Articles tagged with Tropical Ecosystems
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute is coordinating the planning process for Panama's Coiba National Park/World Heritage Site, aiming to develop a realistic management plan while promoting sustainable activities. The park will benefit from expertise in diverse areas and collaboration with local authorities.
Researchers found that female túngara frogs are attracted to males producing complex 'whine chuck' calls. By surgically removing fibrous masses in the males' larynx, scientists discovered a unique connection between these structures and call complexity.
A new initiative aims to slow deforestation in tropical forests by allowing wealthy industrial nations to pay developing countries to conserve their forests. This mechanism would earn 'carbon credits' that count toward emissions targets, potentially reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
New projections suggest that deforestation rates will decrease as population growth slows, allowing a larger area of tropical forests to remain. The study's findings provide hope that many tropical forest species can survive the current wave of deforestation and human population growth.
Researchers found a positive correlation between tropical area expansion and diversity increase during global warming. Conversely, forest fragmentation during cooling periods leads to decreased diversity. The study suggests that changes in area drive speciation and extinction in the tropics.
The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute presents a comprehensive guide to the marine invertebrates of Bocas del Toro, with over 3000 documented species. The study highlights the region's high diversity and sets the stage for future research and conservation efforts.
The BioScience special section examines the ecology and sustainability of tropical island streams, which face numerous threats including human alteration and natural fluctuations. The articles highlight conservation strategies to mitigate the effects of dams, deforestation, and invasive species on these ecosystems.
Researchers discovered a generalized topology characteristic of self-organized complex systems in community organisation of plants and animals. This finding has significant implications for biodiversity conservation.
A recent study published in Science suggests that conserving wild nature can generate significant economic benefits, with intact ecosystems providing up to 75% more value than converted ones. The research estimates a global network of nature reserves could provide $4.4 trillion in additional economic benefits annually.
Researchers found a wide swath of the western Amazon has a forest with minimal species change over distances of over 1000 kilometers. In contrast, forests on the Isthmus of Panama exhibit high beta-diversity due to abrupt variation in rainfall across the Central American isthmus.
The Global Litter Invertebrate Decomposition Experiment (GLIDE) aims to advance understanding of soil and litter fauna's distribution, diversity, and importance in ecosystem processes. The study will provide unprecedented data on the animals involved in litter decomposition across different biomes and latitudes.