Noel Kempff Research Articles

Poteranthera inopinata (Melastomataceae), a new species from Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, Bolivia

Poteranthera inopinata is described as a new species that is known only from humid or seasonally inundated savannas in Noel Kempff Mercado National Park in eastern Bolivia near its border with Brazil. Line drawings, a distribution map, a recommended conservation assessment, and a discussion of morphologically similar genera and species are provided. This new species can be recognized by its annual habit, petiolate, 3–5-nerved leaf blades (3 ̶ 10 mm long) that are conspicuously serrate with each serration tipped with a glandular trichome ca. 1 mm long, dimetric and dimorphic androecium with prolonged pedoconnectives and inconspicuously retuse staminal appendages, and petals that are minutely and deciduously glandular-ciliolate at the margins and tipped with a persistent glandular trichome 0.5 ̶ 0.75 mm long. The new species is compared with P. warmingii, its apparent closest relative, and an updated key is provided to the six recognized species of Poteranthera.

Impact of Fires on Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and Priority Bird Species for Conservation in Bolivia

Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are sites that contribute significantly to the protection of the planet’s biodiversity. In this study, we evaluated the annual burned areas and the intensity of the fires that affected Bolivia and its 58 KBAs (23.3 million ha) over the last 20 years (2001–2020). In particular, we analyzed the impact of wildfires on the distribution of Bolivian birds at the levels of overall species richness, endemic species and threatened species (Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable). We found that at the KBA level, the cumulative area of wildfires was 21.6 million ha, while the absolute area impacted was 5.6 million ha. The KBAs most affected by the wildfires are located in the departments of Beni and Santa Cruz; mainly in the KBAs Área Natural de Manejo Integrado San Matías, Oeste del río Mamoré, Este del río Mamoré, Noel Kempff Mercado and Área Natural de Manejo Integrado Otuquis. The wildfires impacted the distribution of 54 threatened species and 15 endemic species in the KBAs. Based on the results of this study, it is a priority to communicate to Bolivian government authorities the importance of KBAs as a strategy for the conservation of the country’s biodiversity and the threats resulting from anthropogenic fires.

<p><strong>A new species of <em>Microlicia</em> (Melastomataceae) from Bolivia and Brazil, a new synonym, and an identification key for the genus in Mato Grosso, Brazil</strong></p>

Microlicia windischii is a new species described from Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, and Serra Ricardo Franco State Park, Mato Grosso, Brazil. We provide a detailed description of the new species and comparisons with its morphological relatives M. acuminata, M. arenariifolia, M. consimilis, M. juniperina, and M. multicaulis. Microlicia windischii is characterized by the linear-oblong leaf blades and subisomorphic stamens with concolorous and polysporangiate anthers. We also include an identification key for the four species of Microlicia from Mato Grosso and propose to synonymize M. souzae-limae under M. helvola.

<p><strong>Novelties in <em>Microlicia </em>(Melastomataceae: Microlicieae) from the Bolivian Cerrado</strong></p>

Microlicia woodii is described as a new species from the Meseta de Motacú, Santiago de Chiquitos, eastern Bolivia, a region rich in endemic plants. The new species seems to be closely related to Microlicia sphagnicola, and can be recognized by a combination of elliptic leaf blades 8–10 × 3.2–5 mm, glandular-punctate on both surfaces, petioles 0.2–0.4 mm long, rectangular and dorso-ventrally flattened, solitary 5–6-merous flowers, external and internal intercalycine eglandular trichomes ca. 1–2 mm long, pink petals, and dimorphic, bicolored and polysporangiate anthers. Line drawings, photographs, a distribution map, and notes on its conservation status are provided. Additionally, we designate a lectotype for Microlicia insignis and document the first records for this species in Bolivia, at Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado.

The impacts of recent drought on fire, forest loss, and regional smoke emissions in lowland Bolivia

Abstract. In the southern Amazon relationships have been established among drought, human activities that cause forest loss, fire, and smoke emissions. We explore the impacts of recent drought on fire, forest loss, and atmospheric visibility in lowland Bolivia. To assess human influence on fire, we consider climate, fire, and vegetation dynamics in an area largely excluded from human activities since 1979, Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (NK) in northeastern Bolivia. We use data from five sources: the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Collection 6 active fire product (2001–2015) (MODIS C6), Global Fire WEather Database (GFWED) data (1982–2015), MODIS land cover data (2001–2010), MODIS forest loss data (2000–2012), and the regional extinction coefficient for the southwestern Amazon (i.e., Bext), which is derived from horizontal visibility data from surface stations at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) level (1973–2015). The Bext is affected by smoke and acts as a proxy for visibility and regional fire emissions. In lowland Bolivia from 2001 to 2015, interannual Drought Code (DC) variability was linked to fire activity, while from 1982 to 2015, interannual DC variability was linked to Bext. From 2001 to 2015, the Bext and MODIS C6 active fire data for lowland Bolivia captured fire seasonality, and covaried between low- and high-fire years. Consistent with previous studies, our results suggest Bext can be used as a longer-term proxy of regional fire emissions in southwestern Amazonia. Overall, our study found drought conditions were the dominant control on interannual fire variability in lowland Bolivia, and fires within NK were limited to the Cerrado and seasonally inundated wetland biomes. Our results suggest lowland Bolivian tropical forests were susceptible to human activities that may have amplified fire during drought. Human activities and drought need to be considered in future projections of southern Amazonian fire, in regard to carbon emissions and global climate.

New botanical discoveries of Myrtaceae from Bolivia and notes on Psidium hians

A new species, Myrcia proencana is described from eastern Bolivia. It is known from the Serranía de Huanchaca in the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park. M. proencana is compared with M. torta which is the species most similar. Also, we determined that Psidium hians should be considered as an accepted name, and P. nutans should be included in its synonymy. Additionally, Eugenia paranahybensis, E. pitanga, E. suberosa, Psidium misionum and P. myrsinites are reported as new records for the Bolivian flora.

Three new species of <i>Euphorbia</i> subg. <i>Chamaesyce</i> (Euphorbiaceae) from Bolivia

Three new Bolivian species of Euphorbia subg. Chamaesyce are described and illustrated. Euphorbia beckii is known from the Área Natural de Manejo Integrado of Apolobamba, province of Bautista Saavedra, department of La Paz; it belongs to sect. Alectoroctonum and is compared with E. viridis. Euphorbia fuentesii is known from the Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park, Cordillera province, department of Santa Cruz. It forms part of sect. Anisophyllum, and is most similar to E. catamarcensis. Euphorbia riinae is known from the Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado, in the province of Velasco, department of Santa Cruz. It is a member of sect. Crossadenia subsect. Ephedropeplus and is closely related to the Brazilian Euphorbia gymnoclada.

A new species and new records of Myrtaceae from the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park region of Bolivia

Myrcia lignosa, a new species only known from the Serrania de Huanchaca in the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park is described and illustrated. Eugenia angustissima O. Berg, E. gemmiflora O. Berg, E. klotzschiana O. Berg, Myrcia dasyblasta O. Berg, M. lingua (O. Berg) Mattos & D. Legrand and M. torta DC. are reported in Bolivia for the first time.

Morbidity and Mortality

Sharon L. Deem, Ellen Bronson, Sixto Angulo, Veronica Acosta, Suzan Murray, Richard G. Robbins, Urs Giger, Bruce Rothschild, and Louise H. Emmons. Morbidity and Mortality. The Maned Wolves of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, 77-89. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology No. 639, 2012.

Variation in Diet and Resources

Jose Miguel Castro and Louise H. Emmons, Variation in Diet and Resources. The Maned Wolves of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, 37-55. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology No. 639, 2012

Maned Wolves of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park

The Maned Wolves of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 2012, No. 639, xii + 135 pages, 60 figures, 37 tables. Edited by Louise H. Emmons. Published by Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.

Dos especies nuevas de Borreria (Rubiaceae), un nuevo registro de Declieuxia y observaciones taxonómicas

Two new species of Borreria are described: the first, Borreria johnwoodii from the Campo Cerrado area of the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park; the second, Borreria siberiana from the cloud forest of the Yungas, between 2600 and 3100 m above sea level. Declieuxia cordigera is recorded for the first time from Bolivia. Borreria nectarifera is shown to be synonymous with B. eryngioides var. affinis.

Payment for Environmental Services in the Amazon Forest: How Can Conservation and Development Be Reconciled?

Two payment for environmental services programs in the Amazon, namely, Noel Kempff Mercado Climate Action Project in Bolivia and Bolsa Floresta Program in Brazil, have been pioneering initiatives to demonstrate the ability to encourage forest conservation through market mechanisms involving direct payments for avoiding deforestation. This article argues that (a) to be effective in the long-run, programs have to consider the needs and priorities of forest dwellers, which are indeed beyond market-based incentives; (b) a win-win discourse combining forest conservation and poverty alleviation through provision of PES may hide vested interests of developed countries’ institutions and developing countries’ elites. Proving the workability of these types of activities and their quantification for emissions credit will be critical for the launching of reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) in the context of a future climate agreement.

A New Species of the Rodent Genus Oecomys (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae: Oryzomyini) from Eastern Bolivia, with Emended Definitions of O. concolor (Wagner) and O. mamorae (Thomas)

We describe a new species of Oecomys, O. sydandersoni (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae), from the Parque Nacional Noel Kempff Mercado in eastern Bolivia. One of its diagnostic traits, a derived carotid circulatory plan, provides morphological evidence for its close relationship to O. concolor and O. mamorae among the 15 species of Oecomys currently recognized. Notwithstanding this shared trait, other morphological contrasts and morphometric analyses demonstrate the sharp differentiation of the eastern Bolivian form from both of those species. Oecomys sydandersoni, n. sp., is arboreal and was encountered above ground on limbs and woody vines only in densely wooded hummocks scattered through grassland, in contrast to adjacent closed tropical deciduous forest where three other species of Oecomys (O. bicolor, O. roberti, O. trinitatis) were obtained. The new species represents the fourth sigmodontine rodent to be named from this restricted region within eastern Bolivia since 1999. Its documentation served as a platform to summarize the nomenclatural history, morphological recognition, and geographic distribution of O. concolor (Wagner, 1845) and O. mamorae (Thomas, 1906) based on fresh examination of all type material and museum specimens.

Long‐Term Variation in Small Mammal Abundance in Forest and Savanna of Bolivian Cerrado

ABSTRACTSmall mammals were trapped annually in two savanna and two forest plots in cerrado habitats of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, for 5–10 yr. Eighteen species were captured in forest and seven species in savanna. Species numbers and total number of individuals captured were tightly correlated. In forest, species and abundance varied interannually by up to fourfold in one plot and to 100‐fold in the other, and showed alternating highs and lows as is typical for small mammals. The largest faunal differences were due not to site differences, but to year differences, with markedly different patterns in forests and savannas. Abundance was not correlated with rainfall overall, but showed correlation in exceptional years of rainfall and ENSO drought. In savanna, species and overall abundance declined without recovery during 3 yr after reaching minimum numbers in 2004. One species, Cavia aperea, became extinct on both plots, and subsequently, apparently on the entire savanna. Both herbivorous and insectivorous species declined together. Rainfall, fire, and flooding do not seem to account for savanna rodent declines. I propose the novel hypothesis that smoke from anthropogenic burning raises nocturnal temperatures and prevents dew formation, and that a decrease in nightly dry season dewfall has been instrumental in rodent declines. Anecdotal and climatic data are consistent with this hypothesis, but it cannot yet be tested.

Differentiation between Neotropical rainforest, dry forest, and savannah ecosystems by their modern pollen spectra and implications for the fossil pollen record

Accurate differentiation between tropical forest and savannah ecosystems in the fossil pollen record is hampered by the combination of: i) poor taxonomic resolution in pollen identification, and ii) the high species diversity of many lowland tropical families, i.e. with many different growth forms living in numerous environmental settings. These barriers to interpreting the fossil record hinder our understanding of the past distributions of different Neotropical ecosystems and consequently cloud our knowledge of past climatic, biodiversity and carbon storage patterns. Modern pollen studies facilitate an improved understanding of how ecosystems are represented by the pollen their plants produce and therefore aid interpretation of fossil pollen records. To understand how to differentiate ecosystems palynologically, it is essential that a consistent sampling method is used across ecosystems. However, to date, modern pollen studies from tropical South America have employed a variety of methodologies (e.g. pollen traps, moss polsters, soil samples). In this paper, we present the first modern pollen study from the Neotropics to examine the modern pollen rain from moist evergreen tropical forest (METF), semi-deciduous dry tropical forest (SDTF) and wooded savannah ( cerradão) using a consistent sampling methodology (pollen traps). Pollen rain was sampled annually in September for the years 1999–2001 from within permanent vegetation study plots in, or near, the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (NKMNP), Bolivia. Comparison of the modern pollen rain within these plots with detailed floristic inventories allowed estimates of the relative pollen productivity and dispersal for individual taxa to be made (% pollen/% vegetation or ‘ p/ v’). The applicability of these data to interpreting fossil records from lake sediments was then explored by comparison with pollen assemblages obtained from five lake surface samples. Pollen productivity is demonstrated to vary inter-annually and conforms to a consistent hierarchy for any given year: METF > SDTF > cerradão. This suggests an association between pollen productivity and basic structural characteristics of the ecosystem, i.e. closed canopy vs. open canopy vs. savannah. Comparison of modern pollen and vegetation revealed that some important floristic elements were completely absent from the pollen: Qualea and Erisma (METF), Bauhinia, Simira and Guazuma (SDTF), and Pouteria and Caryocar ( cerradão). Anadenanthera was found to be abundant in both the pollen and flora of SDTF ( p/ v = 3.6), while Poaceae was relatively poorly represented in cerradão (0.2). Moraceae, Cecropia and Schefflera were found to be over-represented palynologically in all ecosystems. Overall, the data demonstrated that no one taxon could be used as a definitive indicator of any of the ecosystems. Instead, associations of taxa were found to be important: METF = Moraceae (> 40%), Cecropia, Hyeronima, Celtis; SDTF = Anadenanthera, Apuleia, Ferdinandusa and non-arboreal Asteraceae, Bromeliaceae, Piper and fern spores; cerradão = Poaceae, Myrtaceae , Borreria, Solanum plus Asteraceae and fern spores. Interpretation of Poaceae pollen was highlighted as problematic, with relatively low abundance in the cerradão (< 20%) in comparison to high abundance in lake environments (c. 30–50%). Re-examination of fossil pollen records from NKMNP revealed that modern vegetation associations were only established in the last few thousand years.

Spatial and temporal patterns of gap dominance by low-canopy lianas detected using EO-1 Hyperion and Landsat Thematic Mapper

Woody lianas are critical to tropical forest dynamics because of their strong influence on forest regeneration, disturbance ecology, and biodiversity. Recent studies synthesizing plot data from the tropics indicate that lianas are increasing in both abundance and importance in tropical forests. Moreover, lianas exhibit competitive advantages over trees in elevated CO2 environments and under strong seasonal droughts, suggesting that lianas may be poised to increase not only in abundance but also in spatial distribution in response to changing climate. We used a combination of high-resolution color-infrared videography and hyperspectral imagery from EO-1 Hyperion to map low-lying lianas in Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (NKMNP) in the Bolivian Amazon. Evergreen liana forests comprise as much as 14% of the NKMNP landscape, and low-stature liana patches occupy 1.5% of these forests. We used change vector analysis (CVA) of dry season Landsat TM and ETM+ imagery from 1986 and 2000 to determine changes in liana-dominated patches over time and to assess whether those patches were regenerating to canopy forest. The spatial distribution of liana patches showed that patches were spatially aggregated and were preferentially located in proximity to waterways. The CVA results showed that most of the dense liana patches increased in brightness and greenness and decreased in wetness over the 14 years of the change analysis, while non-liana forest patches changed less and in more random directions. Persistent liana patches increased in area by an average of 59% over the time period. In comparison, large burned areas appeared to recover completely to canopy forest in the same time period. This suggests that the dense liana patches of NKMNP represent an alternative successional pathway characterized not by tree regeneration but rather by a stalled state of low-canopy liana dominance. This research supports hypotheses that liana forests can be a persistent rather than transitional component of tropical forests, and may remain so due to competitive advantages that lianas enjoy under changing climatic conditions.

Palynological differentiation between genera of the Moraceae family and implications for Amazonian palaeoecology

The Moraceae family is one of the most abundant and ecologically important families in Neotropical rainforests and is very well-represented in Amazonian fossil pollen records. However, difficulty in differentiating palynologically between the genera within this family, or between the Moraceae and Urticaceae families, has limited the amount of palaeoecological information that can be extracted from these records. The aim of this paper is to analyse the morphological properties of pollen from Amazonian species of Moraceae in order to determine whether the pollen taxonomy of this family can be improved. Descriptive and morphometric methods are used to identify and differentiate key pollen types of the Moraceae (mulberry) and Urticaceae (nettle) families which are represented in Amazonian rainforest communities of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (NKMNP), Northeast Bolivia. We demonstrate that Helicostylis, Brosimum, Pseudolmedia, Sorocea and Pourouma pollen can be identified in tropical pollen assemblages and present digital images of, and a taxonomic key to, the Moraceae pollen types of NKMNP. Indicator species, Maquira coriacea (riparian evergreen forest) and Brosimum gaudichaudii (open woodland and upland savanna communities), also exhibit unique pollen morphologies. The ability to recognise these ecologically important taxa in pollen records provides the potential for much more detailed and reliable Neotropical palaeovegetation reconstructions than have hitherto been possible. In particular, this improved taxonomic resolution holds promise for resolving long-standing controversies over the interpretation of key Amazonian Quaternary pollen records.

Long-term forest-savannah dynamics in the Bolivian Amazon: implications for conservation.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the respective roles of past changes in climate, geomorphology and human activities in shaping the present-day forest-savannah mosaic of the Bolivian Amazon, and consider how this palaeoecological perspective may help inform conservation strategies for the future. To this end, we review a suite of palaeoecological and archaeological data from two distinct forest-savannah environments in lowland Bolivia: Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (NKMNP) on the Precambrian Shield and the 'Llanos de Moxos' in the Beni basin. We show that they contain markedly contrasting legacies of past climatic, geomorphic and anthropogenic influences between the last glacial period and the Spanish Conquest. In NKMNP, increasing precipitation caused evergreen rainforest expansion, at the expense of semi-deciduous dry forest and savannahs, over the last three millennia. In contrast, pre-Hispanic indigenous cultures were instrumental in facilitating recent forest expansion in the Llanos de Moxos by building a vast network of earthworks. Insights from Mid-Holocene palaeodata, together with ecological observations and modelling studies, suggest that there will be progressive replacement of rainforest by dry forest and savannah in NKMNP over the twenty-first century in response to the increased drought predicted by general circulation models. Protection of the latitudinal landscape corridors may be needed to facilitate these future species reassortments. However, devising appropriate conservation strategies for the Llanos de Moxos will be more difficult due to its complex legacy of Palaeo-Indian impact. Without fully understanding the degree to which its current biota has been influenced by past native cultures, the type and intensity of human land use appropriate for this landscape in the future will be difficult to ascertain.

Two new species of Mimosa (Fabaceae) endemic to Bolivia

Abstract Two new species of Mimosa are described: M. woodii (sect. Mimosa), from the central Andean valleys of Bolivia, and M. suberosa (sect. Habbasia), from Serrania Huanchaca in the Noel Kempff National Park in the north east of Santa Cruz Department in eastern Bolivia. The affinities of each are discussed, their distributions mapped, and both species are illustrated.