Abstract: Cytogenetic techniques provide powerful insights on species-rich taxa–such as ants–allowing better understanding of their biodiversity. Some hints on evolutionary paths can be observed through comparative populational cytogenetics among different ant groups. In this study, the karyotype of Strumigenys louisianae Roger from the Amazon rainforest is described and showed diploid chromosome number of 26 chromosomes. This configuration intriguingly contrasts with the already described karyotype for this species from the Atlantic rainforest with only 2n = 4 chromosomes. 18S rDNA site were detected on the pericentromeric region of the long arm of a metacentric pair and co-localizing with GC-rich chromatin. Recurrent synonymizations of S. louisianae may not reflect the species status of this taxon. The karyotypic differences and the observable morphological variation between the populations of both localities corroborates the idea of a species complex within S. louisianae. The morphology of S. louisianae from the Amazonian region is similar to that from the United States, the type locality. On the other hand, specimens from the Atlantic rainforest are more similar to the junior synonym Strumigenys unidentata Mayr. This study reinforces the need of taxonomical revision in S. louisianae by means of integrative taxonomy approaches.

Abstract: Selective logging in tropical forests is often perceived as a source of forest degradation and carbon emissions. Improved practices, such as reduced-impact logging (RIL), and alternative timber production strategies (e.g. plantations) can drastically change the overall carbon impact of the wood production sector. Assessing the carbon balance of timber production is crucial but highly dependent on methodological approaches, especially regarding system boundaries and temporality. We developed a temporally-explicit and territory scale model of carbon balance calibrated with long-term local data using Bayesian inference. The model accounts for carbon fluxes from selective logging in natural forest, timber plantation, first transformation and avoided emissions through energy substitution. We used it to compare prospective scenarios of development for the wood sector in French Guiana. Results show that intensification of practices, through increased logging intensity conducted with RIL and establishment of timber plantations, are promising development strategies to reduce the carbon emissions of the French-Guianese wood sector, as well as the area needed for wood production and hence the pressure on natural forests. By reducing logging damage by nearly 50%, RIL allows increasing logging intensity in natural forest from 20 m3 ha−1 to 30 m3 ha−1 without affecting the carbon balance. The use of logging byproducts as fuelwood also improved the carbon balance of selective logging, when substituted to fossil fuel. Allocating less than 30 000 ha to plantation would allow producing 200 000 m3 of timber annually, while the same production in natural forest would imply logging more than 400 000 ha over 60 years. Timber plantation should be preferentially established on non-forested lands, as converting natural forests to plantation leads to high carbon emission peak over the first three decades. We recommend a mixed-strategy combining selective logging in natural forests and plantations as a way to improve long-term carbon balance while reducing short-term emissions. This strategy can reduce the pressure on natural forests while mitigating the risks of changing practices and allowing a diversified source of timber for a diversity of uses. It requires adaptation of the wood sector and development of technical guidelines. Research and monitoring efforts are also needed to assess the impacts of changing practices on other ecosystem services, especially biodiversity conservation.

Abstract: Tropical forests harbor the greatest terrestrial biodiversity and provide various ecosystem services. The increase of human activities on these forests, among which logging, makes the conservation of biodiversity and associated services strongly dependent on the sustainability of these activities. However the indicators commonly used to assess the impact of forest exploitation, namely species richness and biomass, provide a limited understanding of their sustainability. Here, we assessed the sustainability of common forest exploitation in the Guiana Shield studying the recovery of two ecosystem services i.e. carbon storage and wood stock, and an ecosystem function i.e. seed dispersal by animals. Specifically, we compared total and commercial biomass, as well as functional composition in seed size of animal-dispersed species in replicated forest plots before and 27 years after exploitation. Species richness is also studied to allow comparison. While species richness was not affected by forest exploitation, total and commercial biomass as well as seed size of animal-dispersed species decreased 27 years after exploitation, similarly to forests affected by hunting. These results show that ecosystem services and function likely did not recover even at the lowest intensity of forest exploitation studied, questioning the sustainability of the most common rotation-cycle duration applied in the tropics.

Abstract: Aridity has increased in recent decades in the Mediterranean Basin and is projected to continue to increase in the coming decades. We studied the consequences of drought on the concentrations, stoichiometries and stocks of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in leaves, foliar litter of a three dominant woody species and soil of a Mediterranean montane holm oak forest where soil-water content was experimentally reduced (15 % lower than the control plots) for 15 years. Nitrogen stocks were lower in the drought plots than in the control plots (8.81 ± 1.01 kg ha−1 in the forest canopy and 856 ± 120 kg ha−1 in the 0−15 cm soil layer), thus representing 7 and 18 % lower N stocks in the canopy and soil respectively. δ15N was consistently higher under drought conditions in all samples, indicating a general loss of N. Foliar C and K stocks were also lower but to a lesser extent than N. Decreases in biomass and C and N stocks due to drought were smallest for the most dominant tall shrub, Phillyrea latifolia, so our results suggest a lower capacity of this forest to store C and nutrients but also substantial resulting changes in forest structure with increasing drought. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

Abstract: The intensification of dry seasons is a major threat to freshwater biodiversity in Neotropical regions. Little is known about resistance to drying stress and the underpinning traits in Neotropical freshwater species, so we don't know whether desiccation resistance allows to anticipate shifts in biological diversity under future climate scenarios. Here, we used the aquatic invertebrates that live in the rainwater-filled leaves of tank bromeliads, to examine the extent to which desiccation resistance of species measured in the laboratory predicts community response to drought intensification in nature. We measured desiccation resistance in 17 invertebrate species (>90% of the biomass usually found in bromeliads of French Guiana) by recording the median lethal time (LT50) of experimental populations exposed to controlled conditions of residual moisture. In the field, we placed rainshelters above tank bromeliads to emulate drought scenarios ranging from the ambient norm to IPCC scenarios and extreme events, and we recorded the response of functional community structure. LT50 ranged from 4.18 to 19.06 days, and was related to cuticle content and dry body mass. Among other functional indicators that represent strategies to optimize resource use under stressful conditions (e.g., habitat use, trophic specialization), LT50 was the best predictor of community structure responses along a gradient of emulated drought intensities. Therefore, species’ LT50s measured under laboratory conditions can be used to forecast aquatic community response to drying stress in nature. Anticipating how species will cope with drought has never been more important for environmental managers to support climate change adaptation. We show that desiccation resistance in freshwater invertebrates is a key indicator of potential population size and local–global range shifts, and this could be especially true in the Neotropics where species have narrow physiological tolerances for climatic variation. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd