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Incluye contenido parcial de los autores Abstract.Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecologicalhealth and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carni-vores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide managementand conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropicalregion: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; andUrsidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropicalcarnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTRO-PICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data wereobtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organi-zations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including cameratrapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature(peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated inthis compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n=79,343; 79.7%) butalso includes non-detection data (n=20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data(n=43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute tomacroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspec-tives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distri-bution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans andsafeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combinedwith other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and relatedecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restric-tion for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of theinformation used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data.

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No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-08-09 Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas WWF International Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Large terrestrial carnivores have undergone some of the largest population declines and range reductions of any species, which is of concern as they can have large effects on ecosystem dynamics and function.1–4 The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the apex predator throughout the majority of the Neotropics; however, its distribution has been reduced by >50% and it survives in increasingly isolated populations.5 Consequently, the range-wide management of the jaguar depends upon maintaining core populations connected through multi-national, transboundary cooperation, which requires understanding the movement ecology and space use of jaguars throughout their range.6–8 Using GPS telemetry data for 111 jaguars from 13 ecoregions within the four biomes that constitute the majority of jaguar habitat, we examined the landscape-level environmental and anthropogenic factors related to jaguar home range size and movement parameters. Home range size decreased with increasing net productivity and forest cover and increased with increasing road density. Speed decreased with increasing forest cover with no sexual differences, while males had more directional movements, but tortuosity in movements was not related to any landscape factors. We demonstrated a synergistic relationship between landscape-scale environmental and anthropogenic factors and jaguars’ spatial needs, which has applications to the conservation strategy for the species throughout the Neotropics. Using large-scale collaboration, we overcame limitations from small sample sizes typical in large carnivore research to provide a mechanism to evaluate habitat quality for jaguars and an inferential modeling framework adaptable to the conservation of other large terrestrial carnivores. Asociación Guyra Paraguay and CONACYT Parque Ecológico Asunción Verde Insituto Saite Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade Instituto de Biociências Universidade Estadual Paulista-UNESP Departamento de Biodiversidade Laboratório de Ecologia Espacial e Conservação LEEC Instituto Pró-Carnívoros Department of Animal Nutrition and Management Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Instituto de Biociências Departamento de Ecologia Universidade de São Paulo Cidade Universitária, Rua do Matão, Trav. 14, no. 321 Instituto de Biología Subtropical Universidad Nacional de Misiones and CONICET Asociación Civil Centro de Investigaciones del Bosque Atlántico Programa Jaguares de la Selva Maya Bioconciencia A.C. School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga IPÊ-Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas Faro Moro Eco Research Estancia Faro Moro Departamento de Boquerón Instituto Onça Pintada Estacao Ecológica Taiamã Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá Associação Onçafari Rua Ferreira de Araújo, 221, Cj.14, Sala 4, Pinheiros Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, 18th Floor Instituto SOS Pantanal, R. Gutemberg, 328 Centro Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal Instituto de Biociências Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) Instituto de Ecología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and CONACyT Ciudad Universitaria Instituto Internacional en Conservación y Manejo de Vida Silvestre Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica Department of Environmental Conservation University of Massachusetts, Amherst Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas Aplicadas Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México Instituto Literario 100 Col. Centro C.P. Instituto de Biologia Laboratório de Ecologia de Mamíferos LEMA Universidade Federal de Uberlândia Primero Conservation, Box 1588 Namá Conservation Rescate Animal Zooave Fundación Restauración de la Naturaleza, Apdo Projeto Carnívoros do Iguaçu Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana Instituto Latino-Americano de Ciências da Vida e da Natureza Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia Instituto Onças do Rio Negro Fazenda Barranco Alto Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Universidade Federal de Viçosa Instituto de Defesa e Preservação dos Felídeos Brasileiros SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry Wildlife Biology Program W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation University of Montana Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina Wildlife Protection Solutions, 2501 Welton Street San Diego Zoo Global Institute for Conservation Research, 15600 San Pasqual Valley Road Universidade Federal de São João del Rei Departamento de Ciências Naturais Laboratório de Ecologia Manejo e Conservação de Fauna Silvestre Programa de Pós-Graduação Interunidades em Ecologia Aplicada Universidade de São Paulo ESALQ/CENA Universidad Nacional de Córdoba Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales Centro de Zoología Aplicada Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas CONICET Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal IDEA Instituto Nacional de Medicina Tropical ANLIS Ministerio de Salud de la Nación Instituto de Pesquisa e Conservação de Tamanduás do Brasil Instituto de Biociências Universidade Estadual Paulista-UNESP Departamento de Biodiversidade Laboratório de Ecologia Espacial e Conservação LEEC FAPESP: 2014/24921-0 FAPESP: 2018/13037–3 FAPESP: 2018/24891-5

In preparation for participation in funding mechanisms established under the United Nations’ framework for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), the Government of Nepal has developed a sub-national reference level (RL) for the 12 districts of Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) in partnership with the WWF-Nepal, WWF-US and Arbonaut Ltd., Finland. The reference level was established using LiDAR–Assisted Multisource Programme (LAMP), an innovative effort that utilizes existing national forest and survey data, field sampling, satellite imagery, and airborne LiDAR data to measure deforestation and forest degradation, regrowth and maintenance of forests, and the resulting emissions and sequestration of CO2 in the project districts for the period 1999–2011. This effort was designed to create a sub-national RL that meets the highest international standards for integrity and transparency and followed closely the guidelines of the Methodological Framework (MF) defined by the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) at the World Bank and Guidelines defined by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).The present analysis shows that during the 12-year period between 1999 and 2011 a net total of 52,245,991 tons CO2 (tCO2e) was emitted from the forest sector in the TAL, an average emission of 4,353,833 tons CO2e per year. The results presented here reflect the first iteration of the TAL RL and a major milestone in an on-going process that will further refine and improve the RL in the months ahead based on external review and input and additional field verification and data analysis.Banko Janakari, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp-23-33

The Yellow-billed Cotinga (Carpodectes antoniae) is one of Central America’s rarest and most endangered species. A regional endemic to Panama and Costa Rica, between 250 and 999 individuals appear to now survive mainly within Pacific coastal mangroves and adjacent lowland forest within the Terraba-Sierpe National Wetlands and the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, an Alliance for Zero Extinction Site. We used radio telemetry to determine seasonal movements and habitat use and requirements of three Yellow-billed Cotingas at the Rincon River and mangrove estuary on the Osa Peninsula. During the breeding months from approximately December to June, radio-tagged cotingas used mangroves primarily for courtship display, insect feeding, protection from inclement weather, and night roosts. They used lowland forest for feeding on fruit and insects and for infrequent courtship display. Birds fed on fruits from 23 lowland forest tree species throughout the year. Although the female ranged farther than the males du...

Specialized seed predators in tropical forests may avoid seasonal food scarcity and interspecific feeding competition but may need to diversify their daily diet to limit ingestion of any given toxin. Seed predators may, therefore, adopt foraging strategies that favor dietary diversity and resource monitoring, rather than efficient energy intake, as suggested by optimal foraging theory. We tested whether fine-scale space use by a small-group-living seed predator-the bald-faced saki monkey (Pithecia irrorata)-reflected optimization of short-term foraging efficiency, maximization of daily dietary diversity, and/or responses to the threat of territorial encroachment by neighboring groups. Food patches across home ranges of five adjacent saki groups were widely spread, but areas with higher densities of stems or food species were not allocated greater feeding time. Foraging patterns-specifically, relatively long daily travel paths that bypassed available fruiting trees and relatively short feeding bouts in undepleted food patches-suggest a strategy that maximizes dietary diversification, rather than "optimal" foraging. Travel distance was unrelated to the proportion of seeds in the diet. Moreover, while taxonomically diverse, the daily diets of our study groups were no more species-rich than randomly derived diets based on co-occurring available food species. Sakis preferentially used overlapping areas of their HRs, within which adjacent groups shared many food trees, yet the density of food plants or food species in these areas was no greater than in other HR areas. The high likelihood of depletion by neighboring groups of otherwise enduring food sources may encourage monitoring of peripheral food patches in overlap areas, even if at the expense of immediate energy intake, suggesting that between-group competition is a key driver of fine-scale home range use in sakis.

Summary Over the last two decades, a large number of camera trap surveys have been carried out around the world and camera traps have been proposed as an ideal tool for inventorying and monitoring medium to large-sized terrestrial vertebrates. However, few studies have analysed camera trap data at the community level. We developed a multi-session multi-species occupancy model that allows us to obtain estimates for species richness and occupancy combining data from multiple camera trap surveys (sessions). By estimating species presence at the session-level and modelling detection probability and occupancy for each species and sessions as nested random effects, we could improve parameter estimates for each session, especially for species with sparse data. We developed two variants of our model: one was a binary latent states model while the other used a Royle–Nichols formulation for the relationship between detection probability and abundance. We applied both models to data from eight camera trap surveys from south-eastern Peru including six study sites, 263 camera stations and 17 423 camera days. Sites covered protected areas, a logging concession and Brazil nut concessions. We included habitat (terra firme vs. floodplain) as a covariate for occupancy and trail vs. off-trail as a covariate for detection. Among-camera heterogeneity was a serious problem for our data and the Royle–Nichols variant of our model had a much better fit than the binary-state variant. Both models resulted in similar species richness estimates showing that most of the sites contained intact large mammal communities. Detection probabilities and occupancy values were more variable across species than across sessions within species. Three species showed a habitat preference and four species showed preference or avoidance of trails. Synthesis and applications. Our multi-session multi-species occupancy model provides improved estimates for species richness and occupancy for a large data set. Our model is ideally suited for integrating large numbers of camera trap data sets to investigate regional and/or temporal patterns in the distribution and composition of mammal communities in relation to natural or anthropogenic factors or to monitor mammal communities over time.

Commodity crop expansion in the tropics presents the challenge of preserving tropical moist forest (TMF) ecosystems and their role in carbon sequestration. We propose an algorithm, specific to the TMF biome, which identifies 125 million ha of degraded, low-carbon density land (LCDL) in the Pantropical TMF belt for agricultural expansion. About 65 million ha of LCDL are in contiguous tracts >5,000 ha and

Recent technological and methodological advances in the field of imaging spectroscopy (or hyperspectral imaging) make possible new approaches to studying regional ecosystem processes and structure. We use Earth Observing-1 Hyperion satellite hyperspectral imagery to test our ability to identify tree species in a lowland Peruvian Amazon forest, and to investigate seasonal variation in species detections related to phenology. We obtained four images from 2006-2008, and used them to spectrally differentiate crowns of 42 individual trees of 5 taxa using linear discriminant analysis. Temporal variation of tree spectra was assessed using three methods, based on 1) position of spectra in a two-dimensional canonical variable space, 2) a broadband, multispectral dataset derived from sets of narrow bands identified as informative to spectrally separate taxa, and 3) narrow band vegetation indices (photochemical reflectance index and anthocyanin reflectance index) sensitive to leaf pigments. We obtained high classification success with a reduced set of trees (28 individuals) whose crowns were well represented on Hyperion 30 m resolution pixels. Temporal variability of spectra was confirmed by each of the three methods employed. Understanding seasonality of spectral characteristics of tropical tree crowns has implications in spectral based multi-seasonal species mapping and studying ecosystem processes.

Over 80% of the currently occupied range of the jaguar ( Panthera onca ) lies in the Amazon. However, few density estimates exist for this habitat. Between 2005 and 2010 we carried out six camera trap surveys at three different sites in the department of Madre de Dios in the Peruvian Amazon. We analyzed our data using a Bayesian spatially explicit capture recapture model (SECR) with sex covariates to account for differences in home range size and detection probabilities of male and female jaguars. As several of our camera grids where too small for reliable density estimates, we used estimates for the σ parameter from the largest camera grid to correct for the bias. Density estimates for our surveys were similar with an average density of 4.4 ± 0.7 jaguar 100 km −2 . Both home range size and encounter rates varied significantly between sexes with males having a larger home range and higher encounter rate than females. Our estimated sex ratio was 1:1.5 compared to an observed ratio of 1.9:1. Not accounting for sex would have resulted in an underestimation of the true density. The densities found in this study are among the highest documented and show that the Amazon is indeed a core habitat for the jaguar. We estimate that three jaguar conservation units in our study region (areas defined by experts as having a high conservation priority) could harbor as many as 6000 jaguars (CI: 4278–8142).

We conducted an analysis of deforestation and forest disturbance from 2005-2011 in Masoala National Park, the largest federal protected area in Madagascar. We found that the annual rate of forest c...

Why vocal learning has evolved in songbirds, parrots, and hummingbirds but not in other avian groups remains an unanswered question. The difficulty in providing an answer stems not only from the challenge of reconstructing the conditions that favored vocal learning among ancestors of these groups but also from our incomplete knowledge of extant birds. Here we provide multiple lines of evidence for a previously undocumented, evolutionarily independent origin of vocal learning among the suboscine passerines. Working with bellbirds (Procnias spp.), we show that (1) a captive-reared Bare-throated Bellbird (P. nudicollis) deprived of conspecific song not only developed abnormal conspecific songs but also learned the calls of a Chopi Blackbird (Gnorimopsar chopi) near which it was housed; (2) songs of Three-wattled Bellbirds (P. tricarunculata) occur in three geographically distinct dialects (from north to south: Nicaragua, Monteverde, and Talamanca); (3) Three-wattled Bellbirds at Monteverde, Costa Ri...

Camera traps have become the main method for estimating jaguar (Panthera onca) densities. Over 74 studies have been carried out throughout the species range following standard design recommendations. We reviewed the study designs used by these studies and the results obtained. Using simulated data we evaluated the performance of different statistical methods for estimating density from camera trap data including the closed-population capture–recapture models Mo and Mh with a buffer of ½ and the full mean maximum distance moved (MMDM) and spatially explicit capture–recapture (SECR) models under different study designs and scenarios. We found that for the studies reviewed density estimates were negatively correlated with camera polygon size and MMDM estimates were positively correlated. The simulations showed that for camera polygons that were smaller than approximately one home range density estimates for all methods had a positive bias. For large polygons the Mh MMDM and SECR model produced the most accurate results and elongated polygons can improve estimates with the SECR model. When encounter rates and home range sizes varied by sex, estimates had a negative bias for models that did not include sex as a covariate. Based on the simulations we concluded that the majority of jaguar camera trap studies did not meet the requirements necessary to produce unbiased density estimates and likely overestimated true densities. We make clear recommendations for future study designs with respect to camera layout, number of cameras, study length, and camera placement. Our findings directly apply to camera trap studies of other large carnivores.

The three-dimensional spatial configuration of forest habitats affects the capacity of arboreal vertebrates to move, access food, and avoid predation. However, vegetation sampling over large areas from a sufficient density of field plots to quantify fine-grained heterogeneity in canopy structure is logistically difficult, labor-intensive, time-consuming and costly, particularly in remote areas of tropical forests. We used airborne waveform light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data acquired over the southeastern Peruvian Amazon in combination with detailed field data on a population of bald-faced saki monkeys ( Pithecia irrorata ) to assess the utility of LiDAR-derived indices of canopy structure in describing parameters of preferred forest types for this arboreal primate. Forest structure parameters represented by LiDAR measurements were significantly different between home range areas used by sakis and those that were not used. Home range areas used by sakis represented a predictable subset of available forest areas, generally those containing the tallest and most uniform canopies. Differences observed within a 335-ha focal area occupied by five previously habituated and systematically followed study groups were consistent across the wider study landscape (6,400 ha): sakis were missing from areas of low-statured, heterogeneous canopies, but they occupied adjacent areas dominated by taller and less variable canopies. These findings provide novel insights into the relationship between vegetation structure and habitat use by a tropical arboreal vertebrate and demonstrate that high-resolution, three-dimensional remote sensing measurements can be useful in predicting habitat occupancy and selection by forest canopy species.

We propose the wildlife premium mechanism as an innovation to conserve endangered large vertebrates. The performance-based payment scheme would allow stakeholders in lower-income countries to generate revenue by recovering and maintaining threatened fauna that can also serve as umbrella species (i.e., species whose protection benefits other species with which they co-occur). There are 3 possible options for applying the premium: option 1, embed premiums in a carbon payment; option 2, link premiums to a related carbon payment, but as independent and legally separate transactions; option 3, link premiums to noncarbon payments for conserving ecosystem services (PES). Each option presents advantages, such as incentive payments to improve livelihoods of rural poor who reside in or near areas harboring umbrella species, and challenges, such as the establishment of a subnational carbon credit scheme. In Kenya, Peru, and Nepal pilot premium projects are now underway or being finalized that largely follow option 1. The Kasigau (Kenya) project is the first voluntary carbon credit project to win approval from the 2 leading groups sanctioning such protocols and has already sold carbon credits totaling over $1.2 million since June 2011. A portion of the earnings is divided among community landowners and projects that support community members and has added over 350 jobs to the local economy. All 3 projects involve extensive community management because they occur on lands where locals hold the title or have a long-term lease from the government. The monitoring, reporting, and verification required to make premium payments credible to investors include transparent methods for collecting data on key indices by trained community members and verification of their reporting by a biologist. A wildlife premium readiness fund would enable expansion of pilot programs needed to test options beyond those presented here.

Aim Regional movements of tropical birds are among the least understood patterns of migration, generally assumed to be related to seasonality of vegetation and food resources. We used readily available remotely sensed data to analyse this relationship in the three-wattled bellbird (Procnias tricarunculatus), an IUCN Vulnerable canopy frugivorous bird that undergoes localized altitudinal and latitudinal movements between several non-breeding and breeding ranges. Location Central America. Methods We generated ecological niche models (GARP and Maxent) based on remotely sensed vegetation indices (enhanced vegetation index, EVI; red index, RI; and normalized difference water index, NDWI) that were used as proxies for canopy characteristics and phenological changes between seasons. The variation in EVI was also analysed in relation to known bellbird seasonal migration patterns. Results Remotely sensed summaries of intra-annual vegetation variation could not explain known movement patterns of bellbirds breeding in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica. The ecological niche modelling (ENM) framework used for exploring potential movement patterns of another population of bellbirds, observed in March 2004 in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica, showed that the Atlantic and Pacific lowlands are suitable for the bellbirds year-round, while middle elevations, where breeding may occur, have limited suitability. Main conclusions Our findings suggest that: (1) the Corcovado population tracks similar environmental conditions during the non-breeding season; (2) migration to middle elevation breeding sites might be related to factors other than vegetation seasonality or breeding might not be restricted to these elevation ranges; and (3) the lowlands comprising most of the suitable areas for bellbirds are where anthropogenic pressure is highest, so conservation status should consider this threat, and conservation planning should emphasize these areas.

The forests of western Amazonia support high site-level biological diversity, yet regional community heterogeneity is poorly understood. Using data from line transect surveys at 37 forest sites in south-eastern Peru, we assessed whether local primate assemblages are heterogeneous at the scale of a major watershed. We examined patterns of richness, abundance and community structure as a function of forest type, hunting pressure, land-management regime and geographic location. The primate assemblage composition and structure varied spatially across this relatively small region of Amazonia (≈ 85 000 km2), resulting from large-scale species patchiness rather than species turnover. Primate species richness varied among sites by a factor of two, community similarity by a factor of four and aggregate biomass by a factor of 45. Several environmental variables exhibited influence on community heterogeneity, though none as much as geographic location. Unflooded forest sites had higher species richness than floodplain forests, although neither numerical primate abundance nor aggregate biomass varied with forest type. Non-hunted sites safeguarded higher abundance and biomass, particularly of large-bodied species, than hunted sites. Spatial differences among species assemblages of a relatively generalist taxon like primates in this largely undisturbed forest region imply that community heterogeneity may be even greater in more species-rich taxa, as well as in regions of greater forest habitat diversity.

Species distribution maps are widely used in predicting areas of conservation concern, particularly where species distributions are poorly known. However, the accuracy of range maps for regional/local planning is questionable. We compared published putative geographic range polygons of ten primate species to their actual occupancy at 23 survey sites in southeastern Peru to assess the fine-scale accuracy of these polygons for regional conservation planning. We analyzed the proportion of sites at which each species was detected, both inside and outside of its published NatureServe [Patterson et al., Digital distribution maps of the mammals of the western hemisphere. Version 1.0. Arlington, VA, 2003] and IUCN [2008; Red List, 2008] range polygons. There were mismatches between our line-transect survey data and range polygon boundaries for nine of the ten species (from 15 to 80% cases), including both false presences and false absences. Each published dataset overestimated the presence of seven primate species and the absence of four species, though errors varied among species. Occupancy patterns of species with larger geographic ranges were no more accurately predicted than those of more narrow-range species. Regional barriers to dispersal, such as rivers, and finer-scale ecological specialization may limit the applicability of range map polygons to regional-scale conservation priority setting, even for relatively well-studied taxa. Despite the risk of errors, range polygons are still used as baseline data in conservation planning. We suggest some measures that could reduce the error risk.

Efforts to mitigate climate change through the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) depend on mapping and monitoring of tropical forest carbon stocks and emissions over large geographic areas. With a new integrated use of satellite imaging, airborne light detection and ranging, and field plots, we mapped aboveground carbon stocks and emissions at 0.1-ha resolution over 4.3 million ha of the Peruvian Amazon, an area twice that of all forests in Costa Rica, to reveal the determinants of forest carbon density and to demonstrate the feasibility of mapping carbon emissions for REDD. We discovered previously unknown variation in carbon storage at multiple scales based on geologic substrate and forest type. From 1999 to 2009, emissions from land use totaled 1.1% of the standing carbon throughout the region. Forest degradation, such as from selective logging, increased regional carbon emissions by 47% over deforestation alone, and secondary regrowth provided an 18% offset against total gross emissions. Very high-resolution monitoring reduces uncertainty in carbon emissions for REDD programs while uncovering fundamental environmental controls on forest carbon storage and their interactions with land-use change.

Questions: Understanding distributions of tree species at landscape scales in tropical forests is a difficult task that could benefit from the recent development of satellite imaging spectroscopy. We tested an application of the EO-1 Hyperion satellite sensor to spectrally detect the location of five important tree taxa in the lowland humid tropical forests of southeastern Peru. Location: Peru, Departamento de Madre de Dios. Methods: We used linear discriminant analysis with a stepwise selection procedure to analyze two Hyperion datasets (July and December 2006) to choose the most informative narrow bands for classifying trees. Results: Optimal channels selected were different between the two seasons. Classification was 100% successful for the five taxa when using 25 narrow bands and pixels that represented >40% of tree crowns. We applied the discriminant functions developed separately for the two seasons to the entire study area, and found significantly nonrandom overlap in the anticipated distributions of the five taxa between seasons. Conclusions: Despite known issues, such as signal-to-noise ratio and spatial resolution, Hyperion imaging spectroscopy has potential for developing regional mapping of large-crowned tropical trees.

Conservation genetic analyses of wildlife have increased greatly in the past 10 yr, yet genetic studies of parrots are rare because of difficulties associated with capturing them and obtaining samples. Recent studies have demonstrated that molted feathers can provide a useful source of DNA, but success rates have varied considerably among studies. Our objective was to determine if molted macaw feathers from Blue-and-yellow Macaws (Ara ararauna), Scarlet Macaws (A. macao), and Red-and-green Macaws (A. chloropterus) collected from rainforest geophagy sites called clay licks could provide a good source of DNA for population genetic studies. Specific objectives were to determine (1) how nuclear DNA microsatellite amplification success and genotyping error rates for plucked macaw feathers compared to those for molted feathers collected from clay licks in the Amazon rainforest, and (2) if feather size, feather condition, species, or extraction method affected microsatellite amplification success or genotyping error rates from molted feathers. Amplification success and error rates were calculated using duplicate analyses of four microsatellite loci. We found that plucked feathers were an excellent source of DNA, with significantly higher success rates (P < 0.0001) and lower error rates (P= 0.0002) than for molted feathers. However, relatively high success rates (75.6%) were obtained for molted feathers, with a genotyping error rate of 11.7%. For molted feathers, we had higher success rates and lower error rates for large feathers than small feathers and for feathers in good condition than feathers that were moldy and broken when collected. We also found that longer incubation times and lower elution volumes yielded the highest quality DNA when extracting with the Qiagen DNeasy tissue kit. Our study demonstrates that molted feathers can be a valuable source of genetic material even in the challenging conditions of tropical rainforests, and our results provide valuable information for maximizing DNA amplification success rates when working with shed feathers of parrots. SINOPSIS Los analisis geneticos para la conservacion de la vida silvestre han crecido en gran escala durante los ultimos 10 anos, pero el analisis genetico de los loros son raros por las dificultades asociados con su captura y obtencion de muestras. Estudios recientes han demostrado que plumas mudadas podrian proveer una fuente util de ADN, pero las tasas de exito varian considerablemente entre estudios. Nuestro objetivo fue determinar si las plumas mudadas de Ara ararauna, A. macao y A. chloropterus colectadas en sitios de bosque humedo donde estas aves consumen el suelo, llamados colpas, podrian proveer una fuente util de ADN para estudios de la genetica de las poblaciones. Los objetivos especificos fueron determinar (1) como comparan las tasas de exito de la amplificacion de los microsatelites del ADN nuclear y las tasas de error en el analisis del genotipo de plumas, entre plumas colectadas directamente de los guacamayos y plumas colectadas en colpas en el bosque Amazonico, y (2) si el tamano de la pluma, su condicion, la especie o el metodo de extraccion afecta el exito de la amplificacion de los microsatelites o las tasas de error en el analisis del genotipo de las plumas mudadas. Las tasas de exito de amplificacion y error fueron calculados usando analisis duplicados de cuatro loci de microsatelites. Encontramos que plumas colectadas directamente de las aves son una fuente excelente de ADN, con tasas de exito significativamente mas altas (P < 0.0001), y con menores tasas de error (P= 0.0002) que las plumas mudadas. Sin embargo, tasas de exito relativamente altas (75.6%) fueron obtenidos de plumas mudadas, con una tasa de error en el analisis del genotipo de 11.7%. Para plumas mudadas, tuvimos tasas de exito mas altas y tasas de error menores para plumas grandes que para plumas pequenas y para plumas en buena condicion que para plumas que estaban cubiertos con hongos y quebradas cuando fueron colectadas. Tambien encontramos que mayores periodos de incubacion y menores volumenes de elucion proveian el ADN de mayor calidad cuando se extraia el ADN usando el kit de tejido Quiagen DNeasy. Nuestro estudio demuestra que las plumas mudadas pueden ser una fuente valiosa de materia genetica, hasta en las condiciones de los bosques humedos tropicales. Nuestros resultados proveen informacion valiosa para maximizar las tasas de exito de la amplificacion del ADN cuando se analizan las plumas mudadas de los loros.

Soils from 18 parrot collpas (‘clay licks’) in southeastern Peru averaged four times more available sodium than uneaten control soils. Collpa soils contained marginally more clay than control sites and clay content was uncorrelated with available sodium content. Parrots may select and ingest soils based on available sodium content.

We studied the habitat use, activity patterns and use of mineral licks by five species of Amazonian ungulate using data from four 60-d camera trap surveys at two different sites in the lowland rain forest of Madre de Dios, Peru. Camera traps were set out in two regular grids with 40 and 43 camera stations covering an area of 50 and 65 km2, as well as at five mineral licks. Using occupancy analysis we tested the hypothesis that species are spatially separated. The results showed that the grey brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira) occurred almost exclusively in terra firme forests, and that the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) used floodplain forest more frequently during some surveys. All other species showed no habitat preference and we did not find any spatial avoidance of species. The white-lipped peccary, the collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) as well as the grey brocket deer were strictly diurnal while the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) was nocturnal. The red brocket deer (Mazama americana) was active day and night. The tapir was the species with the highest number of visits to mineral licks (average 52.8 visits per 100 d) followed by the white-lipped peccary (average 16.1 visits per 100 d) and the red brocket deer (average 17.1 visits per 100 d). The collared peccary was only recorded on three occasions and the grey brocket deer was never seen at a lick. Our results suggest that resource partitioning takes place mainly at the diet level and less at a spatial level; however, differences in small-scale habitat use are still possible.

Madagascar is a top global conservation priority for high rates of deforestation and endemism. Deforestation has been extensive, but impacts of forest loss on biodiversity have not been well quantified, especially for nonvertebrates. We use generalized dissimilarity modeling (GDM) as a basis for estimating forest biodiversity remaining at different points in time. We predict that 9.1% of species in Madagascar have been committed to extinction from deforestation between 1950 and 2000. This quantity is higher than losses expected from random deforestation of the same total area, indicating that deforestation has been biased towards environmentally and biologically distinct areas. In contrast to traditional area-based methods, these techniques allow one to estimate biodiversity loss based on the location of deforestation and thus can inform land-use policies that aim to minimize biodiversity impacts of deforestation or development.

Mammal inventories in tropical forests are often difficult to carry out, and many elusive species are missed or only reported from interviews with local people. Camera traps offer a new tool for conducting inventories of large- and medium-sized terrestrial mammals. We evaluated the efficiency of camera traps based on data from two surveys carried out at a single site during 2 consecutive years. The survey efforts were 1440 and 2340 camera days, and 75 and 86% of the 28 large- and medium-sized terrestrial mammal species known to occur at the site were recorded. Capture frequencies for different species were highly correlated between the surveys, and the capture probability for animals that passed in front of the cameras decreased with decreasing size of the species. Camera spacing and total survey area had little influence on the number of species recorded, with survey effort being the main factor determining the number of recorded species. Using a model we demonstrated the exponential increase in survey effort required to record the most elusive species. We evaluated the performance of different species richness estimators on this dataset and found the Jackknife estimators generally to perform best. We give recommendations on how to increase efficiency of camera trap surveys exclusively targeted at species inventories.

Using the 160,000-km2 drainage basin of the Madre de Dios and Orthon rivers in the southwest Amazon as a test case, we piloted an approach for large-scale conservation planning for freshwater systems characterized by a near-complete lack of biological and physical data. We used newly available spatial and remote sensing datasets, including spaceborne optical and radar observations, and new techniques of spatial data analysis to generate subbasin (⩾100 km2), stream, and floodplain and wetland habitat classifications. We then generated a preliminary plan for a network of conservation areas to protect the most intact examples of representative habitat types while maximizing longitudinal and lateral connectivity. Proposed additions for freshwater conservation complement existing reserves and build on earlier conservation planning efforts for terrestrial ecosystems. In the resulting integrated plan, at least 20% of the area of each major freshwater habitat type is represented and two continuous corridors exist from the mouth of the Madre de Dios to its headwaters in the Andes. In total, we highlighted 84 currently unprotected subbasins to fulfill our representation and connectivity goals. About two-thirds of these subbasins were considered relatively undisturbed and are identified as Level I (critical management zones) or Level II (indigenous territories), whereas one-third are potentially degraded and thus were designated as Level III (threat mitigation zones). This exercise provides an example of how newly available remote-sensing datasets and analytical tools may be used to advance freshwater conservation planning, particularly in data-poor regions.

Using radiotelemetry, we discovered that the Three-wattled Bellbird (Procnias tricarunculata), one of Central America's largest frugivorous birds, has the most complex migratory pattern yet recorded for a tropical species. The annual migration cycle included 2- to 5-month stopovers in four distinct life zones: two middle- elevation and two lowland sites separated by as much as 200 km. We captured and radio-tagged bellbirds during 4 years between July and September in middle-elevation forest fragments of the Pacific slope, 6 km from Monteverde in the Tilaran mountain range of north-central Costa Rica. These habitats, which exist almost exclusively as small, isolated fragments on private farms, are poorly represented (

Specialized seed predators in tropical forests may avoid seasonal food scarcity and interspecific feeding competition but may need to diversify their daily diet to limit ingestion of any given toxin. Seed predators may, therefore, adopt foraging strategies that favor dietary diversity and resource monitoring, rather than efficient energy intake, as suggested by optimal foraging theory. We tested whether fine-scale space use by a small-group-living seed predator-the bald-faced saki monkey (Pithecia irrorata)-reflected optimization of short-term foraging efficiency, maximization of daily dietary diversity, and/or responses to the threat of territorial encroachment by neighboring groups. Food patches across home ranges of five adjacent saki groups were widely spread, but areas with higher densities of stems or food species were not allocated greater feeding time. Foraging patterns-specifically, relatively long daily travel paths that bypassed available fruiting trees and relatively short feeding bouts in undepleted food patches-suggest a strategy that maximizes dietary diversification, rather than "optimal" foraging. Travel distance was unrelated to the proportion of seeds in the diet. Moreover, while taxonomically diverse, the daily diets of our study groups were no more species-rich than randomly derived diets based on co-occurring available food species. Sakis preferentially used overlapping areas of their HRs, within which adjacent groups shared many food trees, yet the density of food plants or food species in these areas was no greater than in other HR areas. The high likelihood of depletion by neighboring groups of otherwise enduring food sources may encourage monitoring of peripheral food patches in overlap areas, even if at the expense of immediate energy intake, suggesting that between-group competition is a key driver of fine-scale home range use in sakis.

Existing protected areas in Costa Rica were compared with Holdridge Life Zones to assess their coverage of biodiversity. The analysis revealed that only nine of the 23 life zones or transitional life zones were adequately represented according to our area criterion of >10,000 ha. These zones plus three with between 5000 and 10,000 ha protected, account for 98% of the total area protected in the country. The 11 remaining life zones contained only 2% of Costa Rica's protected area, which leads us to conclude that a significant portion of the country's biodiversity is at risk. The addition of about 400,000 ha to the park system by expanding 12 existing protected areas and establishing one new one would increase the number of adequately protected life zones from the present nine zones to 19. In addition, we propose the establishment of a network of linkage zones, to be developed over the long term, to provide ecological connectivity among the protected areas.

Using data from 10,726 captures of birds in mist nets, we document the high alpha and beta diversity of the understory avifauna in the Tilaran mountains of north-central Costa Rica. We grouped the capture data from 20 sampling sites into five Holdridge life zones that represent a gradient in elevation and seasonality of precipitation. Despite the limited size of the study area (200 kM2) and the relatively small differences in elevation (700 to 1,700 m), major differences were found among each of the five life zones. We recorded a total of 235 species, with species richness increasing downslope on both the Pacific and Caribbean sides of the range. Rarefaction curves showed that the elevational zone of 650 to 750 m on the Caribbean side (Wet Premontane Transition Forest) was the most diverse per unit of mistnetting effort and that the Lower Montane Rain Forest on the continental divide (1,500 to 1,700 m) was the least diverse. Adjacent life zones had similarity indices ranging from 0.30 to 0.47; beta diversity for the region was 0.45. These measures are indicative of a high species turnover among our samples as delimited by Holdridge's life zone system, suggesting a concordance between the life zone system and the distribution of the region's diverse understory avifauna. Elevational migrants made up similar proportions of the avifauna in all five zones, whereas the diversity of long-distance migrants was inversely related to elevation. The distribution of species of conservation concern did not track the pattern of overall diversity. Our results provide several lessons for land managers and present a strong case for the need to preserve large areas with elevational diversity in mountainous regions of the tropics. Received 22 September 1997, accepted 2 April 1998. ALTHOUGH ORNITHOLOGISTS have long been aware of the rapid turnover of bird species across elevational gradients in the Neotropics, quantitative studies of fine-scale distributional patterns are available for very few geographic regions (Terborgh and Weske 1975). Such studies allow us to examine the faunistic composition of communities in different elevational habitats, turnover in species composition among habitats (or beta diversity, sensu Whittaker 1972), and to evaluate the conservation status and determine area requirements for conserving montane biodiversity. The ongoing and projected crisis status of tropical forest conservation demands that we gather this information as rapidly as possible (Diamond 1985, Stotz et al. 1996). 4Present address: Latin America and Caribbean Division, The Nature Conservancy, 1815 North Lynn Street, Arlington, Virginia 22209, USA. E-mail: byoung@tnc.org 5Present address: Monteverde Conservation League, Apartado 10581-1000, San Jose, Costa Rica. We compiled data from a series of mist-netting projects to produce estimates of bird diversity in the Monteverde reserve complex, a composite of private reserves in the Tilaran mountains of north-central Costa Rica. The reserve complex has a rich history of ornithological investigation over the last 25 years, but few studies have addressed the distribution of species across an elevational gradient (Young and McDonald 1998). Previous distributional studies of birds have focused on individual species or restricted guilds (Feinsinger 1977; Tramer 1979; Tramer and Kemp 1980, 1982; Stiles and Smith 1980). Treatments of the entire Monteverde avifauna are currently restricted to observation check-lists (Stiles 1983, Fogden 1993). Our goal was to use a compilation of capture data to describe and characterize the diversity and distribution of the understory avifauna between 700 and 1,700 m on both slopes and the crest of the Tilaran range. We analyzed the distributions of the entire understory avifauna and a subset that included only threatened spe

We describe a 9 m2 drop net and removable walkways designed to quantify densities of small fishes in wetland habitats with low to moderate vegetation density. The method permits the collection of small, quantitative, discrete samples in ecologically sensitive areas by combining rapid net deployment from fixed sites with the carefully contained use of the fish toxicant rotenone. This method requires very little contact with the substrate, causes minimal alteration to the habitat being sampled, samples small fishes in an unbiased manner, and allows for differential sampling of microhabitats within a wetland. When used in dwarf red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) habitat in southern Everglades National Park and adjacent areas (September 1990 to March 1993), we achieved high recovery efficiencies (78–90%) for five common species

Many Neotropical migratory species inhabit both mature and earty-successional forests on their wintering grounds, yet comparisons of survival rates between habitats are lacking. Consequently, the factors affecting habitat suitability for Neotropical migrants and the potential effects of tropical deforestation on migrants are not well understood. We estimated overwinter survival and capture probabilities of Wood Thrush (Hylochichla mustelina), Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus), Hooded Warbler (Wilsonia citrina), and Kentucky Warbler (Oporornis formosus) inhabiting two common tropical habitat types, mature and early-successional forest. Our results suggest that large differences (for example, ratio of survival rates (γ) ≤ 0.85) in overwinter survival between these habitats do not exist for any of these species. Age ratios did not differ between habitats, but males were more common in forest habitats and females more common in successional habitats for Hooded Warblers and Kentucky Warblers. Future research on overwinter survival should address the need for age- and sex-specific survival estimates before we can draw strong conclusions regarding winter habitat suitability. Our estimates of overwinter survival extrapolated to annual survival rates that were generally lower than previous estimates of annual survival of migratory birds. Capture probability differed between habitats for Kentucky Warblers, but our results provide strong evidence against large differences in capture probability between habitats for Wood Thrush, Hooded Warblers, and Ovenbirds. We found no temporal or among-site differences in survival or capture probability for any of the four species. Additional research is needed to examine the effects of winter habitat use on survival during migration and between-winter survival. Numerosas especies Neotropicales migratorias habitan tanto bosques maduros como aquellos en estadios de succesion temprana como sus areas de invernacion; sin embargo, existe un falta de estudios que comparen las tasas de supervivencia entre los distintos habitats. Como consecuencia, no existe una buena comprension de los factores que afectan el grado de adecuacion del habitat para las aves migratorias Neotropicales y los potenciales efectos que la deforestacion de la selva tropical tiene sobre estos. Estimamos la supervivencia de invernacion y la probabilidad de captura de Hylocichla mustelina, Seiurus aurocapillus, Wilsonia citrina y Oporornis formosus que habitan dos tipos de habitats tropicales comunes: bosques de sucesion temprana y bosques maduros. Nuestros resultados sugieren que no existen grandes diferencias en la supervivencia de invernacion (por ejemplo el cociente de tasas de supervivencia [γ] ≤ 0.85) entre estos habitats para ninguna de estas especies. Las proporciones de edades no difirieron entre los habitats, pero los machos fueron mas comunes en los bosques maduros y las hembras lo fueron en los habitats sucesionales para Wilsonia citrina y Oporornis formosus. La investigacion futura sobre la supervivencia de invernacion debe considerar la necesidad de estimaciones de supervivencia especificas por edad y sexo antes de llegar a conclusiones terminantes con respecto a la adecuacion del habitat invernal. Nuestras estimaciones de supervivencia invernal se tradujeron en tasas de supervivencia anual que fueron generalmente mas bajas que estimaciones previas de supervivencia anual de aves migratorias. La probabilidad de captura de Oporornis formosus difirio entre los habitats, pero nuestros resultados proveen una evidencia sustancial en contra de grandes diferencias entre habitats para la probabilidad de captura de Hylocichia mustelina, Seiurus aurocapillus y Wilsonia citrina. No encontramos diferencias temporales o entre sitios en la probabilidad de supervivencia y captura para ninguna de las 4 especies. Se necesita una investigacion adicional para examinar los efectos del uso del habitat invernal sobre la supervivencia durante la migracion y la supervivencia entre inviernos.

As habitat loss continues, natural protected areas will become islands in human-modified landscapes; maintenance of functional communities and ecosystems will depend on properly designed protected areas. We demonstrate that incorporating regional habitat linkages that allow for seasonal migrations of intratropical resident species must be a major design criterion for establishing protected areas. Using radiotelemetry, we monitored the seasonal movements of one such migrant, the Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno), a large, frugivorous bird, one of many tropical residents known to migrate altitudinally within Mesoamerica. Based on three years of data we determined that quetzals followed a complicated local migration that linked four montane life zones. Using this species as an indicator revealed that the configuration of the Monteverde reserve complex in the Tilaran Mountains in west-central Costa Rica lacked sufficient habitat distribution to conserve montane biodiversity. On the basis of these results, we propose that the three-step process proposed by Soule and Simberloff (1986) for estimating minimum sizes of reserves be amended to include a fourth step: The critical habitats used throughout the annual cycles of target or keystone species must be identified and adequately protected. Natural protected areas can be considered adequately designed only when sufficient area with a full complement of ecologically linked habitats is included. A medida que la perdida de habitat continua, las areas naturales protegidas se iran transformando en islas dentro de paisajes modificados por las actividades humanas; el mantenimiento de comunidades y ecosistemas funcionales dependera de areas protegidas correctamente disenadas. En el presente estudio demostramos que la incorporacion las conecciones entre habitats de una misma region que permitan las migraciones estacionales de especies residentes intratropicales debe ser un criterio de diseno de gran importancia para el establecimiento de areas protegidas. Por medio del uso de radiotelemetria, supervisamos los movimientos estacionales de uno de tales migrantes, el Quetzal Resplandeciente (Pharomarchrus mocinno), un ave frugivora grande y uno de los tantos residentes tropicales que migran en forma altitudinal dentro de Mesoamerica. En base a tres ano de datos determinamos que los quetzales siguieron una migracion local complicada que conecto cuatro biomas montanos. El uso de esta especie como indicador, revelo que la configuracion del complejo de reservas de Monterverde en las Montanas Tilaran, en el centro-oeste de Costa Rica carecia de una distribucion de habitat suficiente para conservar la biodiversidad montana. Sobre la base estos resultados, proponemos que el proceso en tres etapas para estimar los tamanos minimos de las reservas propuesto por Soule y Simberloff (1986) sea modificado de tal forma que incluya una cuarta etapa; los habitats criticos usados a lo largo de los ciclos anuales de las especies clave deben ser identificados y protegidos adecuadamente. Las areas naturales protegidas solo pueden ser consideradas como disenadas adecuadamente cuando se incluya un area suficiente que comprenda un complemento de los habitats conectados ecologicamente.

SummaryWe documented habitat use by the Resplendent QuetzalPharomacrus mocinno, a large frugivorous bird that breeds in cloud-forests in the highlands of Central America, to assess the adequacy of protection afforded to regional biodiversity by the Monteverde reserve complex, a protected natural area that includes most of the highland forests of the Tilarán mountain range in western Costa Rica. Our results demonstrated that this relatively large (20,000 ha) protected natural area does not adequately protect the area's biodiversity. Through the use of radio-telemetry, we identified the areas on the Pacific slopes that are most critical to altirudinally migrating Quetzals. These forest patches are subject to deforestation and degradation and are rapidly becoming further isolated from other remaining forest. The possibility of the local extirpation of the Quetzal, through continued habitat loss on the Pacific slopes, presents an unusual dilemma for the region because the species is the major attraction for the Ideal tourist industry which now includes over 80 businesses and annually generates over US$5 million in local revenue. Therefore, its extirpation would seriously affect regional economic stability. In order to protect the Monteverde Quetzal population, we propose a regional conservation plan that depends on participation of local landowners to protect their remaining forest fragments and allows for the development of corridors to connect critical habitats as the focus of a regional conservation effort. While the ecological significance of the structure of corridors per se, versus other possible formats, is still being debated, we have selected the corridor format primarily because it is relatively easy for landowners to grasp the concept and the necessity for continuity of the corridor network. This recognition provides an important incentive for participation across property boundaries, promoting cooperation in a group effort rather than as isolated actions. Success of this cooperative plan will provide an example for grass-roots participation in buffer-zone management strategies elsewhere in the Neotropics.

Skole et al. (1) claim that we do not make a case for high-resolution carbon stock and emissions mapping in tropical forests. Specifically, they argue that (i) our Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 1 estimates for the Peruvian Amazon study are biased, (ii) our plot-level carbon estimates used to calibrate airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) are flawed, and (iii) our regional mapping of carbon stocks is low compared with a their estimate using field data from a previous local-scale study. However, their critique is based on misstatements about our methods and a misunderstanding of carbon stock variation throughout the region.

The primary source of nutrients for seagrass growth is considered to be the sediment porewater. Porewater nutrient concentrations were measured in 18 seagrass beds across Florida Bay, USA, a shallow, seagrass-dominated subtropical embayment, during the summers of 1987 and 1988. Concentrations of nutrients in porewater varied widely, with median values of 0.34 μM for soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and 78.6 μM for NH 4 + . SRP and NH 4 + concentrations were positively correlated. Due to spatial heterogeneity, there were no apparent trends with sediment depth (down to 40 cm) in the porewater nutrient concentrations. The SRP concentration of the porewater was highest in areas supporting Halodule wrightii, intermediate in areas of Thalassia testudinum, and lowest in sediments without seagrasses. There was no similar relationship with NH 4 + . Porewater SRP, but not NH 4 + , was significantly correlated with total seagrass standing crop. Elemental content (both N and P) of green leaves of T. testudinum was a function of the concentration of the nutrients in the porewater. Standing crop of T. testudinum was correlated with phosphorus content, but not with N content, of the seagrass leaves. The results support the hypothesis that sediment porewaters are the most important source of nutrients for seagrass growth. In this subtropical carbonate environment, the availability of phosphorus in the porewater limits the development, and controls the species composition, of seagrass beds.

Colonies/roosts of piscivorous birds in Florida Bay, a subtropical estuary, concentrate nutrients by feeding away from their colonies/roosts and returning with food for young and to defaecate. Seagrass beds surrounding the colony islands were markedly different from those around similar islands that did not contain colonies. Seagrass standing crop was enhanced up to 200 m from bird colony islands compared with islands without colonies. The species of seagrass were also different at colonies, where Halodule wrightii and Ruppia maritima predominated in zones close to the colony islands. Around islands without colonies, only Thalassia testudinum was present. Experimental bird perches placed to stimulate concentrated bird presence produced changes in adjacent seagrass meadows that were similar to differences between islands with colonies and those without. Over 5 years, seagrass standing crop increased around the experimental perches, and species dominance shifted from T. testudinum to H. wrightii. No similar changes occurred at control locations. These experimental results indicate that the bird concentrations are responsible for the observed differences in seagrass communities surrounding islands that contain colonies. These enriched areas are significant to the seagrass ecosystem because many seagrasses in Florida Bay appear to be nutrient-limited. Demersal fish and invertebrate density and species richness have been shown to be a function of the seagrass standing crop and species composition, so the changes in seagrasses stimulated by localized bird concentrations have the capacity to alter the entire community structure.

Unsupervised classification of Landsat-TM data was employed to identify habitats important for migratory birds in Costa Rica. The overall habitat classification accuracy was 70 per cent (Kappa correction). Mature forest could be identified with high accuracy (93 per cent) but Landsat-TM classification accuracy for major successional stages was low. Habitat availability and conversion rates from 1976 to 1986 were derived from multidate Landsat imagery supplemented with interpretation of historical air photos to document the specific types of habitat change. The major trend in habitat conversion between 1976 and 1984 was forest clearing followed by establishment of permanent pasture. Some of the pasture land was converted to perennial tree crops by 1986. The implication of habitat modification on groups and species of migrant land birds are discussed.

Seagrasses, largely Thalassia testudinum, occupy habitats atop shallow ( < 0·5 m deep) carbonate mudbanks adjoining basins up to 3 m deep in Florida Bay. We quantified the phenomenon of water trapping whereby, during low tides, the seagrass meadow matrix retains a thin ( < 20 cm) layer of water high on the bank top despite water levels in the adjoining basins being some 25–70 cm lower. The matrix slows water flow off the banks such that changes in the rate at which water recedes through time approximates a sigmoid function of water level. A meadow with a large seagrass standing crop (59·0 g dry mass m−2) held a 17·4-cm layer of water atop the bank, while a meadow of lesser standing crop (less biomass per area, 13·0 g dry mass m−2) that may have been facilitated by a topographical berm held just 3·3 cm of water. Similarly, on the bank slope the higher standing crop meadow held 10·4 cm of water while the bank slope meadow at the site with lesser standing crop held only 1·6 cm of water. Water trapping by seagrass can keep water on the banks for up to 8 h during low tides, preventing desiccation of the bank, and thereby providing permanent habitat for a diverse community of epibenthic fishes and invertebrates. The water trapping phenomenon presumably enhances overall prey abundance and diversity, and regulates the temporal patterns of prey exposure to different types of predation risk, e.g. to wading birds vs. predatory fishes.

Vocal learning is thought to have evolved in three clades of birds (parrots, hummingbirds, and oscine passerines), and three clades of mammals (whales, bats, and primates). Behavioural data indicate that, unlike other suboscine passerines, the three-wattled bellbird Procnias tricarunculata (Cotingidae) is capable of vocal learning. Procnias tricarunculata shows conspicuous vocal ontogeny, striking geographical variation in song, and rapid temporal change in song within a population. Deprivation studies of vocal development in P. tricarunculata are impractical. Here, we report evidence from mitochondrial DNA sequences and nuclear microsatellite loci that genetic variation within and among the four allopatric breeding populations of P. tricarunculata is not congruent with variation in vocal behaviour. Sequences of the mitochondrial DNA control region document extensive haplotype sharing among localities and song types, and no phylogenetic resolution of geographical populations or behavioural groups. The vocally differentiated, allopatric breeding populations of P. tricarunculata are only weakly genetically differentiated populations, and are not distinct taxa. Mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite variation show small (2.9% and 13.5%, respectively) but significant correlation with geographical distance, but no significant residual variation by song type. Estimates of the strength of selection that would be needed to maintain the observed geographical pattern in vocal differentiation if songs were genetically based are unreasonably high, further discrediting the hypothesis of a genetic origin of vocal variation. These data support a fourth, phylogenetically independent origin of avian vocal learning in Procnias . Geographical variations in P. tricarunculata vocal behaviour are likely culturally evolved dialects.

*The Nature Conservancy, 8 S. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2301, Chicago, IL 60603-3318, U.S.A., email jhiggins@tnc.org tWorld Wildlife Fund-U.S., 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037, U.S.A. tThe Nature Conservancy, 3368 W 37th Avenue, Denver, CO 80211, U.S.A. ?The Nature Conservancy, 217 Pine Street, Suite 1100, Seattle, WA 98101, U.S.A. **The Nature Conservancy, 4245 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203, U.S.A.

The wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) is a common understorey species with a range that varies along with the season of the year. During the breeding season it inhabits deciduous and mixed woodlands (Phillips, 1991). During the north temperate winter months (i.e. November-March) the species is found in the wet lowlands of Middle America from southern Mexico to Panama (Rappole et al., 1983; Phillips, 1991) (Figure 6.1).

The meeting The Future of the Amazon: Impacts of Deforestation and Climate Change was held in Panama from 29 to 31 January 2002.

Global conservation assessments require information on the distribution of biodiversity across the planet. Yet this information is often mapped at a very coarse spatial resolution relative to the scale of most land-use and management decisions. Furthermore, such mapping tends to focus selectively on better-known elements of biodiversity (e.g., vertebrates). We introduce a new approach to describing and mapping the global distribution of terrestrial biodiversity that may help to alleviate these problems. This approach focuses on estimating spatial pattern in emergent properties of biodiversity (richness and compositional turnover) rather than distributions of individual species, making it well suited to lesser-known, yet highly diverse, biological groups. We have developed a global biodiversity model linking these properties to mapped ecoregions and fine-scale environmental surfaces. The model is being calibrated progressively using extensive biological data sets for a wide variety of taxa. We also describe an analytical approach to applying our model in global conservation assessments, illustrated with a preliminary analysis of the representativeness of the world's protected-area system. Our approach is intended to complement, not compete with, assessments based on individual species of particular conservation concern.

Long term (8 yr) continuous fertilization (via application of bird feces) of established seagrass beds in Florida Bay, FL, USA caused a change in the dominant seagrass species. Before fertilization, the seagrass beds were a Thalassia testudinum monoculture; after 8 yr of fertilization the seagrass Halodule wrightii made up 97% of the aboveground biomass. Fertilization had a positive effect on the standing crop of T. testudinum for the first two years of the experiment. The transition from T. testudinum-dominated to H. wrightii-dominated was dependent on the timing of colonization of the sites by H. wrightii; the decrease in T. testudinum standing crop and density at the fertilized sites occurred only after the colonization of the sites by H. wrightii. There were no trends in the standing crop or density of T. testudinum at control sites, and none of the control sites were colonized by H. wrightii. The effects of fertilization on these seagrass beds persisted at least 8 yr after the cessation of nutrient addition, suggesting that these systems retain and recycle acquired nutrients efficiently. Results of these experiments suggest that Halodule wrightii, the normal early-successional seagrass during secondary succession in Caribbean seagrass communities, has a higher nutrient demand than Thalassia testudinum, the normal late successional species, and that the replacement of H. wrightii by T. testudinum during secondary succession is due to the ability of T. testudinum to draw nutrient availability below the requirements of H. wrightii

Measurement of survival in nestling ciconiiforms is difficult due to dense vegetation, cryptically plumaged young, and unpredictable movements of mobile nestlings in treetops. Thus, we used posture-sensing radio transmitters to measure survival of nestling tricolored herons (Egretta tricolor) during the 40- to 50-day period when young are mobile in the colony but dependent upon parental feedings; we used the known survival of birds marked with radio transmitters to assess the use of other techniques to estimate survival. We found nestling mortality rates nearly 3 times as high in the post-mobile stage as during the premobile stage