From Fruit to Sapling: An Ontogenetically Integrated, Landscape-level, Community-wide, Long-term Study of Tree Recruitment in Lowland Western Amazonia

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

This award continues a long-term landscape-level study of forest regeneration in the lowland tropical rainforests of Manu National Park in southeastern Peru. The primary goal is to test hypotheses about the relation between seed fall and sapling establishment in this highly diverse tropical tree community. Preliminary evidence suggests that animal-mediated processes such as seed dispersal and herbivory can have a profound influence on the spatial organization of tree communities and favor the maintenance of high diversity in tropical rainforests. The proposed research will generate a multifactorial data set that will allow a comprehensive evaluation of the major factors thought to influence regeneration processes in tropical rainforests, particularly the ecological roles of animals. Broader impacts of this project include the gathering of baseline data for examining the long-term impacts of climate change and human settlement on forest structure and composition in lowland rainforests of the Amazon basin. A deeper understanding of the processes that influence tropical forest regeneration will represent a major advance in basic science that will inform current and future conservation, restoration and management efforts directed towards these ecosystems. The project will be conducted at the Cocha Cashu Biological Station, and will enhance the scientific value of this site for research in tropical ecology. This project will support a postdoctoral student at Duke University and also help prepare the next generation of Peruvian ecologists and conservation scientists - several Peruvian university students will assist in research efforts and receive hands-on training from the principal investigators.