Patch Of Cloud Forest Research Articles

Edge effects in forest patches surrounded by native grassland are also dependent on patch size and shape

Our knowledge of biodiversity responses to fragmentation comes from human-driven fragmentation processes. However, evaluating forest patches with natural edge can produce useful models to understand how the micro-environmental gradient between forest edge and interior shapes the plant communities, regardless habitat loss. Here, we tested how forest edges and interiors differ in soil characteristics, communities’ structure and diversity metrics, and the extent to which these differences are related to forest size and shape of patches. We present data of ten tropical montane cloud forest patches surrounded by native non-forest vegetation (highland grasslands) of southeast Brazil. In each forest, we established five plots right on the edge and five randomly distributed over the forest interior. Our dataset covers a total of 5495 trees, and the main findings showed that patches with natural edges are also influenced by the edge effect, affecting the structure, species composition and soil variables. We found that with the increase in distance from the forest edge, the soils became more acid, with greater accumulation of organic matter, phosphorus, silt and sand, in contrast, the content of total exchangeable bases and clay decreased. When accounting for the effect of patch size and shape in the relationships between forest habitat and the structural community metrics, tree density and upper 95-percentile stem diameter tended to be higher in larger patches. In contrast, aboveground biomass and median stem diameter were positively related to patch shape in forest interiors. In addition, species composition showed marked differences between habitats, but rarefied species richness and Fisher’s diversity index were higher, in the interior, only in large patches. These results indicate that besides differences between forest habitats, with increasing patch size and circularity, the differences become more pronounced. We would like to highlight that in conservation and management decisions, peculiarities of each habitat must be taken into account, with techniques that assess the surrounding matrix (man-made or natural) and that consider the edge and the interior as distinct habitats.

The relevance of cloud forest fragments and their transition zones for butterfly conservation in Taita Hills, Kenya

A main driver of biodiversity loss is the transformation of pristine habitats into agricultural land, plantations of exotic trees, and settlements. The cloud forest of the Taita Hills in southern Kenya has suffered under such transformation processes. In consequence, remaining forests are small and isolated and often provide degraded forest habitats. We studied butterfly communities in four habitat types, cloud forest, cloud forest margin, exotic tree plantations, and agricultural land. We counted butterflies along transects during the rainy and the dry season. We assessed species traits for each butterfly species found. The four habitat types harbour distinct butterfly communities with only slight overlap among each other. Community compositions differed between the dry and rainy season. Forest specialist butterflies mainly occurred in the interior of the cloud forest, but were also observable along the forest edge. Species richness was highest at the transition between pristine cloud forest and agricultural land. The butterfly community of open agricultural landscapes was dominated by common and widespread East African savannah species, equipped with more elongated wings compared with those found inside the cloud forest. Exotic tree plantations showed a mixed butterfly species composition, consisting of many common and widespread savannah species, but also forest species with comparatively low specialization. In conclusion, typical cloud forest butterflies are on the need for intact cloud forest patches and cannot be compensated by surrogate habitats, such as exotic tree plantations.

Behind the fog: Forest degradation despite logging bans in an East African cloud forest

Habitat destruction and deterioration are amongst the main drivers of biodiversity loss. Increasing demand for agricultural products, timber and charcoal has caused the rapid destruction of natural forests, especially in the tropics. The Taita Hills in southern Kenya are part of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot and represent a highly diverse cloud forest ecosystem. However, the cloud forest suffers extremely from wood and timber exploitation and transformation into exotic tree plantations and agricultural fields. Existing conservation regulations and moratoriums aim to prevent further forest destruction. In this study, we analyzed land cover change and shifts in landscape configuration for a fraction of the Taita Hills, based on satellite imageries for the years 2003, 2011 and 2018. We found that the coverage of natural cloud forest further decreased between 2003 and 2018, despite the effort to conserve the remaining cloud forest patches and to reforest degraded areas by various conservation and management initiatives. In parallel, the proportion of exotic tree plantations and bushland strongly increased. Moreover, mean natural forest patch size decreased and the degree of interspersion with other land cover types increased notably. Logging bans for indigenous trees seem to have resulted in local opposition to the planting of indigenous trees and thereby hindered the recovering of the cloud forest. We suggest to enhance local awareness on the ecological value of the natural forest by community-based Conservation Forest Associations and to encourage the planting of indigenous tree species in farmer-owned woodlots. Besides, bottom-up management systems that allow for local participation in decision-making and benefit-sharing related to forest resources would be a way forward to achieve the sustainable use and conservation of the last remaining natural forest patches in the Taita Hills.

Climate change impact on endangered cloud forest tree species in Mexico

Ecological niche models have seen intensive exploration as a tool in biodiversity conservation and evaluation of areas for designing protected natural areas systems, including projections of potential distributions under future conditions. Cloud forest is the most endangered ecosystem in Mexico, and yet ranks high in terms of diversity and endemism. This study focuses on 12 endangered and range-restricted tree species in Mexican cloud forests, exploring patterns of distribution and diversity under 2 future emissions scenarios (representative concentration pathways 4.5 and 8.5) as anticipated by 20 general circulation models. Our results indicate a likely strong reduction in species’ distributional areas and —consequently— species diversity manifested in different cloud forest patches across the country. The genus Quercus resulted the most sensitive to climate change. We identified cloud forest patches that are most vulnerable to climate change effects, which can and should focus priorities for protection of this ecosystem, particularly in the Sierra Madre Oriental, where cloud forest is presently lacking any protection.

Small montane cloud forest fragments are important for conserving tree diversity in the Ecuadorian Andes

AbstractMontane tropical cloud forests, with their complex topography, biodiversity, high numbers of endemic species, and rapid rates of clearing, are a top global conservation priority. However, species distributions at local and landscape scales in cloud forests are still poorly understood, in part because few regions have been surveyed. Empirical work has focused on species distributions along elevation gradients, but spatial variation among forests at the same elevation is less commonly investigated. In this study, the first to compare tree communities across multiple Andean cloud forests at similar elevations, we surveyed trees in five ridge‐top forest reserves at the upper end of the ‘mid‐elevation diversity bulge’ (1900–2250 masl) in the Intag Valley, a heavily deforested region in the Ecuadorian Andes. We found that tree communities were distinct in reserves located as close as 10 to 35 km apart, and that spatially closer forests were not more similar to one another. Although larger (1500 to 6880 ha), more intact forests contained significantly more tree species (108–120 species/0.1 ha) than smaller (30 to 780 ha) ones (56–87 species/0.1 ha), each reserve had unique combinations of more common species, and contained high proportions of species not found in the others. Results thus suggest that protecting multiple cloud forest patches within this narrow elevational band is essential to conserve landscape‐level tree diversity, and that even small forest reserves contribute significantly to biodiversity conservation. These findings can be applied to create management plans to conserve and restore cloud forests in the Andes and tropical montane cloud forests elsewhere.

Remarkable fly (Diptera) diversity in a patch of Costa Rican cloud forest: Why inventory is a vital science.

Study of all flies (Diptera) collected for one year from a four-hectare (150 x 266 meter) patch of cloud forest at 1,600 meters above sea level at Zurquí de Moravia, San José Province, Costa Rica (hereafter referred to as Zurquí), revealed an astounding 4,332 species. This amounts to more than half the number of named species of flies for all of Central America. Specimens were collected with two Malaise traps running continuously and with a wide array of supplementary collecting methods for three days of each month. All morphospecies from all 73 families recorded were fully curated by technicians before submission to an international team of 59 taxonomic experts for identification. Overall, a Malaise trap on the forest edge captured 1,988 species or 51% of all collected dipteran taxa (other than of Phoridae, subsampled only from this and one other Malaise trap). A Malaise trap in the forest sampled 906 species. Of other sampling methods, the combination of four other Malaise traps and an intercept trap, aerial/hand collecting, 10 emergence traps, and four CDC light traps added the greatest number of species to our inventory. This complement of sampling methods was an effective combination for retrieving substantial numbers of species of Diptera. Comparison of select sampling methods (considering 3,487 species of non-phorid Diptera) provided further details regarding how many species were sampled by various methods. Comparison of species numbers from each of two permanent Malaise traps from Zurquí with those of single Malaise traps at each of Tapantí and Las Alturas, 40 and 180 km distant from Zurquí respectively, suggested significant species turnover. Comparison of the greater number of species collected in all traps from Zurquí did not markedly change the degree of similarity between the three sites, although the actual number of species shared did increase. Comparisons of the total number of named and unnamed species of Diptera from four hectares at Zurquí is equivalent to 51% of all flies named from Central America, greater than all the named fly fauna of Colombia, equivalent to 14% of named Neotropical species and equal to about 2.7% of all named Diptera worldwide. Clearly the number of species of Diptera in tropical regions has been severely underestimated and the actual number may surpass the number of species of Coleoptera. Various published extrapolations from limited data to estimate total numbers of species of larger taxonomic categories (e.g., Hexapoda, Arthropoda, Eukaryota, etc.) are highly questionable, and certainly will remain uncertain until we have more exhaustive surveys of all and diverse taxa (like Diptera) from multiple tropical sites. Morphological characterization of species in inventories provides identifications placed in the context of taxonomy, phylogeny, form, and ecology. DNA barcoding species is a valuable tool to estimate species numbers but used alone fails to provide a broader context for the species identified.

Setting practical conservation priorities for birds in the Western Andes of Colombia.

We aspired to set conservation priorities in ways that lead to direct conservation actions. Very large-scale strategic mapping leads to familiar conservation priorities exemplified by biodiversity hotspots. In contrast, tactical conservation actions unfold on much smaller geographical extents and they need to reflect the habitat loss and fragmentation that have sharply restricted where species now live. Our aspirations for direct, practical actions were demanding. First, we identified the global, strategic conservation priorities and then downscaled to practical local actions within the selected priorities. In doing this, we recognized the limitations of incomplete information. We started such a process in Colombia and used the results presented here to implement reforestation of degraded land to prevent the isolation of a large area of cloud forest. We used existing range maps of 171 bird species to identify priority conservation areas that would conserve the greatest number of species at risk in Colombia. By at risk species, we mean those that are endemic and have small ranges. The Western Andes had the highest concentrations of such species-100 in total-but the lowest densities of national parks. We then adjusted the priorities for this region by refining these species ranges by selecting only areas of suitable elevation and remaining habitat. The estimated ranges of these species shrank by 18-100% after accounting for habitat and suitable elevation. Setting conservation priorities on the basis of currently available range maps excluded priority areas in the Western Andes and, by extension, likely elsewhere and for other taxa. By incorporating detailed maps of remaining natural habitats, we made practical recommendations for conservation actions. One recommendation was to restore forest connections to a patch of cloud forest about to become isolated from the main Andes.

Description of a new shrew of the genus Cryptotis (Mammalia: Soricomorpha: Soricidae) from the Sierra de Aroa, an isolated mountain range in northwestern Venezuela, with remarks on biogeography and conservation

In South America, shrews of the genus Cryptotis have a primarily Andean distribution. Based on specimens from the non-Andean Sierra de Aroa in Venezuela, we name Cryptotis aroensis sp. nov., which we assign to the C. thomasi group of thegenus owing to its possession of characters that include a relatively large body size, luxuriant fur, moderately enlargedforefeet with elongated and narrow claws, unicuspid teeth relatively narrow and concave on the posteroventral margin,ectoloph of first upper molar with the anterior element reduced relatively to the posterior element, and mandible with thearticular process not robust, high, and broad, and with the coronoid process joining the ramus at a low angle. The newspecies can be differentiated from other members of the C. thomasi group on the basis of its possession of a uniquecombination of characters, that include a rich grayish brown pelage, a narrow palate at the level of the second upper molars(no overlap in this measurement observed with 146 specimens of 10 other species of the group), nasal cavity and ethmo-turbinals partially visible in occlusal view of palate, lacrimal foramina wide and deep, tympanic process of petromastoidsshowing a minute foramen, unicuspid teeth with posterolingual cuspules, fourth unicuspid tooth labially placed, thirdupper molar complex and nearly as wide as the second upper molar, and bicuspulate lower incisors. The new species isknown from only 3 specimens obtained at the type locality, which is in a pristine patch of cloud forest at elevation 1730m, and represents the first mammalian taxon known to be endemic to the Sierra de Aroa, a small and isolated mountainrange that was previously reported to possess numerous biotic elements that are either exclusive, or shared with the muchlarger Cordillera de la Costa to the east. The clear morphological differentiation of the new species with respect to itsAndean relatives suggests that its ancestors colonized the Sierra de Aroa several glacial maxima ago, when montanevegetation belts were lower than today. The presumably optimal habitat of the new species (cloud forests of the Sierra deAroa above 1500 m) covers less than 40 km2 , and is threatened by deforestation and global climate change. Therefore, thenew species can be categorized as endangered by application of criteria B2a and E of the current “Red List Categories and Criteria” of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

New Species of Marsupial Frog (Hemiphractidae: Gastrotheca) from an Isolated Montane Forest in Southern Peru

We describe a new species of marsupial frog (genus Gastrotheca) from an isolated patch of cloud forest in the upper reaches of the Pachachaca River, a tributary of the Apuro ´mac River in southern Peru (Apuro ´mac Region). The new species is small with males less than 30 mm and a single female 35.3 mm in snout-vent length. A juvenile was collected from inside an epiphytic bromeliad at ,3 m, suggesting that this species is arboreal or uses bromeliad tanks as microhabitats. We describe the advertisement call, which has a dominant frequency above 2.2 kHz. Based on morphology and advertisement call, the new species is most similar to Gastrotheca piperata described from the Yungas of Bolivia. The new species differs from G. piperata by having smaller size, no dermal fold on the tarsus, a bluntly rounded to vertical snout in profile, gray coloration on dorsal surfaces of Fingers I and II and by producing advertisement calls that have a higher dominant frequency and a smaller number of pulses. RESUMEN.—Describimos una nueva especie de rana marsupial (genero Gastrotheca) de un parche aislado de bosque nublado en las nacientes del ro ´o Pachachaca, un afluente del ro ´o Apuro ´mac en el sur de Peru ´ (Region Apuro ´mac). La nueva especie es pequena, con machos que miden menos de 30 mm y una hembra 35.3 mm en longitud hocico-cloaca. Un juvenil fue capturado dentro de una bromelia epo ´fita a una altura de ,3 m, lo cual sugiere que esta rana es arborea o usa las bromelias como microhabitats. Describimos el canto nupcial, cuya frecuencia dominante es de mas de 2.2 kHz. En base a morfologo ´a y canto nupcial, la nueva especie se asemeja masa Gastrotheca piperata descrita de las Yungas de Bolivia. La nueva especie se diferencia de G. piperata por su menor tamano, ausencia de pliegue tarsal, hocico redondeado o vertical en vista lateral, coloracion gris en la superfice dorsal de los dedos I y II y por producir un canto nupcial con frecuencia dominante mas alta y menor numero de pulsos. Biological inventories and phylogenetic and taxonomic research in the cloud forests of southeastern Peru over the past decade have led to the description of many new species of amphibians (Lehr and Catenazzi, 2008, 2009a,b). These recent discoveries point to the exceptional diversity of montane and high-elevation taxa in the eastern slopes of the Andes. Beta diversity of montane taxa is likely to be much higher than currently known, and as new inventories are conducted, we predict that many additional species will be discovered. These discoveries will help us better understand patterns of species abundance and distribution in relation to the heterogeneous environment of the eastern cordilleras and inter-Andean valleys of southern Peru. The herpetofauna of the Apurimac region is poorly known. The west and central portions of this region are dominated by species that have a wide geographic distribution in the puna and other high-elevation habitats of the Peruvian Altiplano, such as Gastrotheca marsupiata, Pleurodema marmoratum, and Tachymenis peruviana. However, the eastern portion of the Apurimac Region has more species, several of which are endemic. The inter-Andean dry valleys of the Apurimac canyon and of its tributaries, for example, are inhabited by two endemic squamates, the lizard Stenocercus apurimacus and the snake Drymoluber apurimancesis (Lehr et al., 2004). These valleys often present heterogeneous environments, from dry, scrublike vegetation in places where the cordilleras function as rain shadows, to cloud forests where local topography intercepts moisture and favors the formation of fog. Many of these habitats are difficult to access and are poorly known biologically. Based on museum collections, G. marsupiata is the only marsupial frog that has been reported previously from Apurimac. William E. Duellman collected a series of this species in four locations between Abancay and Huancavelica (voucher specimens at the Museum of Natural History,

Representatividad del tejo mexicano (Taxus globosa Schltdl., Taxaceae) en las áreas naturales protegidas de Mesoamérica

Short title: Taxus globosa in protected areas of Me soamerica Taxus globosa is a gymnosperm inhabiting Mexican and northern Central American temperate forests and considered as threat ened by local and international conservancy agencies. Based on herbari um specimens and webworld biodiversity databases, a map of known distri bution was generated. Also, its distribution was evaluated in relation to the current systems of Natural Protected Areas at federal level of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, in order to determine the role of the se areas in its conservation and management. This species is under-represented in these areas, because it is recorded only in four of them in Mexico, two in Guatemala, two in Honduras, and none in El Salvador, representing les s than 3% of its known distribution. This approach represents an important tool in conservation biology, because it reflects deficiency and absence of representativeness of many species in these federal areas. It is urgent t o preserve the remaining cloud forest patches of Mesoamerica, in order to gu arantee the existence of this species and others with the same ecological re quirements.

First Record of The AntRhopalothrix weberi(Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) for Mexico

The genus Rhopalothrix Mayr is a member of the monophyletic tribe Basicerotini (Bolton 1998). It is a rare group of ants with 10 known species, 7 of which are distributed across Central and South America and the rest in the Indo-Aus tralian region. The biology of this genus is not well known, but it seems to exhibit the same predatory habits as other members of the tribe; the few basicerotines whose habits are known are predators of small, soft-bodied arthropods (Wil son 1956; Brown & Kempf 1960; Wilson & Brown 1985; Longino 1999). Ants of this genus have 7-segmented antennae that, when reclined against the head in their nor mal position, are sustained on the antenn?i scrobes that run beneath the eyes. Their mandi bles are slender and elongate; when completely shut, they remain separated due to a cavity that runs along most of their length and touches only at the tips. These ants are similar to Eurhopalo thrix, but with thinner, more elongate, triangular jaws. In this paper we report the first record of Rho palothrix weberi Brown and Kempf for Mexico. Until now, the only known record of the genus in this country was for R. stannardi in the state of Chiapas (Brown & Kempf 1960). During a sam pling project to study the ant fauna associated with patches of cloud forest in the central part of the state of Veracruz, 1 worker of this species was collected from a litter sample processed in Win kler bags. Although we processed more than 120 samples of litter from cloud forest and coffee plan tations in this zone, only 1 specimen was ob tained. The collection of these ants tends to be quite scattered; as in this case, they are generally found as isolated individuals obtained from litter samples processed in Winkler traps or Berlesse funnels (Longino 1999; Brown & Kempf 1960). The R. weberi worker was collected near El Olmo, situated on the road between Teocelo and Ixhuacan de Los Reyes in the municipality of the same name (latitude 19 20 5 ; longitude 97?01' 42W), at an altitude of 1300 m (Aug 12, 2008, J. Valenzuela Col.). It was sampled in a patch of cloud forest of about 8 ha located on hilltops sur rounded by coffee plantations. The ant was identified with keys and descrip tions provided by Brown & Kempf (1960) as well as Weber's original description of this species, as Heptastruma wheeleri (Weber 1934). The speci men has the following features characteristic of the description of R. weberi. The dorsum of head with a pair of well-defined transverse ridges; clypeus without conspicuous subappressed, oval setae; labrum with a deep median cleft or notch that extends inward from its apex nearly to its midlength with rounded lateral lobes (Fig. 1);

A Remarkable Ontogenetic Change in Color Pattern in a New Species of Oreophryne (Anura: Microhylidae) from Papua New Guinea

Abstract We describe a new species of scandent/arboreal frog from Sudest Island, Louisiade Archipelago, off the southeastern tip of New Guinea that exhibits a remarkable ontogenetic change in color pattern. Juveniles are shiny black with lemon-yellow spots; adults are uniform peach with bright blue eyes. We detail the ontogenetic changes in color-pattern elements that comprise this transformation. This ontogenetic change, uniform peach adult coloration, and blue iris all appear to be unique features within the genus Oreophryne, most of whose members are tan, brown, or gray. We presume the striking juvenile color pattern to serve an aposematic function, but this conjecture requires testing. The new species is restricted to a relatively small patch of cloud forest perched on the highest peak of Sudest Island. Climate change may pose a threat to the new species if changing rainfall or temperature regimes result in the loss of this forest.

Biogeographical affinities among Neotropical cloud forests

Biogeographical affinities among cloud forests in the Neotropical region were studied through a track approach, by constructing generalised tracks based on the results of a parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE). Distributional data on 946 genera and 1,266 species of vascular plants (Pteridophyta, angiosperms, and gymnosperms) from 26 cloud forest patches from Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela were analysed; and four localities from eastern and western United States were also included as outgroups. The track analysis identified six generalised tracks: a first one that includes the majority of the cloud forests of Mexico, Central America, the Antilles, and northern Colombia; a second one that includes southern Mexico and northern Central America; a third one that includes the mountains in northwestern South America; a fourth one that includes the mountains in southwestern South America; and two others in western and eastern United States. It is concluded that the Neotropical cloud forests are closely related and that those of the Caribbean subregion exhibit complex relationships, which could be due to the complex tectonic history of the area.

Observaciones sobre la biología de melolóntidos (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) en una localidad de los Altos de Chiapas, México.

Observations on the biology of a community of scarab larvae and adult beetles (Coleóptera: Melolonthidae) in a locality of Los Altos de Chiapas, México are presented. Collections of both stages were made during the preparation and plant growing season of cornfields, oak-pine surroundings and cloud forest patches (March to July of 1997). Eight species were collected, being Phyllophaga obsoleta and Anómala atomograma the most conspicuous during the larval and adult stages. Considering their abundances, these may be related with damage in cornfields. Three probably new species of Phyllophaga were collected and their larvae seem to be mostiy associated with forest soils. A new altitude record for Cyclocephala alexi is registered. Hoplia mexicana is cited for the first time with precisión from a locality of México.