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- The reproductive phenology of plants has profound influence on ecosystem dynamics including plant–animal interactions. Broad phenological patterns, especially the timing of reproduction, may result from long-term climate trends and co-evolution between plants and their pollinators, dispersers, and predators. Yet, interannual climate variation and local abiotic conditions may also affect the timing and magnitude of plant reproduction. Understanding the patterns of and controls on plant reproduction are crucial for conservation efforts under a changing global climate and rapidly expanding...AuthorsGenie M. Fleming, Joseph M. Wunderle Jr., Jennifer D. White, David Currie, Eileen Helmer, David N. EwertKeywordsSourceBiotropicaYear2024
- Droughts are major climate events that have strong negative effects on water resources for both natural and human systems worldwide. In the Caribbean, droughts have affected agricultural production and local economies and have diminished the quality of life for the general population (Álvarez-Berríos et al. 2018). Better monitoring, forecasting, and planning efforts could certainly lead to improved ways of coping with the impacts of droughts in this region. Strong negative effects of droughts in Puerto Rico (PR) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) stress the need to build resilience at...AuthorsJoel A. Mercado-Díaz, Eva Holupchinski, Nora Alvarez-Berrios, William A. Gould, Paul Miller, Thomas Mote, Craig Ramseyer, Grizelle GonzalezSourceBulletin of the American Meteorological SocietyYear2023
- Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination of the global tropics outpaces our understanding of its consequences for biodiversity. Knowledge gaps of pollution exposure could obscure conservation threats in the Neotropics: a region that supports over half of the world’s species, but faces ongoing land-use change and Hg emission via artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM). Due to their global distribution and sensitivity to pollution, birds provide a valuable opportunity as bioindicators to assess how accelerating Hg emissions impact an ecosystem’s ability to support biodiversity, and...AuthorsChristopher J. Sayers, David C. Evers, Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez, Evan Adams, Claudia M. Vega, Jessica N. Pisconte, Vania Tejeda, Kevin Regan, Oksana P. Lane, Abidas A. Ash, Reynold Cal, Stevan Reneau, Wilber Martínez, Gilroy Welch, Kayla Hartwell, Mario Teul, David Tzul, Wayne J. Arendt, Marvin A. Tórrez, Mrinalini Watsa, Gideon Erkenswick, Caroline E. Moore, Jacqueline Gerson, Victor Sánchez, Raúl Pérez Purizaca, Helen Yurek, Mark E. H. Burton, Peggy L. Shrum, Sebastian Tabares-Segovia, Korik Vargas, Finola F. Fogarty, Mathieu R. Charette, Ari E. Martínez, Emily Bernhardt, Robert J. Taylor, Timothy H. Tear, Luis E. FernandezSourceEcotoxicologyYear2023
- Hurricanes, increasingly powerful storms, and rising sea levels are already harming human health, ecosystems, water and food supplies, and critical infrastructure in the US Caribbean, with underserved communities suffering disproportionate impacts. Effective adaptation to support resilience in the region could be enhanced by decentralization, shared governance, and stronger partnerships across the Caribbean region and the US mainland.AuthorsPablo A Méndez-Lazaro, Patricia Chardón-Maldonado, Nora Alvarez-Berrios, Barreto Maritza, Jared H. Bowden, Wanda I. Crespo-Acevedo, Ernesto L. Diaz,, Lloyd S. Gardner,, Grizelle Gonzalez, Gregory Guannel, Zack Guido, Eric W. Harmsen, Amanda J. Leinberger, Kathleen McGinley, Ana P. Ortiz, Roger S. Pulwarty, LaVerne E. Ragster,, Isabel C Rivera-Collazo, Ruth Santiago, Carlos Santos-Burgoa, Ingrid M. Vila-BiaggiKeywordsSourceFifth National Climate AssessmentYear2023
- We report several contributions to the vascular flora of Puerto Rico, based on botanical collections from 2021–2023 that resulted from an interagency effort (Ecological Site Descriptions — ESDs), comprising previously unreported species, naturalizations, and new distributions. Notes including known islandwide distributions are provided for applicable cases.AuthorsSteve Maldonado-Silvestrini, Johann Crespo-Zapata, William A. GouldSourcePhytoneuronYear2023
- Climate projections predict higher temperatures and more frequent hurricanes in the tropics. Tropical plants subjected to these stresses may respond by acclimating their physiology. We investigated tropical forest root respiration in response to in situ experimental warming and hurricane disturbance in eastern Puerto Rico. We measured mass-normalized root specific respiration, root biomass, and root traits at the Tropical Responses to Altered Climate Experiment (TRACE), where understory vegetation is warmed + 4 °C above ambient. Our measurements span 5 years, including before and after two...AuthorsRob Tunison, Tana E. Wood, Sasha C. Reed, Molly A. CavaleriSourceEcosystemsYear2023
- Riparian zones are areas of transition between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and their vegetation provides many important ecosystem services that are becoming of greater importance due to the changing climate. To understand riparian conditions along headwater tropical streams in terms of species composition and structure, we surveyed riparian tree communities and physical conditions in adjacent streams in the Luquillo Experimental Forest. We determined riparian substrate condition visually by estimating ground and vegetation attributes and measuring slope and elevation in a series of...AuthorsVirginia Hudspeth, Alberto Pastor, Tamara Heartsill ScalleyKeywordsSourceActa CientíficaYear2023
- This study addresses the growth and ecological importance of Albizia procera, a nonnative tree species, in urban environments. Four-year-old trees of this species grew in height at a rate of 2.2 m/yr (suppressed trees) to 4.4 to 5.7 m/yr (dominant trees) and exhibited a mean basal area of 45.01 to 93.62 cm2/tree after 2 and 4 years of age, respectively. At two years of age trees formed a stand with a density of 5,755 trees/ha and a basal area of 27.2 m2/ha. At four years of age the tree density was 5,373 trees/ha, and the basal area increased to 54.3 m2/ha. These high growth rates were...AuthorsAriel Lugo, Coralys Vicénz López, Juan RestituyoKeywordsSourceActa CientíficaYear2023
- AuthorsHumfredo Marcano-VegaSourceResource Update FS-461. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station.Year2023
- AuthorsWilliam A. Gould, Nora Alvarez-Berrios, John A. Parrotta, Kathleen McGinleySourceFuture ForestsYear2023