Abstract: Although the potential contribution to tropical tree species coexistence of niche differentiation along light gradients has received much attention, the degree to which species perform differentially along soil resource gradients remains unclear. To examine differential growth response to soil resources, we grew seedlings of nine tropical tree species at 6.0% of full sun for 12 mo in a factorial design of two soil types (clay and white sand), two phosphate fertilization treatments (control and addition of 100 mg P kg(-1)) and two watering treatments (field capacity and water limitation to one-third field capacity). Species differed markedly in biomass growth rate, but this hierarchy was almost completely conserved across all eight treatments. All species grew more slowly in sand than clay soils. and no species grew faster with phosphate additions. Only Eperua grandiflora and E. falcata showed significant growth increases in the absence of water limitation. Faster-growing species were characterized by high specific leaf area, high leaf allocation and high net assimilation rate but not lower root allocation. Slower-growing species exhibited greater plasticity in net assimilation rate. suggesting that tolerance of edaphic stress in these species is related more to stomatal control than to whole-plant carbon allocation. Although relative growth rate for biomass was correlated with both its physiological and morphological components. interspecific differences were best explained by differences in net assimilation rate across six of the eight treatments. A suite of traits including high assimilation and high specific leaf area maintains rapid growth rate of faster-growing species across a wide gradient of soil resources, but the lack of plasticity they exhibit may compromise their survival in the poorest soil environments.

Abstract: Over-exploitation and fragmentation are serious problems for tropical forests. Most sustainable forest management practices avoid clear-cuts and apply selective logging systems focused on a few commercial species. We applied a simulation model to estimate the impact of such selective logging scenarios on the genetic diversity and demography of four tropical tree species from French Guiana. The simulations used data on genetic and demographic composition, growth, phenology and pollen and seed dispersal obtained for Dicorynia guianensis, Sextonia rubra, Symphonia globulifera and Vouacapoua americana at the experimental site in Paracou. Whereas Symphonia globulifera serves as a model for a species with low logging pressure, the other three species represent the most exploited tree species in French Guiana. In simulations with moderate logging, typical for French Guiana, with large cutting diameter (> 60 cm diameter) and long cutting cycles (65 years), the two species V. americana and Sextonia rubra were not able to recover their initial stock at the end of the rotation period, with a large decrease in the number of individuals and in basal area. Under a more intensive logging system (cutting diameter > 45 cm diameter, cutting cycles of 30 years) that is common practice in the Brazilian Amazon, only Symphonia globulifera showed no negative impact. Generally, the differences between the genetic parameters in the control scenarios without logging and the logging scenarios were surprisingly small. The main reasons for this were the overlapping of generations and the effective dispersal ability of gene vectors in all species, which guarantee relative homogeneity of the genetic structure in different age classes. Nevertheless, decreasing the population size by logging reduced the number of genotypes and caused higher genetic distances between the original population and the population at the end of the logging cycles. Sensitivity analysis showed that genetic changes in the logging scenarios were principally determined by the growth, densities and cutting diameter of each species, and only to a very small extent by the reproductive system including factors such as pollen and seed dispersal and flowering phenology. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstract: In this paper we report a study of the mating system and gene flow of Sextonia rubra, a hermaphroditic, insect pollinated tropical tree species with a geographic distribution in the Guyana Plateau and the Amazon. Using five microsatellites we analysed 428 seeds of 27 open pollinated families at the experimental site “Paracou” in French Guiana. We observed, compared to other tropical tree species, a high level of genetic diversity. We estimated parameters of the mating system and gene flow by using the mixed mating model and the TwoGener approach. The estimated multilocus outcrossing rate, t(m), was 0.992 indicating nearly complete outcrossing. A significant level of biparental inbreeding and a:small proportion. of full-sibs were estimated for the 27 seed arrays. The differentiation of allelic frequencies among the pollen pools was (Phi(FT) = 0.061. We estimated mean pollen dispersal distances between 65 m and 89 m according to the dispersal models used. The joint estimation of pollen dispersal and density of reproductive trees gave an effective density estimate of 2.1-2.2 trees/ha.

Abstract: The high tree species diversity in tropical forests is difficult to take into account in models. The usual solution consists of defining groups of species and then adjusting a set of parameters for each group. In this study, we address this issue by allowing a species to move from one species group to another, depending on the biological process that is concerned. We developed this approach with a matrix model of forest dynamics, for a tropical rainforest in French Guiana, at Paracou, focusing on the methodological aspects. The forest dynamics is split into three components: recruitment, growth and mortality. We then built five recruitment groups, five growth groups and five mortality groups. One species is characterized by a combination of the three groups, thus yielding in total 5 X 5 X 5 = 125 possibilities, out of which 43 are actually observed. The resulting matrix model provides a better view of the floristic composition of the forest, and does not have more parameters than it would have with five global species groups. However, its predictions are no more precise than those of the matrix model based on five global groups.

Abstract: Nineteen novel microsatellite loci were isolated from Adenomera andreae, a widespread Amazonian frog considered to be a species complex. Three multiplex kits were optimized. Genetic diversity was assessed in 66 individuals sampled in three populations along the West of the Approuague River catchment (French Guiana). We also tested the multiplex kits in four other Adenomera and nine Leptodactylus species with 43.4 and 17.5% success respectively.