@conference {12, title = {Native tree survivorship and growth rates in mixed species plots: Neotropical timber plantations can promote associated biodiversity.}, booktitle = {100th Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting}, year = {2015}, address = {Baltimore, Maryland}, abstract = {

Background/Question/Methods

Forests have been converted at an alarming rate in tropical and subtropical regions, and tree plantations are replacing both primary and secondary forests. Unfortunately, tree plantations are typically monocultures of non-native species with understories maintained devoid of all other plants. More data on growth rates of native timber species and potential associated biodiversity are needed if native species are to be utilized effectively in diverse plantation systems. This study analyzed survivorship and growth rates of native tree species and associated plant diversity colonizing mixed tree plantations in a lowland wet forest in Costa Rica. Seven native species were planted in abandoned pasture in two sites. Survival, height, and diameter at breast height (DBH) were periodically monitored in six plots of 49 trees each over 13 years. In addition, understory diversity associated with the plantations was examined. Two parallel transects were run in five of the six plots. Sets of 12 quadrats (0.5 m x 0.5 m) were created within each transect to measure percent cover. Within each plot, 2x20 m transects were used to tally and measure DBH for all stems above 1.0 m.\  All individual plants in quadrats and transects were identified to species.

Results/Conclusions

Two tree species grew rapidly, achieving mean DBHs greater than 20 cm after 13 years of growth\—Cordia bicolor and Terminalia amazonia. T. amazonia is an economically useful species that produces hard, durable wood used for furniture, paneling, and flooring. While C. bicolor is useful only for fence posts, its rapid growth makes it a valuable early successional tree. Moreover individuals of C. bicolor have begun reproducing, thereby attracting frugivores to the plots where it occurs. Associated plant diversity in the plantations was high with 142 species from 57 families colonizing the understory of the plantations in the 400 m2 area sampled. These findings demonstrate that using a mixture of native tree species in a plantation setting can provide trees of timber value, while also allowing for rapid re-establishment of understory diversity. We discuss our findings in the context of a mixed-species tree plantation providing harvestable timber while also supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services.

}, keywords = {Costa Rica, reforestation, restoration}, author = {Foster, Paul F. and Cris G. Hochwender and Samantha Montgomery and Kelsey Williams and Stephanie Tran and Christie Hubbard and Nicole Kreuzman} } @conference {9, title = {Neoichnology of Costa Rican bats: track morphology and trackmaking ability of phyllostomid and emballonurid bats}, booktitle = {2014 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America}, year = {2014}, month = {10/2014}, address = {Vancouver, British Columbia}, abstract = {

Of the four groups of animals to have developed powered flight, only bats are unknown from the trace fossil record. In comparison, pterosaurs, flying quadrupeds like bats, are recognized from at least three valid ichnogenera that are known from every continent except Antarctica. With a body fossil record of over 52 million years combined with the rapid colonization of most continents, bats are ideal candidates to have produced trace fossils. Modern bats display a wide range of terrestrial abilities, from aerial insectivores, to those that forage for insects and other arthropods on the ground, to the New Zealand short-tailed bat and common vampire bat that possess a suite of terrestrial behaviors including running and hopping. We present the first broad survey of trackmaking ability in an ecologically diverse family of Neotropical bats, the Phyllostomidae, as well as representatives from another New World family, the Emballonuridae. In late June and early July 2014, trackmaking trials were conducted with members of the five Costa Rican subfamilies of Phyllostomidae: Carollia perspicillata and C. sowelli (Carollinae), Lonchorhina aurita and Micronycteris microtus (Phyllostominae), Demanura phaeotis and Artibeus lituratus (Stenodermatinae), Desmodus rotundus (Desmodontinae), and Hylonycteris underwoodi (Glossophaginae), and the emballonurid Saccopteryx bilineata. These bats represent different ecological niches and hindlimb morphologies resulting in differing terrestrial behaviors and track morphology. Most bats were limited to an uncoordinated terrestrial gait that we have termed the breaststrokelike crawl, while a few, notably Desmodus, proved terrestrially adept. Tracks produced corresponded primarily to the forelimbs, while hindlimb tracks were much less likely to be preserved. Various track morphologies produced include linear and arcuate tracks corresponding to digit one of the manus, and isolated and clustered pedal traces featuring four or five subparallel digit impressions. Only Desmodus produced definitive trackways. This research will better illuminate what bat tracks and trackways may look like in the rock record, and future research will address how trackways, such as those produced by Desmodus, compare to pterosaur trackways.

}, keywords = {Reserva Ecol{\'o}gica Bijagual}, author = {Jones, M. T. and Hasiotis, S. T.} } @conference {8, title = {Neoichnology and Tracemaking Behavior of Desmodus rotundus }, booktitle = {44th Annual Symposium of the North American Society for Bat Research}, year = {2014}, month = {10/2014}, address = {Albany, New York}, abstract = {

Trace fossils are useful tools for interpreting the behavior of extinct and ancient organisms as well as providing clues to the potential distribution and occurrence of organisms in areas where body fossils are absent. Tracks and trackways of flying organisms are present in the fossil record, including insects, birds, and pterosaurs; bat trace fossils, however, are not known. The absence of bat trace fossils may be due to their small size, unfavorable preservation conditions of the environment, or misidentification. The lack of traces is likely not due to an aversion to terrestrial locomotion, as modern bats display a range of terrestrial abilities from strictly aerial insectivores to the unique terrestrial behaviors of the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) and the New Zealand short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata). We present the first study of the trackway-making ability of the common vampire bat, and compare it to the terrestrially inept genus Carollia. Four Desmodus rotundus were captured at Reserva Ecol\ógica Bijagual de Sarapiqu\í in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica during early summer 2014. A custom-built Plexiglas\® and PVC enclosure allowed the bats to walk across sediment but prevented them from flying. The resulting trackmaking behaviors were video recorded and trackways were cast with plaster and analyzed. All Desmodus exhibited a more typical quadrupedal gait than did Carollia. Desmodus, in contrast, did not display the breaststrokelike crawl performed by the less terrestrially-adept species. Trackways produced by Desmodus are characterized by deep manus impressions and scattered, more infrequent pedal tracks.

}, keywords = {Reserva Ecol{\'o}gica Bijagual}, author = {Jones, Matthew and Hasiotis, Stephen} }