Top Of Tree Research Articles

Unconstrained approach for isolating individual trees using high-resolution aerial imagery

This study outlines an algorithm that can be used for individual tree detection and crown delineation; it was applied to coniferous forest using aerial imagery. This article explains the assumptions and processes involved in the algorithm, presents the results of the applications, and discusses possible limitations. The algorithm, which adopts contextual analysis that excludes the need to specify window size, was applied to detect and delineate individual trees based on morphological and reflective characteristics. The preprocessing steps included suppression of the non-coniferous area (i.e. non-forest and leaf-off deciduous forest) and the creation of appropriately smoothed imagery using an optimal smoothing level based on accuracy index (AI); thereafter, unconstrained directional peak- and edge-finding algorithms were processed separately. To assess the tree detection and crown delineation processes, the results of the algorithms were evaluated carefully against visually interpreted crowns in six square plots using several statistical measures based on tree top correspondence, positional difference of tree top, directional crown width, and crown area assessment. The average tree top correspondence had an AI of 88.83%. The positional difference between detected and visually interpreted tree tops was measured and its average was 0.6 m. For our 0.5 m/pixel aerial imagery, the average root mean square error (RMSE) of crown width in six sample plots was found to be 2.8 m, and crown area estimation resulted in RMSE of approximately 9.23 m2 (23.25%). In general, this study highlights the potentiality of the proposed algorithm to efficiently and automatically acquire forest information such as tree numbers, crown width, and crown area.

A New Heart Rot Disease in <i>Ailanthus excelsa</i> Roxb. Caused by <i>Navisporus floccosus</i> (Bres.) Ryvarden

A wood decay fungus was defined based on the zone of tree that invades. N. floccosus causing heart rot was recorded in living trees of A. excelsa for the first time. The cultural characters of N. floccosus were described for the first time. Heart rot fungus i.e. N. floccosus decayed mostly heartwood of living tree. It colonized in the central portion of tree and begins decaying of wood which ultimately lead to death of A. excelsa tree was recognized for the first time. When decay proceed to the top of tree, the fruiting bodies grown in large size at butt region. During July 2007 i.e. monsoon months, due to the high wind velocity the weak tree was up rooted, which indicates that the fungus severely decayed heartwood of A. excelsa tree. After falling the tree, fungal hyphae in heart wood were very active so it produced fruiting bodies outside the trunk. On the malt agar plates containing tannic acid, it showed a positive reaction for oxidase and laccase and negative reaction for tyrosinase. Peroxidase test was positive with growth rate of >70 mm in 7 days.

Arthropod diversity (Arthropoda) on abandoned apple trees

In 2010 and 2011, the occurrence of arthropods on apple trees without management was monitored near the village of Velké Bílovice, South Moravia, in two selected localities (an abandoned apple tree orchard and a road apple tree alley). Arthropods in tree tops were killed using deltamehtrin applied with a fogger (Puls Fog). Each collection always contained the material from 5 trees in each site. In 2010, three collections were performed (28/4, 20/5, and 9/7), two in 2011 (11/5 and 23/6). Representatives of eleven orders were captured. Of all the orders trapped, Coleoptera was represented most frequently, the Hymenoptera and Diptera followed. In the alley, individuals of the Coleoptera (34%) were caught most frequently, the Hymenoptera (19.6%) and Hemiptera (17.4%) followed. In the orchard, the Coleoptera (41.4%) was represented most frequently, followed by the Hymenoptera (21.9%) and Diptera (15%). In both the environments, species with negative economic impact were recorded (e.g. Anthonomus pyri, Tatianaerhynchites aequatus, Cydia pomonella, Rhynchites bacchus). However, a greater number of pest antagonists were also found (Scambus pomorum, Coccinella septempunctata, Episyrphus balteatus, Pentatoma rufipes, Orius spp.). Some species were important in faunistic terms, as some critically endangered species were recorded (e.g. Dipoena erythropus, Cryptocephalus schaefferi), and the Plectochorus iwatensis species was recorded for the first time in the Czech Republic.

Millie and the Big Rescue by Alexander Steffensmeier (review)

Reviewed by: Millie and the Big Rescue by Alexander Steffensmeier Jeannette Hulick Steffensmeier, Alexander . Millie and the Big Rescue; written and illus. by Alexander Steffensmeier; tr. from the German. Walker, 2013. [40p]. Library ed. ISBN 978-0-8027-3403-7 $17.89 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-8027-3402-0 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys R 4-6 yrs. Millie the cow loves to play hide-and-seek with the other farm animals, but one day she hides a little too well in the top of a large tree and becomes stuck. One by one the other animals, and even the farmer, try to rescue her, only to become stuck themselves. The farmer enlists the hens (the only ones capable of going up and down at will) to carry a message to a neighbor while Millie and the animals enjoy cake and tea (also fetched by the hens) as they await rescue. When finally back on the ground, the farmer offers cake to the rescuing firefighters and the neighbor, only to [End Page 116] discover the cake is still up in the tree. The entire party returns to the branches to enjoy a snack and the lovely view. The writing in this German import is steady and amusing: "'This is so relaxing,' the farmer said. 'As long [as] nobody has to use the bathroom.'" The various antics of the farm animals, particularly the chickens (one continually sports a Sherlock-style deerstalker, one tries unsuccessfully to hide headfirst in a birdhouse), and Millie's pop-eyed bewilderment are sure to evoke chuckles as well. The deftly drafted illustrations sport thickly dappled color framed by thin black lines; the large page size will lend the book to group sharing, although kids will need to get close to appreciate all the details of the animals' actions. This could be easily incorporated into farm- and cow-themed storytimes or units, but plan to share it twice in any case, once for the story and once for the illustrations. Copyright © 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Eremonidiopsis aggregata, gen. n., sp. n. from Cuba, the third West Indian Dioptinae (Lepidoptera, Notodontidae)

A new genus and species of Dioptinae (Lepidoptera, Noctuoidea, Notodontidae) is described from Cuba, this being the third taxon of the subfamily known from the West Indies. Eremonidiopsis aggregata, gen. n., sp. n., appears to be closely related to Eremonidia mirifica Rawlins & Miller from Hispaniola among members of the tribe Dioptini. Eremonidiopsis aggregata is known from two localities in the middle and western portions of the northeastern Cuban mountain range, Nipe–Sagua–Baracoa. The species inhabits low elevations (300–400 m) covered by lowland rainforest and sclerophyll rainforest. The six known specimens, all males, were part of small swarms flying near the top of an unidentified tree during the day at both collecting sites. These localities are included within protected areas, the “Pico Cristal” National Park in the West and the “Alexander von Humbolt” National Park in the East.

A Bird’s Eye View of Home

At first glance, the shimmering abstraction on the cover of this issue of EcoHealth is like a memory of something we are not sure if we have seen—an aerial view of an alien landscape. Its ambiguity draws us in. Is it a close-up of an abalone shell or the head of a gilded Buddha? Is it the rough bark of a newly discovered species of tree, or the glittering cuticle of an Asian beetle? Our uncertain but engaged response is exactly what the artist Nok Chhun seeks. The mixed media work is Chhun’s aerial depiction of Koh Kong, a small fishing village in southwest Cambodia where she was born. Once the viewer knows the context, suddenly the rippling waves lapping the shore above the receding depths become apparent. The patinated clumps of plaster are actually the tops of trees caught in the dawn’s rays along the beach, shining golden and yellow plum, with huts and even villagers discernible if we concentrate. Chhun’s visceral but dream-like response to her native land was painted by memory on her return to the USA from Cambodia. This was her family’s first return to their origins some three decades after fleeing from the Khmer Rouge regime and eventually settling in the USA. This outsider, bird’s eye view of her homeland physically resembles Chhun’s first view of Cambodia as her airplane came into land. It also resembles the emotional shock that an immigrant receives when they see the reality of their origins for the first time. Chhun, officially a native Cambodian, is native nowhere. She has that unique immigrant Weltanschauung, living briefly in Cambodia, then being considered foreign in the USA. She is both a resident of, and an outsider to both cultures and geographies. Chhun’s ‘‘Homeland’’ is a reaction to seeing a subsistence culture for the first time— the striking dichotomy of her own life in New York against her relatives’ in the mangrove fishing villages of Cambodia. More than that, it is also a reflection on her own ambiguity: by painting this aerial abstraction that is not just an outsider’s view, but more of a disassociated memory, she raises questions of identity and belonging. Published online: September 25, 2013

Tunguska phenomenon: Discharge processes near the earth’s surface

An investigation of the Tunguska cosmic body’s epicenter showed that both dried trees and those that survived the catastrophe are marked with characteristic deteriorations. For the trees that survived near the epicenter (the distance is <4 km), cracks of up to 7 m in length are found on their stems. All the vegetation near the explosion epicenter has traces of uniform scorch that covered the trees even on the land parts isolated by water. On the background of this uniform scorch, a notable feature is carbonization that touched the tree tops and the earth-directed ends of broken branches. All tops of both living and dried trees in the central zone are burned and dead. Carbonization of tops and branch ends was observed up to a distance of 10–15 km from the epicenter; i.e., charge processes took place over an area of more than 500 km2 in size. Carbonized branch ends have a characteristic “bird’s nail” shape, which has no analogs on the Earth. Similar deterioration is typical for the crater shape that obtains an anode during arc discharge combustion. It is supposed that the duration of these charge processes could be ≥1 min.

Applications of the new Remote Sensing Method to the Forest Biomass Estimation

For accurate measurement of forest biomass in the Akazawa Forest Reserve, this study analyzed texture measures derived from GeoEye-1 satellite data using the individual tree crown (ITC) method. On this basis, canopy area, tree tops and tree species of individual trees were delineated. Canopy area was used to calculate the DBH of trees in canopy layer based on canopy-DBH curve in this stand. In this study, the estimation models, between DBH and height, and between canopy area and DBH were developed by linear regression using forest survey data. Then according to the results of satellite data interpreted the biomass of every tree was calculated by biomass expansion factor (BEF). This method was verified against the survey data from old–growth Chamaecyparis obtusa stand composed of various cover types. For Chamaecyparis obtusa, the accuracy of biomass estimation was higher than 84%. However, the accuracy of Chamaecyparis pisifera was less than 60%, because some Chamaecyparis pisifera trees were misidentified as Chamaecyparis obtusa, and canopy area of Chamaecyparis pisifera was underestimated in the high-density stand. For Thujopsis dolabrata, the accuracy ranged from 22.4 % to 78.9%, and from 63.4% to 84.6% for broad-leaved trees, because many of them were understory. These results indicated that estimation of old-growth forest biomass based on high resolution satellite data, might be validated for estimating biomass at the individual tree level improved by developing and applying forest stratum–specific models with the ITC-survey data as a bridging reference in addition to spectral information. This approach is useful for biomass estimation whether is used to calculate biomass of individual tree or forest.

Longleaf Pine Inner Bark and Outer Bark Thicknesses: Measurement and Relevance

Measurements of bark thickness generally ignore the fact that bark is comprised of both living inner bark (phloem) and essentially dead outer bark (rhytidome). Discerning between them has ramifications for the utility of bark as a byproduct of timber harvesting and its functionality on a living tree. Inner bark and outer bark thicknesses for longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) were investigated using disks collected from trees harvested on a 70-year-old plantation. Inner bark thickness was relatively constant up the bole of each tree whereas outer bark thickness rapidly declined from its thickest point at stump height; at relative heights above 20%, the decrease in outer bark thickness was more gradual. The proportion of inner bark, therefore, increased up the bole, from an average of 15% at stump height to above 40% toward the top of the tree. Since inner bark is a richer source of extractives than old outer bark, tree tops may be preferable in terms of bark abundance and quality as feedstock for extractive-based products. Reductions in the inner and outer bark thicknesses on disk drying, with averages of roughly 20 and 10%, respectively, differed when the data were pooled by cardinal direction. Thus, variability in bark thickness around the circumference of a standing tree may actually be a manifestation of differences in bark moisture content.

Management of Postharvest Deficit Irrigation of Peach Trees Using Infrared Canopy Temperature

Remotely sensed canopy temperature from infrared thermometer (IRT) sensors is an effective tool for detecting plant water stress. Deficit irrigation, where the plants receive less than full irrigations and come under water stress at certain growth stages, can be used to help alleviate water shortage in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Thus, new irrigation scheduling procedures need to be developed. A field study was conducted from 2009 to 2011 to evaluate the performance of using midday infrared canopy to air temperature difference (ΔT) to manage postharvest deficit irrigation of early season peach trees. Threshold values of ΔT were selected, based on previous years' stem water potential and ΔT measurements, for four irrigation treatments: Furrow and surface drip irrigation with or without postharvest water stress. A wired network of 12 IRT sensors was installed above the orchard for canopy temperature measurement. Soil water content and stem water potential were also monitored weekly for each treatment. In both growing seasons (2009–2010 and 2010–2011), the measured ΔT values showed consistent differences among treatments, which correlated to both soil water content (R2 ≈ 0.47–0.53) and stem water potential readings (R2 ≈ 0.46–0.65). The relationship between fruit mass and postharvest irrigation amount indicated that up to 53% water savings could be achieved without impacting fruit size. The study demonstrated that infrared canopy temperature measured from above the tree top can potentially be used for managing deficit irrigation in peach and possibly other tree crops. Additional research is needed to further validate this approach.

Performance of a Residential Pellet Combustor Operating on Raw and Torrefied Spruce and Spruce-Derived Residues

The heterogeneous nature of solid biomass fuels makes their combustion a substantial challenge compared to the more traditional fuel types, such as fossil fuels and natural gas. Many studies found in the literature attempt at identifying enhancements in fuel properties of biomass after a thermal pretreatment step, such as torrefaction, but only few investigate specifically the combustion behavior of these fuels. In this study, pellet combustion of raw and torrefied spruce and spruce tree tops and branches (T&B) has been investigated with regard to the emissions of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter (PM). The combustion was performed in a residential pellet stove, where a total of six different feedstocks, with and without pretreatment, were tested. The wide range of the feedstock properties was shown to go beyond the design limitations of the pellet stove. This could be seen as combustion instability for the T&B torrefied at 275 °C. Technology adjustments might be needed in terms of combustion air distribution and chamber design for these fuels. Mild torrefaction, in general, reduced the emissions of CO, unburned hydrocarbons, and the organics in particles smaller than 1 μm. Combustion at a low load (low thermal input) resulted as expected in increased emissions of organic compounds, which was again reduced substantially for the mildly torrefied feedstocks. In comparison to raw spruce at low load, a reduction by a factor of 3 from the organic share of the PM1.0 particles is obtained. For the same experiments, CO in the flue gas is reduced by 150%. For T&B, similar trends were obtained for organic particles; however, torrefaction resulted in an increase in the total PM1.0 emissions. The decrease in the organic share was more than offset by a substantial increase in the inorganic share of the PM1.0 emissions. For this reason, torrefaction might not be a viable pretreatment solution for feedstocks with high ash content for use in stoves for residential heating, without combustion technology adjustments.

Response of soil organic layer characteristics to logging residues in three Scots pine thinning stands

The aim of this study was to determine how logging residues, consisting of tree tops and branches with needles, affect soil microbial processes in C and N cycling in Scots pine stands, and how these processes are related to the composition of terpenes and phenolic compounds, two major groups of plant secondary compounds. Samples were taken from the humus layer (Ofh) of three field experiments in Finland. The first was a single-tree experiment in a young pine stand where thinning was performed 4 years before this study and four doses of fresh logging residue were distributed on a circle around a tree, corresponding to 0, 10, 20 and 30 Mg ha−1 of dry matter. The other two field experiments had been thinned twice, one 29 and 4 years ago and the other 23 and 13 years ago; the treatments were whole-tree harvest, where logging residues had been harvested, and stem-only harvest, where logging residues were left on the plot. In the single-tree experiment, with increasing amount of residues, C/N ratio of organic matter decreased, C mineralization (CO2 production) and glucose-induced respiration increased, but C and N in the microbial biomass both remained on a similar level, regardless of the amount of logging residues. Due to high variation, it was not possible to observe any statistically significant effects of logging residues on net N mineralization, but with increasing amount of residues the trend was increasing. Amount of logging residues did not affect the concentrations of total water-soluble phenolic compounds, or the concentrations of mono-, sesqui- or diterpenes in the humus layer, whereas with increasing amount of residues the concentrations of condensed tannins and triterpenes tended to increase. Amount of logging residues did not affect monoterpene concentrations in the soil atmosphere. In the two other field experiments, logging residues had little effect on soil C and N transformations or groups of organic compounds, although some significant differences were observed in the experiment sampled 4 years after harvest of logging residue. Both C and net N mineralization correlated positively with the concentrations of water-soluble low-molecular-weight phenolic compounds and sesqui-, di- and triterpenes in the humus layer. In conclusion, the response of soil characteristics in Scots pine stands to harvest of logging residue in thinning seems to depend on the amount of residues and on the time elapsed since thinning, but the response may vary on different sites. In cases where an effect was observed, however, it pointed to a stimulative effect of residues on C and N cycling processes. Terpenes and phenolic compounds, abundant in the residue, may affect soil microbial population, e.g. by providing a long-term source of carbon.

Social organisation of the northern giant mouse lemur Mirza zaza in Sahamalaza, north western Madagascar, inferred from nest group composition and genetic relatedness

Shelters such as leaf nests, tree holes or vegetation tangles play a crucial role in the life of many nocturnal mammals. While information about characteristics and availability of these resources may help in conservation planning, nest use gives an indication about a species’ social organisation. The northern giant mouse lemur (Mirza zaza) is threatened by habitat loss within its restricted range. Our aim was to examine nest site preferences of M. zaza and to explore the species’ social organisation by examining sleeping site aggregation size and genetic relatedness within and between such aggregations. In the Ankarafa Forest inside Sahamalaza – Iles Radama National Park, northwestern Madagascar, we radio-tagged five male and three female M. zaza and followed them for 2.5 months during the dry season. We identified sleeping trees and observed animals during emergence in the evening and return in the morning. We compared sleeping trees and microhabitats around nest sites to trees and habitat used during nightly activity and to random sites. We found that nests were well covered by canopy, even during the dry season, and were located near the tree trunk a few meters below the tree top. Nest sites were characterised by large (&gt; 30 cm DBH) and tall trees (&gt;16 m) with many lianas. Up to four animals shared one to three group-exclusive nests for up to 50 days. Two of the nest groups included two and three males with fully developed testes. Relatedness data revealed that the adult males sharing nests were either unrelated or closely related. These data suggest that M. zaza is sleeping in social nest groups including multiple males, which is unusual among nocturnal strepsirrhines. Apart from protecting suitable sleeping trees and discouraging selective logging of large trees, we recommend conducting further studies on the species’ social organisation throughout an entire season.

Population structure and canopy use by Coussapoa microcarpa, a strangler hemiepiphyte from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Abstract:We studied density, size structure, and establishment sites of Coussapoa microcarpa in the Brazilian Atlantic rain forest. This species is a hemiepiphyte that begins its life in the tops of trees and survives the death of its host to become a free-standing tree. All individuals of C. microcarpa already rooted in the ground were recorded in a 3.43 ha (1.75 ha in lowland and 1.68 ha in submontane) sample of forest plots. Data on total height, root diameter at breast height, host height and diameter at breast height, as well as height, type and diameter of the establishment site were collected. Coussapoa microcarpa present a high density (36.5 ind. ha−1) and the population studied was composed mainly of young individuals. Young and adults differed in establishment sites. The diameter of establishment sites of young was narrower than the diameter of establishment sites of adults, which points out to a limiting factor (diameter of establishment site) regulating the establishment of C. microcarpa.

Ornithology from the Tree Tops

Ornithology from the Tree Tops

Global sensitivity analysis of a modified CENTURY model for simulating impacts of harvesting fine woody biomass for bioenergy

Modeling the long-term effects of intensive forest biomass harvesting scenarios over time, including the more complete removal of tree tops and branches, is a scientific and policy need. Yet, due to our incomplete understanding about complex forest ecosystems, model simulations are to various degrees uncertain. In this study we first modified a well-evaluated and widely used ecosystem model – CENTURY 4.5 – to model management scenarios that retain various sizes and quantities of small-diameter woody material after intensive biomass harvests. Second, we used a global sensitivity analysis approach to evaluate the sensitivity of nine model outputs to 55 parameters, grouped into 17 factors. The values of the parameters were generated with a normal distribution and sampled with the extended Fourier amplitude sensitivity test. Our analysis indicated that within a harvest rotation, the model output sensitivity varied over years in response to different factors. The model was most sensitive to factors consisting of temperature effects on potential production as well as N deposition and non-symbiotic N fixation. In response to the uncertain parameter values, the model simulation revealed that outputs of net N mineralization rates in slow and passive soil organic matter pools had the highest uncertainties. However, due to the very low fraction of the N supplied from these two pools, forest production and other simulations were not strongly affected, ending with overall variations less than 6%. Ultimately, this study exhibits a novel approach in modeling the effects of harvesting fine woody debris for bioenergy on long-term ecosystem C and N cycles, and illustrates that sensitivity testing the most uncertain parameters is crucial for minimizing model uncertainty.

Finding the Silver Lining: Hair, (Mixed) Race, and Identity Politics in Toni and Slade Morrison’s Little Cloud and Lady Wind

Finding the Silver Lining:Hair, (Mixed) Race, and Identity Politics in Toni and Slade Morrison’s Little Cloud and Lady Wind Sika A. Dagbovie-Mullins (bio) raincloudswe arenaturenaturenaturenatural!!!black people, we raincloudscloser to the sun and full of life. —Marvin Wyche Jr., “We Rainclouds” (1974) As a little girl I dreamed freely, often on the top step of the back porch—morning, noon, sunset, deep twilight. I loved clouds, I loved red streaks in the sky. I loved the gold worlds I saw in the sky. Gods and little girls, angels and heroes and future lovers labored there, in misty glory or sharp grandeur. —Gwendolyn Brooks, Report from Part One (1972) In Happy to Be Nappy (1999), bell hooks describes black girls’ unprocessed hair as “soft like cotton, flower petal billowy soft, full of frizz and fuzz.” In addition to being described as puffy, spongy, kinky, crinkly, wooly or cotton-like, “natural” unprocessed hair is often associated with clouds. “Flower petal billowy soft” immediately evokes the image of lightness but also brings to mind billow clouds, layers of water vapor that create fluffy wave-like patterns in the sky. The trope of black-hair-as-clouds is especially noticeable in descriptions of black hair in twentieth-century [End Page 173] African American literature. In Jessie Redmon Fauset’s “Double Trouble” (1923), Angelique shakes her “short, black, rather wiry hair til it misted like a cloud” (32); Fran Ross’s mixed race protagonist in Oreo (1974) is told: “Kinky hair—like that beautiful fuzzy cloud you have—is not really kinky” (49); in Paule Marshall’s Praisesong for the Widow (1983), Avey Johnson’s daughter’s hair “had stood massed like a raincloud about to make good its threat” (13); in Dorothy West’s The Wedding (1995), Clark Cole thinks of his mistress: “There is no beauty like that of a brown skinned woman when she is beautiful: the velvet skin, the dark hair like a cloud” (97); and in John Edgar Wideman’s Hiding Place (1998), Tommy’s hair is described as, “[c]ombed so high it’s a cloud over his head, a bushy cloud making him taller than his brothers” (77). Toni and Slade Morrison’s children’s book Little Cloud and Lady Wind (2010), illustrated by Sean Qualls, focuses on a young female cloud whose image appears as a black or biracial girl; she sports a giant blue Afro (cloud), striking feature and a continuation of the hair/cloud analogy. In fact, some of Morrison’s novels also equate African American hair with clouds. In Tar Baby after Jadine complains about the effect of the island’s foggy weather on her hair, “[s]he pressed her hair down with both palms, but as soon as she removed them her hair sprang back into a rain cloud” (Morrison, Tar Baby 64) and in Love, the narrator, L, describes the transition black hair goes through when wet as she recounts the actions of a woman on the beach: “Her hair, flat when she went in [the water] rose up slowly and took on the shape of the clouds dragging the moon” (Morrison, Love 106). Little Cloud’s hair and her lavender tan skin act as racial signifiers in this children’s book about independence, belonging, and community. In the beginning of the story, Little Cloud separates from the other clouds, “not wanting to blend into a group and lose her freedom, [but] not wanting to frighten the earth” (Toni and Slade Morrison). A visit from Lady Wind shows Little Cloud that her cloud duties of providing mist and dew are important, teaching her to respect both her individuality and restoring her place in the sky community. The story is reminiscent of Eric Carle’s Little Cloud (1996), which also features a “Little Cloud” that chooses independence: “The clouds pushed upward and away. Little Cloud pushed downward and touched the tops of horses and trees” (Carle). Toni and Slade Morrison’s book seems to signify on this Little Cloud predecessor who does not take a human form (and thus remains a white cloud). On one level, Little Cloud and Lady Wind encourages children to...

Life in the Forest Canopy

Scientists have been devoting increased time and attention to the tops of trees. As made clear by results of their studies, the environment of the forest canopy is teeming with life. Perhaps because the crowns of trees are difficult for people to reach, and due to the micro-climates within them, they hold a rich and diverse collection of life forms. Advances in the use of ropes, ladders, and suspended walkways is now making it possible for humans to be more frequent visitors to these realms.

Dung Beetles Use the Milky Way for Orientation

When the moon is absent from the night sky, stars remain as celestial visual cues. Nonetheless, only birds, seals, and humans are known to use stars for orientation. African ball-rolling dung beetles exploit the sun, the moon, and the celestial polarization pattern to move along straight paths, away from the intense competition at the dung pile. Even on clear moonless nights, many beetles still manage to orientate along straight paths. This led us to hypothesize that dung beetles exploit the starry sky for orientation, a feat that has, to our knowledge, never been demonstrated in an insect. Here, we show that dung beetles transport their dung balls along straight paths under a starlit sky but lose this ability under overcast conditions. In a planetarium, the beetles orientate equally well when rolling under a full starlit sky as when only the Milky Way is present. The use of this bidirectional celestial cue for orientation has been proposed for vertebrates, spiders, and insects, but never proven. This finding represents the first convincing demonstration for the use of the starry sky for orientation in insects and provides the first documented use of the Milky Way for orientation in the animal kingdom.

Initial responses of rove and ground beetles (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Carabidae) to removal of logging residues following clearcut harvesting in the boreal forest of Quebec, Canada

Increased interest in biomass harvesting for bioenergetic applications has raised questions regarding the potential ecological consequences on forest biodiversity. Here we evaluate the initial changes in the abundance, species richness and community composition of rove (Staphylinidae) and ground beetles (Carabidae), immediately following 1) stem-only harvesting (SOH), in which logging debris (i.e., tree tops and branches) are retained on site, and 2) whole-tree harvesting (WTH), in which stems, tops and branches are removed in mature balsam fir stands in Quebec, Canada. Beetles were collected throughout the summer of 2011, one year following harvesting, using pitfall traps. Overall catch rates were greater in uncut forest (Control) than either stem-only or whole-tree harvested sites. Catch rates in WTH were greater than SOH sites. Uncut stands were characterized primarily by five species: Atheta capsularis, Atheta klagesi, Atheta strigosula, Tachinus fumipennis/frigidus complex (Staphylinidae) and to a lesser extent to Pterostichus punctatissimus (Carabidae). Increased catch rates in WTH sites, where post-harvest biomass was less, were attributable to increased catches of rove beetles Pseudopsis subulata, Quedius labradorensis and to a lesser extent Gabrius brevipennis. We were able to characterize differences in beetle assemblages between harvested and non-harvested plots as well as differences between whole tree (WTH) and stem only (SOH) harvested sites where logging residues had been removed or left following harvest. However, the overall assemblage response was largely a recapitulation of the responses of several abundant species.