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Author Coté, G.G.; Gibernau, M. url  openurl
  Title Distribution of calcium oxalate crystals in floral organs of araceae in relation to pollination strategy Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication American Journal of Botany Abbreviated Journal Am. J. Bot.  
  Volume 99 Issue 7 Pages 1231-1242  
  Keywords Araceae; Beetles; Calcium oxalate; Crystal; Defense; Flowers; Herbivory; Pollination  
  Abstract Premise of the study: Many flowers are pollinated by potentially hungry insects, yet flowers also contain gametes and embryos which must be protected from predation. Microscopic calcium oxalate crystals in plant tissues have been proposed to protect against herbivory. Aroids, which have an unusual diversity of such crystals, also exhibit diverse pollination strategies. Many species have pollinators that do not feed while visiting the flowers, while other species, especially those pollinated by beetles, offer sterile staminodia as food rewards. We examined flowers of 21 aroid species with various pollination strategies to test the hypothesis that crystals protect vital gametes and embryos while allowing consumption of food bribes.Methods: Aroid inflorescences collected from the field or from greenhouse material were sectioned, cleared, and examined by bright field and polarization microscopy.Key results: All species examined, regardless of pollination strategy, arrayed crystals around unshed pollen and ovules. Less vital tissues, such as odoriferous appendages, had few crystals. Staminodia offered as food to beetle pollinators, however, differed greatly between species in their crystal contents. Some had minimal crystals; some had crystals in patterns suggesting they limit beetle feeding; still others had abundant crystals in no obvious pattern.Conclusions: The results are consistent with crystals protecting against insect predation of gametes and embryos. However, the role of crystals in food-bribe staminodia is unclear. They may limit and direct feeding by beetles in some species, while in others they might have no protective role. © 2012 Botanical Society of America.  
  Address CNRS-Ecolog (UMR 8172), Campus Agronomique BP316, Korou cedex 97379, France  
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  ISSN 00029122 (Issn) ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Export Date: 10 August 2012; Source: Scopus; Coden: Ajboa; doi: 10.3732/ajb.1100499; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Coté, G. G.; Biology Department, Radford University, Radford, VA 24142-6931, United States; email: gcote@radford.edu Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 420  
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Author Salvin, P.; Roos, C.; Robert, F. url  openurl
  Title Tropical mangrove sediments as a natural inoculum for efficient electroactive biofilms Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication Bioresource Technology Abbreviated Journal Bioresour. Technol.  
  Volume 120 Issue Pages 45-51  
  Keywords Chronoamperometry; Cyclic voltammetry; Electroactive biofilms; Microbial fuel cells; Three-electrode systems  
  Abstract Chronoamperometry is known to be an efficient way to form electroactive biofilms (EAB) on conductive electrodes. For the first time, tropical mangrove sediments are analyzed as a potential inoculum to form MFC anodes with the use of acetate as substrate. The performance of the EAB-coated carbon cloth electrodes are evaluated according to the maximal current density, the coulombic efficiency and the cyclic voltammogramms. Working electrodes (WE) polarized at -0.2V/SCE gave better results compared to -0.4V/SCE and 0.0V/SCE. The maximal current density attained was 12A/m 2 with a CE of 24%. Contributions of the EAB in the generation of current were discussed and mechanisms of electronic transfer by the bacteria were discussed. Epifluorescence and SEM images showed the evolution of the biofilms on the electrode surface and the heterogeneity of the structure. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.  
  Address Laboratoire des Matériaux et des Molécules en Milieu Amazonien, Université des Antilles et de la Guyane, UAG-UMR ECOFOG, F-97337 Cayenne, French Guiana  
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  ISSN 09608524 (Issn) ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Export Date: 16 August 2012; Source: Scopus; Coden: Birte; doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2012.05.131; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Robert, F.; Laboratoire des Matériaux et des Molécules en Milieu Amazonien, Université des Antilles et de la Guyane, UAG-UMR ECOFOG, F-97337 Cayenne, French Guiana; email: florent.robert@guyane.univ-ag.fr Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 421  
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Author Soudani, K.; Hmimina, G.; Delpierre, N.; Pontailler, J.-Y.; Aubinet, M.; Bonal, D.; Caquet, B.; de Grandcourt, A.; Burban, B.; Flechard, C.; Guyon, D.; Granier, A.; Gross, P.; Heinesh, B.; Longdoz, B.; Loustau, D.; Moureaux, C.; Ourcival, J.-M.; Rambal, S.; Saint André, L.; Dufrêne, E. url  openurl
  Title Ground-based Network of NDVI measurements for tracking temporal dynamics of canopy structure and vegetation phenology in different biomes Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication Remote Sensing of Environment Abbreviated Journal Remote Sens. Environ.  
  Volume 123 Issue Pages 234-245  
  Keywords Crops; Evergreen and deciduous forests; Ground-based NDVI; Herbaceous savanna; NDVI time-series; Phenology; Tropical rain forest  
  Abstract Plant phenology characterises the seasonal cyclicity of biological events such as budburst, flowering, fructification, leaf senescence and leaf fall. These biological events are genetically pre-determined but also strongly modulated by climatic conditions, particularly temperature, daylength and water availability. Therefore, the timing of these events is considered as a good indicator of climate change impacts and as a key parameter for understanding and modelling vegetation-climate interactions. In situ observations, empirical or bioclimatic models and remotely sensed time-series data constitute the three possible ways for monitoring the timing of plant phenological events. Remote sensing has the advantage of being the only way of surface sampling at high temporal frequency and, in the case of satellite-based remote sensing, over large regions. Nevertheless, exogenous factors, particularly atmospheric conditions, lead to some uncertainties on the seasonal course of surface reflectance and cause bias in the identification of vegetation phenological events. Since 2005, a network of forest and herbaceous sites has been equipped with laboratory made NDVI sensors to monitor the temporal dynamics of canopy structure and phenology at an intra-daily time step. In this study, we present recent results obtained in several contrasting biomes in France, French Guiana, Belgium and Congo. These sites represent a gradient of vegetation ecosystems: the main evergreen and deciduous forest ecosystems in temperate climate region, an evergreen tropical rain forest in French Guiana, an herbaceous savanna ecosystem in Congo, and a succession of three annual crops in Belgium. In this paper, (1) we provide an accurate description of the seasonal dynamics of vegetation cover in these different ecosystems (2) we identify the most relevant remotely sensed markers from NDVI time-series for determining the dates of the main phenological events that characterize these ecosystems and (3) we discuss the relationships between temporal canopy dynamics and climate factors. In addition to its importance for phenological studies, this ground-based Network of NDVI measurement provides data needed for the calibration and direct validation of satellite observations and products. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.  
  Address INRA, Unité Biogéochimie des Ecosystèmes Forestiers, Champenoux, France  
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  Notes Export Date: 16 August 2012; Source: Scopus; Coden: Rseea; doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2012.03.012; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Soudani, K.; University of Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Laboratoire Ecologie Systematique et Evolution, Faculty of Sciences of OrsayFrance; email: kamel.soudani@u-psud.fr Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 422  
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Author Fromin, N.; Porte, B.; Lensi, R.; Hamelin, J.; Domenach, A.-M.; Buatois, B.; Roggy, J.-C. url  openurl
  Title Spatial variability of the functional stability of microbial respiration process: A microcosm study using tropical forest soil Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication Journal of Soils and Sediments Abbreviated Journal J. Soils Sed.  
  Volume 12 Issue 7 Pages 1030-1039  
  Keywords Disturbance; Diversity-stability relationship; Microbial diversity; Substrate-induced respiration  
  Abstract Purpose: Understanding the ability of ecosystem processes to resist to and to recover from disturbances is critical to sustainable land use. However, the spatial variability of the stability has rarely been addressed. Here, we investigated the functional stability of a soil microbial process for 24 soils collected from adjacent locations from a 0. 3 ha tropical rainforest plot in Paracou, French Guiana. Materials and methods: The 24 locations were characterized regarding soil chemical and biological (microbial diversity) parameters and forest structure. The corresponding soils were submitted to an experimental transient heat disturbance during a microcosm experiment. The response of the respiration process was followed using substrate-induced respiration (SIR). Results and discussion: The response of soil SIR to heat disturbance varied widely between samples. The variability of the SIR response increased just after the disturbance, and a global rather homogeneous decrease in SIR rates was observed 15 and 30 days after. The stability of SIR in response to heat disturbance could not be related to either the genetic or the metabolic diversity of the microbial community. The initial level of SIR before the disturbance was the soil variable that best correlated with the impact of the disturbance: the soil locations with the highest initial SIR rates were the most affected 15 and 30 days after the heat disturbance. Conclusions: Such a heterogeneous response suggests that the response of soil processes to a disturbance will be difficult to assess from only local-scale analyses and highlights the need for spatial explicitness in understanding biogeochemical processes. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.  
  Address UMR EcoFoG, BP 709, 97387 Kourou, French Guiana  
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  ISSN 14390108 (Issn) ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Export Date: 30 July 2012; Source: Scopus; doi: 10.1007/s11368-012-0528-7; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Fromin, N.; CEFE, CNRS UMR 5175, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier cedex 5, France; email: nathalie.fromin@cefe.cnrs.fr Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 415  
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Author Barthe, S.; Gugerli, F.; Barkley, N.A.; Maggia, L.; Cardi, C.; Scotti, I. pdf  url
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  Title Always look on both sides: Phylogenetic information conveyed by simple sequence repeat allele sequences Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication PLoS ONE Abbreviated Journal PLoS ONE  
  Volume 7 Issue 7 Pages e40699  
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  Abstract Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers are widely used tools for inferences about genetic diversity, phylogeography and spatial genetic structure. Their applications assume that variation among alleles is essentially caused by an expansion or contraction of the number of repeats and that, accessorily, mutations in the target sequences follow the stepwise mutation model (SMM). Generally speaking, PCR amplicon sizes are used as direct indicators of the number of SSR repeats composing an allele with the data analysis either ignoring the extent of allele size differences or assuming that there is a direct correlation between differences in amplicon size and evolutionary distance. However, without precisely knowing the kind and distribution of polymorphism within an allele (SSR and the associated flanking region (FR) sequences), it is hard to say what kind of evolutionary message is conveyed by such a synthetic descriptor of polymorphism as DNA amplicon size. In this study, we sequenced several SSR alleles in multiple populations of three divergent tree genera and disentangled the types of polymorphisms contained in each portion of the DNA amplicon containing an SSR. The patterns of diversity provided by amplicon size variation, SSR variation itself, insertions/deletions (indels), and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) observed in the FRs were compared. Amplicon size variation largely reflected SSR repeat number. The amount of variation was as large in FRs as in the SSR itself. The former contributed significantly to the phylogenetic information and sometimes was the main source of differentiation among individuals and populations contained by FR and SSR regions of SSR markers. The presence of mutations occurring at different rates within a marker's sequence offers the opportunity to analyse evolutionary events occurring on various timescales, but at the same time calls for caution in the interpretation of SSR marker data when the distribution of within-locus polymorphism is not known.  
  Address Unité Mixte de Recherche Ecologie des forêts de Guyane, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Kourou, French Guiana  
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  Notes Export Date: 30 July 2012; Source: Scopus; Art. No.: e40699; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040699; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Scotti, I.; Unité Mixte de Recherche Ecologie des forêts de Guyane, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Kourou, French Guiana; email: ivan.scotti@ecofog.gf Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 416  
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Author Dejean, A.; Corbara, B.; Azémar, F.; Carpenter, J.M. url  openurl
  Title When attempts at robbing prey turn fatal Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication Naturwissenschaften Abbreviated Journal Naturwissenschaften  
  Volume 99 Issue 7 Pages 579-582  
  Keywords Ant predation; Azteca andreae; Cleptobiosis; Flies and dung beetles; Myrmecophyte; Reduviidae; Socialwasps; Stinglessbees  
  Abstract Because group-hunting arboreal ants spread-eagle insect prey for a long time before retrieving them, these prey can be coveted by predatory flying insects. Yet, attempting to rob these prey is risky if the ant species is also an effective predator. Here, we show that trying to rob prey from Azteca andreae workers is a fatal error as 268 out of 276 potential cleptobionts (97.1 %) were captured in turn. The ant workers hunt in a group and use the “Velcro®” principle to cling firmly to the leaves of their host tree, permitting them to capture very large prey. Exceptions were one social wasp, plus some Trigona spp. workers and flies that landed directly on the prey and were able to take off immediately when attacked. We conclude that in this situation, previously captured prey attract potential cleptobionts that are captured in turn in most of the cases. © Springer-Verlag 2012.  
  Address Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, United States  
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  ISSN 00281042 (Issn) ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Export Date: 30 July 2012; Source: Scopus; Coden: Natwa; doi: 10.1007/s00114-012-0929-x; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Dejean, A.; CNRS, Écologie des Forêts de Guyane (UMR-CNRS 8172), Campus agronomique, BP 316, 97379 Kourou cedex, France; email: alain.dejean@wanadoo.fr Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 417  
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Author Vincent, G.; Sabatier, D.; Blanc, L.; Chave, J.; Weissenbacher, E.; Pélissier, R.; Fonty, E.; Molino, J.-F.; Couteron, P. url  openurl
  Title Accuracy of small footprint airborne LiDAR in its predictions of tropical moist forest stand structure Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication Remote Sensing of Environment Abbreviated Journal Remote Sens. Environ.  
  Volume 125 Issue Pages 23-33  
  Keywords Basal area; Lidar; Tropical moist forest  
  Abstract We predict stand basal area (BA) from small footprint LiDAR data in 129 one-ha tropical forest plots across four sites in French Guiana and encompassing a great diversity of forest structures resulting from natural (soil and geological substrate) and anthropogenic effects (unlogged and logged forests). We use predictors extracted from the Canopy Height Model to compare models of varying complexity: single or multiple regressions and nested models that predict BA by independent estimates of stem density and quadratic mean diameter. Direct multiple regression was the most accurate, giving a 9.6% Root Mean Squared Error of Prediction (RMSEP). The magnitude of the various errors introduced during the data collection stage is evaluated and their contribution to MSEP is analyzed. It was found that these errors accounted for less than 10% of model MSEP, suggesting that there is considerable scope for model improvement. Although site-specific models showed lower MSEP than global models, stratification by site may not be the optimal solution. The key to future improvement would appear to lie in a stratification that captures variations in relations between LiDAR and forest structure. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.  
  Address ONF, Direction régionale de la Guyane, Cayenne, 97300 France  
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  Notes Export Date: 9 August 2012; Source: Scopus; Article in Press; Coden: Rseea; doi: 10.1016/j.rse.2012.06.019; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Vincent, G.; IRD AMAP CIRAD, TA A-51/PS2, 34398 Montpellier cedex 5, Franceemail: gregoire.vincent@ird.fr Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 418  
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Author Dubois-Fernandez, P.C.; Le Toan, T.; Daniel, S.; Oriot, H.; Chave, J.; Blanc, L.; Villard, L.; Davidson, M.W.J.; Petit, M. url  openurl
  Title The tropiSAR airborne campaign in French Guiana: Objectives, description, and observed temporal behavior of the backscatter signal Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens  
  Volume 50 Issue 8 Pages 3228-3241  
  Keywords Forestry; interferometry; polarimetric synthetic aperture radar  
  Abstract The TropiSAR campaign has been conducted in August 2009 in French Guiana with the ONERA airborne radar system SETHI. The main objective of this campaign was to collect data to support the Phase A of the 7th Earth Explorer candidate mission, BIOMASS. Several specific questions needed to be addressed to consolidate the mission concept following the Phase 0 studies, and the data collection strategy was constructed accordingly. More specifically, a tropical forest data set was required in order to provide test data for the evaluation of the foreseen inversion algorithms and data products. The paper provides a description of the resulting data set which is now available through the European Space Agency website under the airborne campaign link. First results from the TropiSAR database analysis are presented with two in-depth analyses about both the temporal radiometric variation and temporal coherence at P-band. The temporal variations of the backscatter values are less than 0.5 dB throughout the campaign, and the coherence values are observed to stay high even after 22 days. These results are essential for the BIOMASS mission. The observed temporal stability of the backscatter is a good indicator of the expected robustness of the biomass estimation in tropical forests, from cross-polarized backscatter values as regarding environmental changes such as soil moisture. The high temporal coherence observed after a 22-day period is a prerequisite for SAR Polarimetric Interferometry and Tomographic applications in a single satellite configuration. The conclusion then summarizes the paper and identifies the next steps in the analysis. © 2012 IEEE.  
  Address Institut de Recherche Pour le Développement, 31062 Toulouse, France  
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  ISSN 01962892 (Issn) ISBN Medium  
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  Notes Export Date: 9 August 2012; Source: Scopus; Art. No.: 6146421; Coden: Igrsd; doi: 10.1109/TGRS.2011.2180728; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Dubois-Fernandez, P.C.; Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales, Department of Electromagnetism and Radarh, 91761 Palaiseau, France; email: pdubois@onera.fr Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 419  
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Author Thevenin, J.-M.; Rossi, V.; Ducamp, M.; Doare, F.; Condina, V.; Lachenaud, P. pdf  url
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  Title Numerous clones resistant to Phytophthora palmivora in the “Guiana” genetic group of Theobroma cacao L Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication PLoS ONE Abbreviated Journal PLoS ONE  
  Volume 7 Issue 7 Pages e40915  
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  Abstract Cocoa black pod rot, a disease caused by Stramenopiles of the genus Phytophthora, and particularly by the pan-tropical species P. palmivora, causes serious production losses worldwide. In order to reduce the impact of these pests and diseases, preference is given to genetic control using resistant varieties and, to that end, breeders seek sources of resistance in wild cocoa trees. For instance, surveys of spontaneous cocoa trees in French Guiana between 1985 and 1995 led to the collection of abundant plant material forming a particular genetic group (the “Guiana” group). Following numerous one-off studies demonstrating the merits of this group as a source of resistance to Phytophthora, this article presents the results of a comprehensive study assessing the resistance of 186 “Guiana” clones in relation to the Guianan strain (GY 27) of P. palmivora. This study, undertaken in French Guiana, using an efficient methodology (ten series of tests and a statistical test adapted to the ordinal nature of the data) confirmed that the “Guiana” genetic group does indeed constitute an important source of resistance to P. palmivora, though with some variations depending on the demes of origin. Numerous clones (59) proved to be as resistant as the SCAVINA 6 resistance control, whilst nine were statistically more resistant. The “Resistant” and “Moderately Resistant” Guianan clones totalled 108 (58% of the total tested). Some of the clones more resistant than SCAVINA 6 could be incorporated into numerous cocoa breeding programmes, particularly those that also display other notable qualities. The same applies for numerous other clones equivalent to SCAVINA 6, especially the “elite”' clones GU 134-B, GU 139-A and GU 285-A. © 2012 Thevenin et al.  
  Address CIRAD, UMR BGPI, Montpellier, France  
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  Notes Export Date: 16 August 2012; Source: Scopus; Art. No.: e40915; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040915; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Thevenin, J.-M.; CIRAD, UPR Bioagresseurs: Analyse et Maîtrise du Risque, Kourou, Guyane, France; email: jean-marc.thevenin@cirad.fr Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 423  
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Author Zalamea, P.-C.; Heuret, P.; Sarmiento, C.; Rodríguez, M.; Berthouly, A.; Guitet, S.; Nicolini, E.; Delnatte, C.; Barthélémy, D.; Stevenson, P.R. pdf  url
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  Title The genus Cecropia: A biological clock to estimate the age of recently disturbed areas in the neotropics Type Journal Article
  Year 2012 Publication PLoS ONE Abbreviated Journal PLoS ONE  
  Volume 7 Issue 8 Pages e42643  
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  Abstract Forest successional processes following disturbance take decades to play out, even in tropical forests. Nonetheless, records of vegetation change in this ecosystem are scarce, increasing the importance of the chronosequence approach to study forest recovery. However, this approach requires accurate dating of secondary forests, which until now was a difficult and/or expensive task. Cecropia is a widespread and abundant pioneer tree genus of the Neotropics. Here we propose and validate a rapid and straightforward method to estimate the age of secondary forest patches based on morphological observations of Cecropia trees. We found that Cecropia-inferred ages were highly correlated with known ages of the forest. We also demonstrate that Cecropia can be used to accurately date disturbances and propose twenty-one species distributed all over the geographical range of the genus as potential secondary forest chronometer species. Our method is limited in applicability by the maximal longevity of Cecropia individuals. Although the oldest chronosequence used in this study was 20 years old, we argue that at least for the first four decades after disturbance, the method described in this study provides very accurate estimations of secondary forest ages. The age of pioneer trees provides not only information needed to calculate the recovery of carbon stocks that would help to improve forest management, but also provides information needed to characterize the initial floristic composition and the rates of species remigration into secondary forest. Our contribution shows how successional studies can be reliably and inexpensively extended without the need to obtain forest ages based on expensive or potentially inaccurate data across the Neotropics. © 2012 Zalamea et al.  
  Address Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancón, Panama  
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  Notes Export Date: 29 August 2012; Source: Scopus; Art. No.: e42643; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0042643; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Zalamea, P.-C.; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancón, Panama; email: camilozalamea@gmail.com Approved no  
  Call Number EcoFoG @ webmaster @ Serial 424  
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