified landscapes.

When site matters: Metabolic and behavioural responses of adult sea urchins from different environments during long-term exposure to seawater acidification

CO2-driven ocean acidification (OA) affects many aspects of sea urchin biology. However, even in the same species, OA effects are often not univocal due to non-uniform exposure setups or different ecological history of the experimental specimens. In the present work, two groups of adult sea urchins Paracentrotus lividus from different environments (the Lagoon of Venice and a coastal area in the Northern Adriatic Sea) were exposed to OA in a long-term exposure. Animals were maintained for six months in both natural seawater (pHT 8.04) and end-of-the-century predicted condition (−0.4 units pH). Monthly, physiological (respiration rate, ammonia excretion, O:N ratio) and behavioural (righting, sheltering) endpoints were investigated. Both pH and time of exposure significantly influenced sea urchin responses, but differences between sites were highlighted, particularly in the first months. Under reduced pH, ammonia excretion increased and O:N decreased in coastal specimens. Righting and sheltering were impaired in coastal animals, whereas only righting decreased in lagoon ones. These findings suggested a higher adaptation ability in sea urchins from a more variable environment. Interestingly, as the exposure continued, animals from both sites were able to acclimate. Results revealed plasticity in the physiological and behavioural responses of sea urchins under future predicted OA conditions.

Cell-Mediated Immune Ontogeny Is Affected by Sex but Not Environmental Context in a Long-Lived Primate Species

Ecoimmunology conceptualizes the role of immunity in shaping life history in a natural context. Within ecoimmunology, macroimmunology is a framework that explains the effects of habitat and spatial differences on variation in immune phenotypes across populations. Within these frameworks, immune ontogeny—the development of the immune system across an individual life span—has received little attention. Here, we investigated how immune ontogeny from birth until adulthood is affected by age, sex, and developmental environment in a long-lived primate species, the bonobo. We found a progressive, significant decline of urinary neopterin levels, a marker for the cell-mediated immune response, from birth until 5 years of age in both sexes. The overall pattern of age-related neopterin changes was sex-specific, with males having higher urinary neopterin levels than females in the first 3 years of life, and females having higher levels than males between 6 and 8 years. Environmental condition (zoo-housed vs. wild) did not influence neopterin levels, nor did age-related changes in neopterin levels differ between environments. Our data suggest that the post-natal development of cell-mediated immune ontogeny is sex-specific but does not show plasticity in response to environmental conditions in this long-lived primate species. This indicates that cell-mediated immune ontogeny in the bonobo follows a stereotypic and maybe a genetically determined pattern that is not affected by environmental differences in pathogen exposure and energy availability, but that sex is an important, yet often overlooked factor shaping patterns of immune ontogeny. Investigating the causes and consequences of variation in immunity throughout life is critical for our understanding of life-history evolution and strategies, mechanisms of sexual selection, and population dynamics with respect to pathogen susceptibility. A general description of sex-specific immune ontogeny as done here is a crucial step in this direction, particularly when it is considered in the context of a species’ ecology and evolutionary history.

Historical Fires Induced Deforestation in Relict Scots Pine Forests during the Late 19th Century

Mountain forests are subjected to several pressures including historical land-use changes and climate warming which may lead to shifts in wildfire severity negatively impacting tree species with low post-fire growth resilience. This is the case of relict Mediterranean Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forests in the Sierra de Gredos mountains (central Spain). We reconstructed the historical fire regime of these forests since 1700 by using paleoecology, historical ecology and dendroecology. We detected an increase in charcoal accumulation rate and coprophilous fungi in peat bogs during the late 19th century when the pine pollen percentage sharply decreased, historical records of fire peaked and many trees showed growth suppressions. We inferred an increased wildfire incidence during the late 19th century, which could have shaped the current distribution of Scots pine forests. This shift in fire-forest interactions can be explained by the uncontrolled use of mountain forests and grasslands due to the dissolution of “Mesta”, one of the major and lasting transhumance livestock associations in Europe. Integrating historical human and climate influences on fire regimes allows decomposing the resilience and conservation components of relict forests.

Reflections on the early history of recreation ecology

A major challenge for managers of parks and other conservation lands where recreation is allowed is to ensure that visitors do not impair the natural values for which those lands were established. Recreation ecology is the academic discipline that provides a scientific foundation for managing the ecological impacts of outdoor recreation use. This article traces the development of recreation ecology from its disparate beginnings in the early 20th century, through a period of rapid growth starting in the 1970s, until its early maturity by the end of the 20th century. It introduces the reader to early recreation ecologists, such as E.P. Meinecke, Neil Bayfield, and Michael Liddle, and describes the important early investments in this work by US Forest Service Research. It reviews some of the most important early applications of recreation ecology: inventory and monitoring techniques, the Leave No Trace education program, and knowledge about how impact varies with factors that are subject to management control (e.g., amount of use, type of use etc.).

Historical cartographic and topo-bathymetric database on the French Rhône River (17th–20th century)

Abstract. Space and time analyses of channel changes, especially within large rivers subject to high levels of human impact, are critical to address multiple questions about rivers in the Anthropocene era. The reconstruction of long-term (> 150 year) evolutionary trajectories permits an understanding of how natural and anthropogenic factors impact hydromorphological and ecological processes in rivers, helps with the design of sustainable management and restoration options, and may also help in the assessment of future changes. However, the reconstruction of channel changes can be challenging: historical data are often scattered across many archives, and the quantity and accuracy of information generally decreases as one goes back in time. This data article provides a historical database of 350 cartographic and topo-bathymetric resources on the French Rhône River (530 km in length) compiled from the 17th to mid-20th century, with a temporal focus prior to extensive river training (1860s). The data were collected in 14 national, regional, and departmental archive services. A table describes the properties of each archived data item and its associated iconographic files. Some of the historical maps are available in a georeferenced format. A GIS layer enables one-click identification of all archive data available for a given reach of the French Rhône River. This database provides substantial new material for deeper analyses of channel changes over a longer time period and at a finer time step compared with previously available data. The database has several potential applications in geomorphology, retrospective hydraulic modelling, historical ecology, and river restoration, as well as permitting comparisons with other multi-impacted rivers worldwide. The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.922437 (Arnaud et al., 2020a). Iconographic extracts of the 350 archived items are available at http://photo.driihm.fr/index.php/category/52 (last access: 2 May 2021).