Life Sciences Commons^™

Supporting Information For “Using Drones Equipped With Thermal Cameras To Locate And Count Quail Individuals And Coveys: A Case Study Using Northern Bobwhite Colinus Virginianus In Mississippi, Usa”, Jared A. Elmore

Publications

Drone flights were conducted over bobwhite individuals and coveys and information was collected on the date, time of flight, number of individuals estimated in the covey, and number of individuals flushed from the covey (i.e., actual number of individuals). We also report season of flight and the thermal sensor used for each flight. NA denotes that flush or capture was not attempted.

Water Requirements For Growth And Survival Of Swietenia Macrophylla And Tabebuia Heterophylla Juvenile Trees In Relation To Water Production Capacity Of Dew Condensers1, Jodelin Seldon, Victor A. Snyder, Eric Harmsen, Skip Van Bloem

Publications

Drought mortality of juvenile trees is a major cause for failure of reforestation projects. Portable devices such as passive radiative dew condensers can often provide 0.15 L/day of water in situ, possibly sufficient for tree survival until roots can access groundwater, allowing self-sustainability. To evaluate growth and survivability of juvenile trees of Tabebuia heterophylla Britton and Swietenia macrophylla King under such low water amounts, juvenile trees received approximately 0.033, 0.067, 0.134, 0.201 and 0.268 L/tree/day, representing fractions (relative evapotranspiration or RET) of 0.125, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 of the evapotranspiration demand (ETo). The experiment lasted 60 days for S. …

Beyond Leaf Habit: Generalities In Plant Function Across 97 Tropical Dry Forest Tree Species, German G. Vargas, Tim J. Brodribb, Juan M. Dupuy, Roy Gonzalez, Catherine M. Hulshof, David Medvigy, Tristan A.P, Allerton, Camila Pizano, Beatriz Salgado-Negret, Naomi B. Schwartz, Skip Van Bloem, Bonnie G. Waring, Jennifer S. Powers

Publications

No abstract provided.

Soil Biogeochemistry Across Central And South American Tropical Dry Forests, Bonnie G. Waring, Mark E. De Guzman, Dan V. Du, Juan M. Dupuy, Maga Gei, Jessica Gutknecht, Catherine Hulshof, Nicolas Jelinski, Andrew J. Margenot, David Medvigy, Camila Pizano, Beatriz Salgado-Negret, Naomi B. Schwartz, Annette M. Trierweiler, Skip Van Bloem

Publications

The availability of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) controls the flow of carbon (C) among plants, soils, and the atmosphere, thereby shaping terrestrial ecosystem responses to global change. Soil C, N, and P cycles are linked by drivers operating at multiple spatial and temporal scales: landscape-level variation in macroclimate and soil geochemistry, stand-scale heterogeneity in forest composition, and microbial community dynamics at the soil pore scale. Yet in many biomes, we do not know at which scales most of the biogeochemical variation emerges, nor which processes drive cross-scale feedbacks. Here, we examined the drivers and spatial/temporal scales of variation in …

The Motion Of Trees In The Wind: A Data Synthesis, Toby D. Jackson, Sarab Sethi, Ebba Dellwik, Nikolas Angelou, Amanda Bunce, Tim Van Emmerik, Marine Duperat, Jean-Claude Ruel, Axel Wellpott, Skip Van Bloem

Publications

Interactions between wind and trees control energy exchanges between the atmosphere and forest canopies. This energy exchange can lead to the widespread damage of trees, and wind is a key disturbance agent in many of the world's forests. However, most research on this topic has focused on conifer plantations, where risk management is economically important, rather than broadleaf forests, which dominate the forest carbon cycle. This study brings together tree motion time-series data to systematically evaluate the factors influencing tree responses to wind loading, including data from both broadleaf and coniferous trees in forests and open environments.

We found that …

Stem-Inhabiting Fungal Communities Differ Between Intact And Snapped Trees After Hurricane Maria In A Puerto Rican Tropical Dry Forest, François Maillard, Erin Andrews, Molly Moran, Peter G. Kennedy, Skip Van Bloem, Jonathan S. Schilling

Publications

Hurricanes impact forests by damaging trees and altering multiple ecosystem functions. As such, predicting which individuals are likely to be most affected has crucial economic importance as well as conservation value. Tree stem-inhabiting fungal communities, notably rot-causing agents, have been mentioned as a potential factor of tree predisposition to hurricane damage, but this assumption remains poorly explored. To examine this relationship, we sampled the stem wood of intact and damaged trees shortly after Hurricane Maria in a Puerto Rican dry tropical forest in 2017. We categorized samples depending on two types: trees with intact stems and trees in which stems …

An Analysis Of Common Forest Management Practices For Carbon Sequestration In South Carolina, Lucas Clay, Marzieh Motallebi, Bo Song

Publications

South Carolina (SC) has a variety of different forest types, and they all have potential to sequester a certain amount of carbon. Private forest landowners control a significant portion of the overall forestland in SC, and their management efforts can maintain or improve forest carbon stocks. Currently, the second largest carbon market in the world is the California Carbon Market, which gives a monetary value to sequestered carbon. One carbon credit is equal to one metric ton of carbon and is currently worth around $15.00. Forest management plans are geared toward increasing carbon sequestration over time. This study aims to …

Seed Rain Along A Gradient Of Degradation In Caribbean Dry Forest: Effects Of Dispersal Limitation On The Trajectory Of Forest Recovery, Brett T. Wolfe, Raúl Macchiavelli, Skip Van Bloem

Publications

Questions

Tropical dry forests that experience severe disturbances (e.g., fires) often remain degraded for long time periods, during which non-native grasses and trees dominate. One barrier to native tree regeneration in degraded areas may be seed dispersal limitation. To better understand how dispersal limitation influences recovery from degradation, we tested whether the mode and rates of seed dispersal differed in degraded sites dominated either by the exotic tree Leucaena leucocephala or open areas dominated by introduced pasture grasses. We also tested whether L. leucocephala stands facilitate the recruitment of native trees by increasing their seed input compared to open grass …

Evaluating Myopic Loss Aversion Of Forestland Owners, Mustapha Alhassan, Marzieh Motallebi

Publications

Attracting forestland owners to participate in carbon markets can be challenging for several reasons including offset price volatility, legislative uncertainties, high costs of offset project development, long contract lengths, and landowners’ risk preferences. In this article, we elicit risk preferences and investigate Myopic Loss Aversion (MLA) of forestland owners using an economic experiment. The economic experiment is a betting game and we find that forestland owners exhibit MLA because they bet higher when returns from their investments are evaluated less frequently. Our results provide valuable information for developing carbon market protocols, especially in setting optimal evaluation periods of forest carbon …

Key Habitat Features Facilitate The Presence Of Barred Owls In Developed Landscapes, Marion A. Clement, Kyle Barrett, Robert F. Baldwin

Publications

As urbanization continues to transform landscapes, it is imperative to find ways to conserve biodiversity within fragmented habitats. Forest interior dwelling birds are particularly vulnerable to development pressures because they require large tracts of forest to support their life cycles. Although Barred Owls (Strix varia) are frequently described as an obligate mature forest species, they have been found in urbanized landscapes. To determine if certain habitat characteristics, such as mature trees, facilitate the presence of Barred Owls in developed regions, we modeled Barred Owl occupancy probability along a development gradient in the Piedmont region of the southeastern United …

Variation In Regional And Landscape Effects On Occupancy Of Temperate Bats In The Southeastern U.S., Benjamin D. Neece, Susan C. Loeb, David S. Jachowski

Publications

Habitat loss, wind energy development, and the disease white-nose syndrome are major threats contributing to declines in bat populations in North America. In the southeastern US in particular, the recent arrival of white-nose syndrome and changes in landscape composition and configuration have driven shifts in bat species populations and distributions. Effective management strategies which address these large-scale, community-level threats require landscape-scale analyses. Our objective was to model the relationship between ecoregional and landscape factors and occupancy by all bat species in South Carolina, USA, during summer. We conducted acoustic surveys from mid-May through July 2015 and 2016 and evaluated temporally …

Spread Of Common Native And Invasive Grasses And Ruderal Trees Following Anthropogenic Disturbances In A Tropical Dry Forest, Xavier A. Jaime, Skip J. Van Bloem, Frank H. Koch, Stacy A.C. Nelson

Publications

Introduction

A fundamental challenge to the integrity of tropical dry forest ecosystems is the invasion of non-native grass species. These grasses compete for resources and fuel anthropogenic wildfires. In 2012, a bulldozer from the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority cleared a 570-m trail from a state road into a mature dry forest section of Guánica Forest to control a wildfire. We monitored colonization by a non-native invasive grass (Megathyrsus maximus), a highly invasive tree (Leucaena leucocephala), and a native grass (Uniola virgata), as well as natural regeneration, along the bulldozer trail. We determined whether …

Assessing Alternative Silvicultural Prescriptions For Mid-Rotation, Unthinned, Spruce-Fir Stands In Maine, Patrick Hiesl, Mindy S. Crandall, Aaron R. Weiskittel, Anil R. Kizha

Publications

Determining the optimal timing and type of entry in mid-rotation, unthinned stands can be complicated by a variety of economic and biological factors. In this analysis, long-term data from the Commercial Thinning Research Network was used to project spruce-fir (Picea spp.—Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) stand growth on six different sites across Maine following six alternative thinning treatments (33% and 50% relative density removal paired with low, crown, and dominant thinning methods). Results showed that the low-thinning treatment performed best in terms of maximum net present value, stand age at time of maximum net present value, and average merchantable …

Effects Of Salinity And Wet–Dry Treatments On C And N Dynamics In Coastal-Forested Wetland Soils: Implications Of Sea Level Rise, Xijun Liu, Alexander Ruecker, Bo Song, William H. Conner, Alex T. Chow

Publications

Forested wetlands dominated by baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) and water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica) are commonly found in coastal regions of the southeastern United States. Global climate change and in particular sea level rise will alter the frequency and magnitude of wet/dry periods and salinity levels in these ecosystems. Soil microcosm experiments were set up to identify the effects of water level variations (0.4–3.0 g-water g-soil−1) and salinity changes (0, 1 and 5 ppt of NaCl) on greenhouse gas emissions (CH4, CO2, and N2O) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) characteristics from forested wetland soils. Our results indicate that, the effect …

In-Stream Habitat Predicts Salamander Occupancy And Abundance Better Than Landscape-Scale Factors Within Exurban Watersheds In A Global Diversity Hotspot, Nathaniel Weaver, Kyle Barrett

Publications

The southern Appalachian Mountains have experienced rapid human population growth rates since the 1980s. Land used practices are shifting from rural to residential. The majority of development has been low density, and is often near biologically diverse areas such as National Forests and National Parks. The long-term effects of urbanization in the southeastern Appalachian Mountains are not clearly understood and even less is known with respect to stream salamander response to urbanization. In order to determine the temporal influence of exurban housing on southern Appalachian streams we sampled 27 first- and second-order streams in watersheds containing exurban developments ranging in …

The Influence Of Exurban Landscapes And Local Site Characteristics On Riparian Vegetation, Nathan Weaver, Kyle Barrett, Don L. Hagan

Publications

The southern Appalachian Mountains have experienced large population growth and a change in land use in the past 30 years. The majority of development has been low density, suburban land, known as exurban development. The long-term effects of exurbanization on riparian vegetative communities in the southeastern Appalachian Mountains are not well known. We sought to determine if vegetative community composition and structure change as a function of watershed–level variables such as time since neighborhood development or percent impervious surface within the watershed. We also assessed local–scale measures of disturbance such as canopy cover and basal area. Over two years we …

Forest Composition And Growth In A Freshwater Forested Wetland Community Across A Salinity Gradient In South Carolina, Usa, Xijun Liu, William Conner, Bo Song, Anand D. Jayakaran

Publications

Tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFW) of the southeastern United States are experiencing increased saltwater intrusion mainly due to sea-level rise. Inter-annual and intra-annual variability in forest productivity along a salinity gradient was studied on established sites. Aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of trees was monitored from 2013 to 2015 on three sites within a baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) swamp forest ecosystem in Strawberry Swamp on Hobcaw Barony, Georgetown County, South Carolina. Paired plots (20 × 25-m) were established along a water salinity gradient (0.8, 2.6, 4.6 PSU). Salinity was continuously monitored, litterfall was measured monthly, and growth of overstory …

Poor Transferability Of A Distribution Model For A Widespread Coastal Marsh Bird In The Southeastern United States, Nicolette S. Roach, Elizabeth A. Hunter, Nathan P. Nibbelink, Kyle Barrett

Publications

Species distribution models have been applied across a wide range of spatial scales to generate information for conservation planning. Understanding how well models transfer through space and time is important to promote effective species–habitat conservation. Here, we assess model transferability in coastal tidal marshes of the southeastern United States using count data of a widespread marsh bird: the Clapper Rail (Rallus crepitans). We developed species–habitat models at a state level in both South Carolina and Georgia, and then assessed how well top models from each state predicted abundance in the other state. Internally (locally) validated models performed well …

Shifts In Biomass And Productivity For A Subtropical Dry Forest In Response To Simulated Elevated Hurricane Disturbances, Jennifer A. Holm, Skip J. Van Bloem, Guy R. Larocque, Herman H. Shugart

Publications

Caribbean tropical forests are subject to hurricane disturbances of great variability. In addition to natural storm incongruity, climate change can alter storm formation, duration, frequency, and intensity. This model-based investigation assessed the impacts of multiple storms of different intensities and occurrence frequencies on the long-term dynamics of subtropical dry forests in Puerto Rico. Using the previously validated individual-based gap model ZELIG-TROP, we developed a new hurricane damage routine and parameterized it with site- and species-specific hurricane effects. A baseline case with the reconstructed historical hurricane regime represented the control condition. Ten treatment cases, reflecting plausible shifts in hurricane regimes, manipulated …

Will Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests Be Sensitive Or Resistant To Future Changes In Rainfall Regimes?, Kara Allen, Juan Manuel Dupuy, Maria G. Gei, Catherine Hulshof, David Medvigy, Camila Pizano, Christina M. Smith, Annette Trierweiler, Skip J. Van Bloem, Bonnie G. Waring, Xiangtao Xu, Jennifer S. Powers

Publications

Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTF) are located in regions with alternating wet and dry seasons, with dry seasons that last several months or more. By the end of the 21st century, climate models predict substantial changes in rainfall regimes across these regions, but little is known about how individuals, species, and communities in SDTF will cope with the hotter, drier conditions predicted by climate models. In this review, we explore different rainfall scenarios that may result in ecological drought in SDTF through the lens of two alternative hypotheses: 1) these forests will be sensitive to drought because they are already …

Information Technology Approaches To Forest Management, Mary Snow, Richard Snow

Publications

The majority of the world’s forests occur where there is a dry season long enough to affect a seasonal change in the forest community. The seasonal forest may include evergreen, semi-deciduous, deciduous trees, or some combination of these. Local differences in soil or other site characteristics often determine which community persists. Since the seasonal forests exist where there is seasonal precipitation, the character of the forest is closely associated with the length of the rainy season. As the length of the rainy season decreases, the density of the canopy decreases. If the global climate system warms and prolonged drought gives …

Linking Remote Sensing And Various Site Factors For Predicting The Spatial Distribution Of Eastern Hemlock Occurrence And Relative Basal Area In Maine, Usa, Kathleen Dunckel, Aaron Weiskittel, Greg Fiske, Steven A. Sader, Erika Latty, Amy Arnett

Publications

Introduced invasive pests are perhaps the most important and persistent catalyst for changes in forest composition. Infestation and outbreak of the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae; HWA) along the eastern coast of the USA, has led to widespread loss of hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.), and a shift in tree species composition toward hardwood stands. Developing an understanding of the geographic distribution of individual species can inform conservation practices that seek to maintain functional capabilities of ecosystems. Modeling is necessary for understanding changes in forest composition, and subsequent changes in biodiversity, and one that can be implemented at the species …

Evaluation Of A Waistband For Attaching External Radiotransmitters To Anurans, Luke Alexander Groff, Amber Pitt, Robert Baldwin, Aram J K Calhoun, Cynthia Loftin

Publications

Radiotelemetry provides fine-scale temporal and spatial information about an individual's movements and habitat use; however, its use for monitoring amphibians has been restricted by transmitter mass and lack of suitable attachment techniques. We describe a novel waistband for attaching external radiotransmitters to anurans and evaluate the percentages of resulting abrasions, lacerations, and shed transmitters. We used radiotelemetry to monitor movements and habitat use of wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) in 2006 and 2011–2013 in Maine, USA; American toads (Anaxyrus americanus) in 2012 in North Carolina, USA; and, wood frogs, southern leopard frogs (L. sphenocephalus), and green frogs (L. clamitans) in 2012 …

Biogeochemical Hotspots In Forested Landscapes: The Role Of Vernal Pools In Denitrification And Organic Matter, Krista A. Capps, Regina L. Rancatti, Nathan Tomczyk, Aram J K Calhoun, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.

Publications

Quantifying spatial and temporal heterogeneity in ecosystem processes presents a challenge for conserving ecosystem function across landscapes. In particular, many ecosystems contain small features that play larger roles in ecosystem processes than their size would indicate; thus, they may represent ‘‘hotspots’’ of activity relative to their surroundings. Biogeochemical hotspots are characterized as small features within a landscape that show comparatively high chemical reaction rates. In northeastern forests in North America, vernal pools are abundant, small features that typically fill in spring with snow melt and precipitation and dry by the end of summer. Ephemeral flooding alters soil moisture and the …

Managing The Middle Ground: Forests In The Transition Zone Between Cities And Remote Areas, Charles Colgan, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr., Aaron Weiskittel, Brian Mcgill

Publications

In many parts of the world there are extensive landscapes where forests and people strongly intermingle, notably in the suburbs and exurbs of cities. This landscape of transitional forest generally receives limited attention from policy makers and researchers who tend to be rooted in traditions centered on either urban planning or management of natural resources in rural areas. The transitional forest is on the periphery of both perspectives, but it is a large area that provides numerous important values (biodiversity, ecosystem function, forest products, and amenities) to the people that live in them and their neighboring cities. Here we argue …

Fire Resistance In A Caribbean Dry Forest: Inferences From The Allometry Of Bark Thickness, Brett T. Wolfe, Gabriel E. Saldaña Diaz, Skip J. Van Bloem

Publications

Trees’ resistance to fire-induced mortality increases with bark thickness, which varies widely among species and generally increases with stem diameter. Because dry forests are more fire-prone than wetter forests, bark may be thicker in these forests. However, where disturbances such as hurricanes suppress stem diameter, trees may not obtain fire-resistant bark thickness. In two hurricane-prone Caribbean dry-forest types in Puerto Rico—deciduous forest and scrub forest—we measured bark thickness on 472 stems of 25 species to test whether tree species obtain bark thicknesses that confer fire resistance, whether bark is thicker in the fire-prone scrub forest than in the deciduous forest, …

An Analysis Of Arthropod Interceptions By Aphis-Ppq And Customs And Border Protection In Puerto Rico, David A. Jenkins, Russell F. Mizell, Skip Van Bloem, Stefanie Whitmire, Leyinska Wiscovitch, Crystal Zaleski, Ricardo Goenaga

Publications

USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine (APHIS-PPQ) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspect traffic entering the United States for arthropods posing a threat to national agriculture or ecosystems. We analyzed interceptions made by these agencies in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands between October 2006 and December 2009 for patterns with regard to the frequency of interceptions, origins of interceptions, and the taxa intercepted. 6,952 arthropods were intercepted in freight or luggage entering Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands from foreign countries and 9,840 arthropods were intercepted from freight or luggage leaving Puerto …

Forest Fragments As Barriers To Fruit Fly Dispersal: Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) Populations In Orchards And Adjacent Forest Fragments In Puerto Rico, David A. Jenkins, Paul E. Kendra, Skip Van Bloem, Stefanie Whitmire, Russ Mizell Iii, Ricardo Goenaga

Publications

McPhail-type traps baited with ammonium acetate and putrescine were used to monitor populations of Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) and Anastrepha suspensa(Loew) in two orchards with hosts of these flies (mango, Mangifera indica L., and carambola, Averrhoa carambola L.), as well as in forest fragments bordering these orchards. Contour maps were constructed to measure population distributions in and around orchards. Our results indicate that Anastrephapopulations are focused around host fruit in both space and time, that traps do not draw fruit flies away from hosts, even when placed within 15 m of the host, and that lures continue to function …

Agent-Based Modeling Of Harvest Decisions By Small Scale Forest Landowners In Maine, Usa, Jessica Leahy, Erika Reeves, Kathleen Bell, Crista L. Straub, Jeremy Wilson

Publications

Small-scale forests are an excellent example of coupled social-ecological systems, which involve human and biophysical subsystems with complex two-way feedback interactions. The multifaceted nature of landowner decisions drives a significant need to better understand decision-making processes, reactions to policy, and combined impacts on ecosystems in a comprehensive manner. Small-scale forests require an integrated approach to modeling the social and biophysical components comprehensively. Agent-based modeling involves modeling individualistic behavior and interpreting patterns that emerge. The interaction between agents and their environments makes this a valuable tool to assess repeated decisions of individual landowners responding to changing environmental conditions. Agent-based models can …

Mercury Bioaccumulation In Wood Frogs Developing In Seasonal Pools, Cynthia Loftin, Aram J K Calhoun, Sarah J. Nelson, Adria A. Elskus, Kevin Simon

Publications

Seasonal woodland pools contribute significant biomass to terrestrial ecosystems through production of pool-breeding amphibians. The movement of amphibian metamorphs potentially transports toxins bioaccumulated during larval development in the natal pool into the surrounding terrestrial environment. We documented total mercury (THg) in seasonal woodland pool water, sediment, litter, and Lithobates sylvaticus LeConte (Wood Frog) in Acadia National Park, ME. THg concentrations in pool water varied over the study season, increasing during April-June and remaining high in 2 of 4 pools upon October refill. Water in pools surrounded by softwoods had lower pH, greater dissolved organic carbon, and greater THg concentrations than …