A5074245928- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Plant and animal studies
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- scientometrics and bibliometrics research
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Insect and Pesticide Research
- Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Research
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Research Data Management Practices
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- American and British Literature Analysis
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Health and Medical Research Impacts
- Animal and Plant Science Education
- Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education
- Forest ecology and management
- Fern and Epiphyte Biology
- Leaf Properties and Growth Measurement
- Soil Management and Crop Yield
University of Florida
2015-2024
City University of New York
2024
National Institute of Amazonian Research
2008-2023
Ecological Society of America
2019
John Wiley & Sons (United States)
2019
IFC Research (United Kingdom)
2019
Rochester Institute of Technology
2017
Université de Montréal
2017
Universidade Federal de Uberlândia
2005-2010
Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Minas Gerais
2010
Abstract: We synthesized key findings from the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, world's largest and longest‐running experimental study habitat fragmentation. Although initially designed to assess influence fragment area on Amazonian biotas, project has yielded insights that go far beyond original scope study. Results suggest edge effects play a role in dynamics, matrix major connectivity functioning, many species avoid even small (<100‐m–wide) clearings. The fragmentation...
We review the ecological effects of habitat fragmentation, comparing theoretical approaches that have been taken to understanding it with existing evidence from empirical studies. Theory has emphasized spatial aspects fragmentation and role dispersal among patches, generated interesting predictions such as a nonlinear relationship between amount remaining probability species persistence. However, while few available large‐scale studies all tend show major effects, these documented be...
Both means and year-to-year variances of climate variables such as temperature precipitation are predicted to change. However, the potential impact changing climatic variability on fate populations has been largely unexamined. We analyzed multiyear demographic data for 36 plant animal species with a broad range life histories types environment ask how sensitive their long-term stochastic population growth rates likely be changes in standard deviations vital (survival, reproduction, growth)...
Functional diversity has been postulated to be critical for the maintenance of ecosystem functioning, but way it can disrupted by human-related disturbances remains poorly investigated. Here we test hypothesis that habitat fragmentation changes relative contribution tree species within categories reproductive traits (frequency traits) and reduces functional assemblages. The study was carried out in an old severely fragmented landscape Brazilian Atlantic forest. We used published information...
International collaboration is becoming increasingly important for the advancement of science. To gain a more precise understanding how factors such as international influence publication success, we divide success into two categories: journal placement and citation performance. Analyzing all papers published between 1996 2012 in eight disciplines, find that those with countries their affiliations performed better both categories. Furthermore, specific vary effects individually combination....
Seed dispersal is a crucial component of plant population dynamics. Human landscape modifications, such as habitat destruction and fragmentation, can alter the abundance fruiting plants animal dispersers, foraging rates, vector movement, composition disperser community, all which singly or in concert affect seed dispersal. Here, we quantify tease apart effects configuration, namely, fragmentation primary forest surrounding matrix, on individual components Heliconia acuminata, an Amazonian...
Abstract Journals publishing open access (OA) articles often require that authors pay article processing charges (APC). Researchers in the Global South cite APCs as a major financial obstacle to OA publishing, especially widely recognized or prestigious outlets. Consequently, it has been hypothesized from will be underrepresented journals charging APCs. We tested this hypothesis using more than 37,000 Elsevier’s “Mirror journal” system, which hybrid “Parent” journal and its Gold “Mirror”...
Despite women earning similar numbers of graduate degrees as men in STEM disciplines, they are underrepresented upper level positions both academia and industry. Editorial board memberships an important example such positions; membership is a professional honor recognition achievement opportunity for advancement. We surveyed 10 highly regarded journals environmental biology, natural resource management, plant sciences to quantify the number on their editorial boards leadership (i.e.,...
Abstract Habitat loss is often considered the greatest near‐term threat to biodiversity, while impact of habitat fragmentation remains intensely debated. A key issue this debate centers on problem scale–landscape or patch–at which assess consequences fragmentation. Yet patterns are confounded across scales, and experimental designs that could solve scaling remain scarce. We conducted two field experiments in 30 landscapes we manipulated loss, fragmentation, patch size for a community four...
Interactions between plants and herbivores are central in most ecosystems, but their strength is highly variable. The amount of variability within a system thought to influence aspects plant-herbivore biology, from ecological stability plant defense evolution. Our understanding what influences variability, however, limited by sparse data. We collected standardized surveys herbivory for 503 species at 790 sites across 116° latitude. With these data, we show that within-population increases...
Increased temporal variance in life-history traits is generally predicted to decrease individual fitness and population growth. We show that a widely used result of stochastic sensitivity analysis bolsters this generality flawed because it ignores the effects correlations between vital rates. Considering these (although ignoring autocorrelations), we apparently simple relationship rate can be considerably more complex than previously thought. In particular, estimated negative sensitivities...
Abstract Question: Plant communities in Paleotropical savannas are regulated by a combination of bottom‐up and top‐down effects. However, the paucity ungulates other large herbivores Neotropical has led to speculation that these primarily structured physical factors such as fire, precipitation soil chemistry. We addressed following question: How much plant biomass is consumed leaf‐cutter ants savannas, it comparable amount savanna sites? Location: Our study was conducted at Estação Ecológica...
ABSTRACT We reviewed 1333 papers published in Biotropica and the Journal of Tropical Ecology from 1995 to 2004. Only 62 percent tropical countries were represented our survey, with publications based on research conducted only ten countries. Sixty‐two had lead authors that at institutions outside country where was conducted. Cross‐national collaboration limited, accounting for 28 multiple authors. To evaluate if choice focal journals could have biased results, we also 652 , Oecologia...
The Andes range and the Amazon basin represent most diverse biological community on earth largest tropical forest earth, respectively, but they are historically understudied by biologists. In this paper we provide first quantitative description of volume geographical distribution ecological research in these regions. We compiled a dataset all articles based regions published two prominent international ecology journals between 1995 2008. During period, number scientific was half that Central...
Fire is an important agent of disturbance in tropical savannas, but relatively few studies have analyzed how soil-and-litter dwelling arthropods respond to fire despite the critical role these organisms play nutrient cycling and other biogeochemical processes. Following incursion a into woodland savanna ecological reserve Central Brazil, we monitored dynamics litter-arthropod populations for nearly two years one burned unburned area reserve. We also performed reciprocal transplant experiment...
Despite the well‐documented impacts of consumers on seed abundance link between predation and plant population dynamics remains poorly understood because experimental studies linking patterns with seedling establishment are rare. We used manipulations six woody species to elucidate effects predator type, habitat, identity rates recruitment in Neotropical savannas known as Cerrado. found that consistently high across a diversity local habitat types, important inter‐habitat variation for three...
The scholars comprising journal editorial boards play a critical role in defining the trajectory of knowledge their field. Nevertheless, studies board composition remain rare, especially those focusing on journals publishing research increasingly globalized fields science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Using metrics for quantifying diversity ecological communities, we quantified international representation 1985–2014 24 environmental biology journals. Over course 3 decades, there...
Reproduction by individuals is typically recorded as count data (e.g., number of fledglings from a nest or inflorescences on plant) and commonly modeled using Poisson negative binomial distributions, which assume that variance greater than equal to the mean. However, distributions reproductive effort are often underdispersed (i.e., < mean). When used in hypothesis tests, models ignore underdispersion will be overly conservative may fail detect significant patterns. Here we show generalized...
Predicting connectivity, or how landscapes alter movement, is essential for understanding the scope species persistence with environmental change. Although it well known that movement risky, connectivity modelling often conflates behavioural responses to matrix through which animals disperse mortality risk. We derive new models using random walk theory, based on concept of spatial absorbing Markov chains. These decompose role behaviour and risk, can incorporate distribution predict amount...
Abstract: Little is known about the demographic consequences of fragmentation for plant populations. By assessing population structure a common herb ( Heliconia acuminata ) in an experimentally fragmented landscape central Amazon, we tested predictions that could reduce density, alter structure, and reproductive effort. Population density continuous forest varied six‐fold, some areas having high others low density. small fragments on edges large was often low, but it within range densities...