Rainforest Patches Research Articles

Uncovering local endemism in the Kimberley, Western Australia: description of new species of the genus Amplirhagada Iredale, 1933 (Pulmonata: Camaenidae)

In this work twenty-six species of the camaenid land snail Amplirhagada, which is endemic to the Kimberley region in Western Australia, are newly described. In addition, the anatomy of two further species, A. katerana and A. combeana, is described and a further, yet undescribed species is reported from Boongaree Island based on dry shell material. Most of these species occur on islands of the Bonaparte Archipelago off the mainland coast. The patterns of distribution and differentiation of these island species are comparable, however, with those found on the mainland. Mainland species are usually restricted to single rainforest patches. Frequently, single patches harbour only one or two congeneric species. Similarly, smaller islands usually support one endemic Amplirhagada species whereas on larger islands up to four species are found to occur in sympatry. Species are distinguishable particularly by the characteristic anatomy of the inner penial wall. Sympatric species generally exhibit marked morphological differences in shells and genital anatomy. A molecular phylogeny based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase unit 1 gene (COI) reveals a basal polytomy among species of the genus, which are generally genetically well differentiated. Relationships among species in the molecular tree mainly reflect geographical patterns. kohler, Frank, 2010. Uncovering local endemism in the Kimberley, Western Australia: description of new species of the genus Amplirhagada Iredale, 1933 (Pulmonata: Camaenidae). Records of the Australian Museum 62(2): 217–284. Camaenid land snails of the genus Amplirhagada Iredale, 1933, are endemic to the Kimberley region of Western Australia, where they have radiated extensively. Thirty species are currently considered valid, most of which usually occupy small distributional ranges along the Kimberley coast from the Buccaneer Archipelago in the south to Kalumburu in the north as well as in inland areas of the Napier, Harding, and King Leopold Ranges, the Drysdale River Reserve, Mt Elizabeth Station and the region south of Wyndham (Solem, 1981a, 1988). Many of these species are restricted to single localities, such as rainforest patches or more open woodlands (Solem, 1991). Supposed exceptions, with species occupying larger ranges, are likely to result from the inadequate delimitation of morphologically cryptic species (Solem, 1981a). Earlier accounts were predominantly based on dry shells (e.g., Smith, 1894; Iredale, 1933,

RELAÇÕES ENTRE A FLORÍSTICA ARBÓREA E CARACTERÍSTICAS DO SOLO EM UM FRAGMENTO DE FLORESTA ATLÂNTICA, TAMANDARÉ – PE

O presente trabalho objetivou relacionar, ao longo de um gradiente topográfico, a florística do componente arbóreo com as características físicas e químicas do solo em um fragmento de Floresta Ombrófila Densa, na Reserva Biológica de Saltinho, Pernambuco. O levantamento florístico foi realizado em 42 parcelas, distribuídas em um gradiente de três posições topográficas considerando os indivíduos arbóreos vivos, com CAP ≥ 15 cm. A vegetação foi analisada pela similaridade florística utilizando a distância euclidiana e o solo pelas médias das variáveis físicas e químicas. A relação entre as variáveis químicas do solo e a vegetação deu-se por análise de correspondência canônica. A encosta e o topo foram as posições com maior similaridade florística. Ocorreram espécies com desenvolvimento preferencial na baixada, pela fertilidade do solo e no topo, pelo teor de carbono orgânico e em ambas pelo teor de umidade atual.Palavras-chave: Floresta Atlântica; análise físico-química do solo; similaridade florística; relação solo vegetação. AbstractRelationships between tree floristic and soil characteristics in an Atlantic Forest patch, Tamandaré, Pernambuco, Brazil. This study aimed to relate the tree components flora with the physical and chemical characteristics of soil over a topographic gradient, in a patch of dense rain forest in the Saltinho Biological Reserve, Pernambuco State. The floristic survey was carried out in 42 plots distributed in a gradient of three topographic positions, for those individual living trees with DBH ≥ 15 cm. The vegetation floristic similarity was analyzed by using the Euclidean distance and the soil by means of physical and chemical variables. The relationship between the chemical variables of soil and vegetation was done by canonical correlation. The slope and the top were the positions with higher floristic similarity. Species occurred with preferential development in the flatland, because of the soil fertility and on the top, due to the organic carbon grade and in the both positions, because of the moisture.Keywords: Atlantic forest; physical-chemical analysis; floristic similarity; soil vegetation ratio.

Has global environmental change caused monsoon rainforests to expand in the Australian monsoon tropics?

A large research program in the Australian monsoon tropics has concluded that monsoon rainforests have expanded within the savanna matrix, a trend that has been emulated throughout the tropics worldwide. The driver of the northern Australian trend was not resolved, but it was suggested to be linked to a long-term trend towards wetter climates, atmospheric CO2 enrichment, and changed fire regimes. We review these findings with particular consideration of its analytical and evidentiary basis and plausibility of the global change hypothesis. Field validation has largely demonstrated that the aerial photographic technique that underpinned the previous research is reliable enough to detect rainforest expansion. Statistical modelling demonstrated that the expansion is related to sites with regionally low fire activity, although models are of low explanatory power reflecting the sketchy historical records of fire and feral animal impacts. Field studies show that current fire regimes adjacent to expanding rainforest patches are causing populations of the native conifer Callitris intratropica, an obligate seeder, to crash. Therefore, it is unlikely that changes in fire regimes, which have been deleterious to other fire-sensitive taxa and plant communities in the region, are responsible for the rainforest expansion. We conclude that the expansion of monsoon rainforests is most plausibly linked to the current wetting trend or elevated CO2 concentration. Increases in either water availability or CO2 concentration can potentially overwhelm the negative feedback between fire and rainforest cover that is responsible for the meta-stability of monsoon rainforest boundaries. However, further research at the continental scale, using aerial photography, tree rings and other proxies, is required to evaluate this hypothesis.

Using carbon isotope analysis of the diet of two introduced Australian megaherbivores to understand Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions

AbstractAim Australia lost a diverse assemblage of large marsupial herbivores in the late Pleistocene, with suggestions that the extinctions were biased towards browsers. In modern times two bovines, the Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and banteng (Bos javanicus), have established feral populations in the Northern Territory, Australia. Buffalo have aggressively expanded throughout the savanna landscape, yet banteng remain near their point of introduction on the Cobourg Peninsula. We hypothesized that this difference is related to feeding ecology, possibly reflecting a legacy of the Pleistocene extinctions.Location Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia.Methods Analysing a previously published dataset of body mass and feeding ecology of extinct and extant marsupial herbivores, we evaluated whether browsers were at greater risk of extinction than grazers. We compared the carbon isotope composition and nitrogen content of banteng and buffalo dung in order to evaluate the hypotheses that the differences in invasion success are related to feeding ecology, and that seasonal variation in browse consumption is linked to changing nutritional quality of grass.Results Controlling for body mass, the Pleistocene extinctions were clearly biased towards browsers. Introduced banteng appear to be primarily browsers, with their diets comprising 40% grass in the wet season and 15% in the late dry season. Buffalo have a more variable diet, with an increasing proportion of browse from the wet (30%) to the late dry season (75%), and can therefore be described as switching from grazer to browser. The decline of grass in the diet of both species appears to reflect the decline in the nutritional value of grass through the dry season, an inference supported by the negative relationship between δ13C values and the nitrogen content of dung.Main conclusions Banteng and buffalo are much larger than extant native herbivores, of which browsers are restricted to isolated rocky habitats. This suggests that banteng and buffalo have filled niches made vacant following the Pleistocene extinctions. The success of buffalo appears to be related to their greater dietary breadth, which enables them to graze and browse in eucalypt savannas, whilst the browsing banteng remain tethered to a mosaic of rain forest patches. The restriction of browsers may be a long‐range consequence of habitat transformations associated with Aboriginal landscape burning.

Genetic structure is correlated with phenotypic divergence rather than geographic isolation in the highly polymorphic strawberry poison-dart frog

Phenotypic and genetic divergence can be influenced by a variety of factors, including sexual and natural selection, genetic drift and geographic isolation. Investigating the roles of these factors in natural systems can provide insight into the relative influences of allopatric and ecological modes of biological diversification in nature. The strawberry poison frog, Dendrobates pumilio, presents an excellent opportunity for this kind of research, displaying a diverse array of colour morphs and inhabiting a heterogeneous landscape that includes oceanic islands, fragmented rainforest patches and wide expanses of suitable habitat. In this study, we use 15 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci to estimate population structure and gene flow among populations from across the range of D. pumilio and a causal modelling framework to statistically test 12 hypotheses regarding the geographic and phenotypic variables that explain genetic differentiation within this system. Our results demonstrate that the genetic distance between populations is most strongly associated with differences in dorsal coloration. Previous experimental studies have shown that phenotypic differences can result in sexual and natural selection against non-native phenotypes, and our results now show that these forces lead to genetic isolation between different colour morphs in the wild, presenting a potential case of incipient speciation through selection.

Impact of landscape spatial pattern on liana communities in tropical rainforests at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico

AbstractQuestions: What are the species composition and species and stem densities of liana communities in tropical landscapes of different deforestation levels? Which spatial attributes (forest cover, patch area, shape and isolation) have the strongest influence on liana communities in these landscapes?Location: Forty‐five rainforest patches in Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Mexico.Methods: In three landscapes with different deforestation levels (HDL=4%; IDL=11%; and LDL=24% of remaining forest cover) liana communities (DBH ≥2.5 cm) were characterized in 15 randomly selected patches per landscape (10 50 m × 2 m transects per patch=0.1 ha), and evaluated the effects of patch area, shape and isolation on liana species and stem density (number of species and stems per 0.1 ha).Results: A total of 64 taxa and 24 families were sampled. Species composition differed highly among landscapes, with HDL being the most dissimilar landscape. The response of lianas to landscape spatial pattern differed significantly among landscapes. Proximity to villages had a strong positive effect on species and stem densities in LDL and IDL. There was a sharp decrease in liana stem density in HDL, with four patches (27%) found to be unoccupied by lianas.Conclusions: Fragmentation may have a positive effect on lianas, partly because of edge effects. This positive effect seems to be limited by the proportion of remaining forest cover in the landscape, as the liana communities had collapsed in the most deforested landscape.

Evolving restoration principles in a changing world

Evolving restoration principles in a changing world

Cyclic habitat displacements during Pleistocene glaciations have induced independent evolution of Tasimia palpata populations (Trichoptera: Tasimiidae) in isolated subtropical rain forest patches

AbstractAim Mechanisms generating biodiversity and endemism are influenced by both historical and ecological patterns, and the relative roles of history vs. ecological interactions are still being debated. The phylogeography of one rain forest‐restricted caddisfly species, Tasimia palpata, thought to have good dispersal abilities, is used to address questions about shifts of highland rain forest habitat during Pleistocene glaciations and about their consequences for haplotype composition and distribution.Location Tasimia palpata occurs in highland subtropical rain forest patches, which are separated from one another by lowland dry bush, in south‐eastern Queensland, Australia.Methods We sequenced 375 base pairs of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene from 169 individuals (20 populations) of T. palpata, mainly from three fragmented subtropical rain forest blocks, revealing 46 haplotypes. Analysis of molecular variance (amova), genetic divergence between populations, nested clade analyses and tests based on coalescent theory were used to analyse phylogeographical relationships among T. palpata populations.Results amova indicates spatial genetic structure between isolated subtropical rain forest patches, with an isolation‐by‐distance effect. Tests based on coalescent theory suggest a repeated process of population reductions and divergence between isolated rain forests during Pleistocene glaciations as a consequence of habitat constrictions followed by population expansions during interglacial periods when subtropical rain forest expanded. In addition, these results suggest that, prior to the Pleistocene, rain forest and T. palpata had more widespread distributions in this region.Main conclusions Historical rain forest expansion and contraction during the Pleistocene resulted in changes in demography and genetic diversity of T. palpata, as well as in an increase in genetic divergence between populations from different patches of subtropical rain forest. Despite the fact that this caddisfly species was isolated in separate highland rain forest patches at various times during the Pleistocene, there is no evidence of allopatric speciation during the Quaternary, which contrasts with other examples of endemism and high diversity in rain forest highlands.

Indirect evidence that frugivorous birds track fluctuating fruit resources among rainforest patches in the Northern Territory, Australia

Indirect evidence that frugivorous birds track fluctuating fruit resources among rainforest patches in the Northern Territory, Australia

Can stable carbon isotopes (δ13C) in soil carbon be used to describe the dynamics of Eucalyptus savanna-rainforest boundaries in the Australian monsoon tropics?

The history of isolated patches of monsoon rainforest within large tracts of Eucalyptus savanna is poorly understood because of the scarcity of reliable palaeoecological records in the Australian monsoon tropics. Elsewhere in the world, the ratio of the stable isotopes 13C to 12C (δ13C) in soil organic matter has shed light on the dynamics of rainforest–savanna boundaries because tropical grasses with the C4 photosynthetic pathway have a distinct δ13C signature (–17 to –9‰) compared with that of woody plants with the C3 photosynthetic pathway (–32 to –22‰). In order to determine the magnitude of the variation in δ13C, unreplicated soil profiles were sampled beneath different vegetation types on three boundaries between Eucalyptus savanna and rainforest that were both growing on Tertiary age laterite parent material. Replicated (n = 3) soil profiles, which were also derived from Tertiary age laterite, were sampled from beneath: (i) dense stands of African grasses within a frequently burnt Eucalyptus savanna; and within the same long unburnt Eucalyptus savanna, (ii) patches of African and natives grasses and (iii) clumps of Acacia trees. The strongly negative δ13C values of soil organic matter derived from the frequently burnt and long unburnt grassy understoreys in the Eucalyptus savannas showed that a considerable amount of the soil carbon was derived from C3 (woody) species despite the presence of a ground layer dominated by C4 grasses. However, a feature of these data was the considerable variability among the three ‘replicate’ profiles. The surface soil samples from beneath three clumps of Acacia trees in the unburnt Eucalyptus savanna had much less variable δ13C values and were similar to two of the three monsoon rainforests sampled. The pattern of δ13C values from unreplicated soil profiles from different vegetation types across three rainforest boundaries was also very variable and not always obviously related the known disturbance history of the extant vegetation. Given the considerable variability within and between vegetation types with contrasting disturbance histories, it is concluded that the use of carbon stable isotopes to advance understanding of the dynamics of rainforest and Eucalyptus savanna boundaries will require further development, such as determination of the 14C age and δ13C values of different soil carbon fractions.

Effects of fragmentation on forest structure and litter dynamics in Atlantic rainforest in Pernambuco, Brazil

This study evaluates the effects of fragmentation on the spatial and temporal dynamics of small litterfall production in Atlantic rainforest in Pernambuco State, Brazil. Litterfall was collected for 24 months at two 0.2 ha sites, located in the forest edge zone and the forest interior, within a rainforest patch of about 300 ha. Structural parameters of both forest sites were recorded. Litter was sorted into six fractions (foliage, twigs, buds/flowers, fruits/seeds, peduncles, rest), dried and weighed. The interior forest plot contained 314 live trees with a dbh ⩾5 cm and a stand basal area of 41.8±8.7 m 2, whereas the forest edge contained 211 live trees and a stand basal area of 23.4±3.6 m 2. Total small litterfall was extraordinarily high and totalled 12.62±4.73 t ha −1 yr −1 in interior forest and 14.74±2.78 t ha −1 yr −1 in forest edge. High litterfall rates are probably due to a pronounced periodicity, edge effects alter litterfall strongly.

Regeneration patterns and persistence of the fog‐dependent Fray Jorge forest in semiarid Chile during the past two centuries

AbstractThe persistence of rainforest patches at Fray Jorge National Park (FJNP) in semiarid Chile (30°40′S), a region receiving approximately 147 mm of annual rainfall, has been a source of concern among forest managers. These forests are likely dependent on water inputs from oceanic fog and their persistence seems uncertain in the face of climate change. Here, we assessed tree radial growth and establishment during the last two centuries and their relation to trends in climate and canopy disturbance. Such evaluation is critical to understanding the dynamics of these semiarid ecosystems in response to climate change. We analyzed forest structure of six forest patches (0.2–22 ha) in FJNP based on sampling within 0.1 ha permanent plots. For the main canopy species, the endemic Aextoxicon punctatum (Aextoxicaceae), we used tree‐ring analysis to assess establishment periods, tree ages, growing trends and their relation to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), rainfall, and disturbance. The population dynamics of A. punctatum can be described by a continuous regeneration mode. Regeneration of A. punctatum was sensitive to different canopy structures. Growth release patterns suggest the absence of large scale human impact. Radial growth and establishment of A. punctatum were weakly correlated with rainfall and ENSO. If water limits forests patch persistence, patches are likely dependent on the combination of fog and rain water inputs. Forest patches have regenerated continuously for at least 250 years, despite large fluctuations in rainfall driven by ENSO and a regional decline in rainfall during the last century. Because of the positive influence on fog interception, forest structure should be preserved under any future climate scenario. Future research in FJNP should prioritize quantifying the long‐term trends of fog water deposition on forests patches. Fog modeling is crucial for understanding the interplay among physical drivers of water inputs under climate change.

Multiscale modelling of the drivers of rainforest boundary dynamics in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia

ABSTRACTUnderstanding the relative importance of factors driving savanna–forest dynamics is vital as changes in the extent of tropical forests can have major impacts on global climate and carbon balance, biodiversity, and human well‐being. Comparison of aerial photographs for 50 rainforest patches in Kakadu National Park had previously revealed a landscape wide expansion of rainforest boundaries between 1964 and 2004. Here, we used generalized linear and mixed effects models to assess the role of fire, buffalo impact, and patch characteristics in determining the rate of boundary change. The analysis was conducted at both the patch scale, and within‐patch (plot) scale, to capture the different processes operating. At the patch scale, the rate of change was best explained by rainforest type and historical buffalo impact. Fire activity, patch size, and fragmentation were not important predictors of the rate of change. At the plot scale, distance from rainforest edge was the most important predictor of the probability of change, while the fragmentation and aspect of the boundary were unimportant. Rainforest expansion has occurred through a process of margin extension rather than eruption of new patches. The rainforest expansion is consistent with having been driven primarily by shifts in global change phenomena, such as increased rainfall and atmospheric CO2, rather than changes in disturbance regime. It appears that the current fire regimes are not sufficiently destructive to limit the overall expansion of the rainforest patches. Rainforest type and historical buffalo impact have mediated the rate of change at the patch scale.

On the identity of Hyla strigilata Spix, 1824 (Anura: Hylidae): redescription and neotype designation for a “ghost” taxon

Recent field work in Atlantic Rain Forest patches in the southern region of the State of Bahia, Brazil, resulted in the discovery of some populations of an unidentified species of the Scinax catharinae group. An extensive literature review, along with the examination of specimens and distribution patterns of all known species of this group, showed that Hyla strigilata Spix, 1824, a long confused species with lost type material, is an available name for the specimens from Bahia. In order to clarify the taxonomic problems surrounding this taxon, the nomenclatural history of Hyla strigilata is reviewed and a neotype is designated, described, and figured. The association of this name to extant populations from southern Bahia and its consequent stabilization is considered important since it is the type species of the genus Ololygon, a name available for the clade of Scinax catharinae. Data on habits, habitat, and geographic distribution are also presented.

Indigenous Beliefs and Environmental Stewardship: A Rural Ghana Experience

Despite recent interest in indigenous knowledge, few studies have linked it with indigenous beliefs system and its role in environmental stewardship. This link is important to cultural geographers interested in the study of small-scale cultural groups and how they relate to the environment. It also helps us understand the cultural dimensions of environmental stewardship and resource conservation. Based on a study of a monkey sanctuary in Ghana, West Africa, this paper argues that indigenous belief systems form an essential part of indigenous knowledge and that they can serve as a very effective tool for the protection of sacred groves and isolated patches of rainforests that have fallen victim to development as a result of increasing globalization, population pressures, and the spread of Christianity. The paper concludes that indigenous beliefs are not just a relic of the past but something that is needed today and may be needed in future for the conservation of natural resources in indigenous societies.

Contrasting rainforest and savanna ant faunas in monsoonal northern Australia: a rainforest patch in a tropical savanna landscape

Rainforest in the tropical savanna landscapes of monsoonal Australia is of high biogeographic interest because it occurs as numerous small and isolated patches, and supports a fauna that contrasts markedly with that of the surrounding savanna. The overall ant fauna of monsoonal rainforest is known reasonably well, but with just one exception (Holmes Jungle in Darwin) the faunas of individual rainforest patches have been only superficially studied. This paper comprehensively documents an ant fauna of a spring-fed rainforest patch at the Territory Wildlife Park (TWP) near Darwin, contrasts it with that of surrounding savanna, and compares it with the Holmes Jungle fauna. Ants were sampled at 21 locations within the TWP rainforest, using Winkler sacs for litter-dwelling species (160 samples), standard pitfall traps for ground-active species (75 traps), and baited pitfall traps taped to trees for arboreal species (75 traps). In total, 43 species were collected, with 35 recorded in leaf litter, 24 in ground pitfall traps and 12 in arboreal pitfall traps. Species of Paratrechina and Pheidole collectively comprised 75% of all individuals recorded. Species richness was far higher in the surrounding savanna, and the rainforest and savanna faunas had markedly different species and functional group composition. The rainforest fauna at TWP was remarkably similar to that at Holmes Jungle. The rainforest/savanna contrast in ant diversity across northern Australia is the reverse of that occurring in Neotropical savanna landscapes.

Drivers of rain-forest boundary dynamics in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia: a field assessment

Understanding the causes of savanna–forest dynamics is vital as small but widespread changes in the extent of tropical forests can have major impacts on global climate, biodiversity and human well-being. Comparison of aerial photographs for 50 rain-forest patches in Kakadu National Park had previously revealed a landscape-wide monotonic expansion of rain-forest boundaries between 1964 and 2004. Here floristic, structural, environmental and disturbance attributes of the changes were investigated by sampling 588 plots across 30 rain-forest patches. Areas that had changed from savanna to rain forest were associated with a significantly higher abundance of rain-forest trees and less grasses, relative to stable savanna areas. Ordination analyses showed that overall floristic composition was not significantly different between newly established rain forest and longer established rain forest. Generalized linear models also indicated that contemporary levels of disturbance (fire and feral animal impact) and environmental variables (slope and soil texture) were poor predictors of historical vegetation change. We concluded that (1) the rain-forest boundaries are highly dynamic at the decadal scale; (2) rain-forest expansion is consistent with having been driven by global environmental change phenomena such as increases in rainfall and atmospheric CO2; and (3) expansion will continue if current climatic trends and management conditions persist.

Growth and survival of two north Australian relictual tree species, Allosyncarpia ternata (Myrtaceae) and Callitris intratropica (Cupressaceae)

AbstractAllosyncarpia ternata (an angiosperm) and Callitris intratropica (a gymnosperm) are two fire‐sensitive tree species of the Australian monsoonal tropics. Studies using historical aerial photography have revealed recent expansion of A. ternata rainforests. There has simultaneously been a widespread collapse of C. intratropica populations in northern Australian savannas, presumably because of cessation of traditional Aboriginal landscape burning. To explain the demography behind these contrasting trends, stand structure, survival, and growth of the two species were recorded over a 16‐year period at the boundary of a rainforest patch and also in adjacent savanna, in Kakadu National Park. Ages of the largest trees of each species, estimated by using a Bayesian analysis of tree‐diameter increments, were approximately 433 years for A. ternata and 235 years for C. intratropica on the rainforest boundary, and 417 years for C. intratropica in the adjacent savanna. Densities of juveniles (seedlings and re‐sprouts <0.5 m high) were 325–6,000 times higher for A. ternata than for C. intratropica. Life‐table calculations indicated there was sufficient recruitment of A. ternata, but not C. intratropica, to overcome observed mortality rates and maintain a stable population. This is almost certainly because A. ternata re‐sprouts prolifically after fire whereas C. intratropica is an obligate seeder. These results highlight the critical need for careful fire management to maintain populations of a characteristic Australian gymnosperm over much of its range.

Rain Forest Islands in the Chilean Semiarid Region: Fog-dependency, Ecosystem Persistence and Tree Regeneration

Tree presence in semiarid ecosystems is generally constrained by insufficient annual rainfall. However, in semiarid Chile, rainforest patches dominated by Aextoxicon punctatum are unexpectedly found on coastal mountaintops (450–600 m) at 30°S, surrounded by a xerophytic vegetation matrix that receives only 147 mm of annual precipitation. It has been proposed that these forests persist as a result of fog-water inputs. If so, then because fog-water deposition is spatially heterogeneous and shows strong edge effects, the potential environmental gradient created by the direction of fog input should determine forest structure and tree regeneration patterns. To investigate this hypothesis, we measured fog inputs, forest structural attributes (age and size distribution, basal area, and coarse woody debris), and tree regeneration in three different habitats: the windward edges (WE), leeward edges (LE), and the interior (center) of rainforest patches varying in area from 0.2 to 22 ha. Mean fog-water input was estimated from passive collectors over 1 year in WE and LE of patches. Tree regeneration was greater in the WE and forest interior (FI) and decreased toward the LE of patches, following a marked pattern of decline in fog inputs. Older trees and coarse woody debris were concentrated in the FI and LE of patches. Tree regeneration and patch structure appear to be largely controlled by fog-input direction and edge effects. We propose that forest patches may be slowly growing toward the incoming fog edge, while dying at the opposite edge.

A new species of capuchin monkey, genus Cebus Erxleben (Cebidae, Primates): found at the very brink of extinction in the Pernambuco Endemism Centre

We report the discovery of a new species of Cebus (Primates, Cebidae), here designated Cebus queirozi sp. nov. Mendes Pontes and Malta, found in a single population, composed of a single group of 18 individuals, in the Atlantic coast of the Pernambuco Endemism Centre, the sector of the Atlantic forest of Brazil located above the São Francisco river, one of the most important hotspots of the earth. The new species was not located in any of 23 other sites surveyed in the region, which suggests that they are critically endangered and, therefore, the holotype was not sacrificed, but photographed and subsequently released back to his group. A paratype was also photographed and used for the description. They live close to a highly-populated area, are isolated in a matrix of sugar cane plantations, and use an area of only about 200 ha, formed by highly-disturbed patches of tropical rainforest, and a swamp, formed by stands of Montrichardia linina (Aracaeae). The specific name acknowledges the landowner’s family for having protected the area and the species for more than 30 years.