Distribution of aboveground live biomass in the Amazon basin

The amount and spatial distribution of forest biomass in the Amazon basin is a major source of uncertainty in estimating the flux of carbon released from land‐cover and land‐use change. Direct measurements of aboveground live biomass (AGLB) are limited to small areas of forest inventory plots and site‐specific allometric equations that cannot be readily generalized for the entire basin. Furthermore, there is no spaceborne remote sensing instrument that can measure tropical forest biomass directly. To determine the spatial distribution of forest biomass of the Amazon basin, we report a method based on remote sensing metrics representing various forest structural parameters and environmental variables, and more than 500 plot measurements of forest biomass distributed over the basin. A decision tree approach was used to develop the spatial distribution of AGLB for seven distinct biomass classes of lowland old‐growth forests with more than 80% accuracy. AGLB for other vegetation types, such as the woody and herbaceous savanna and secondary forests, was directly estimated with a regression based on satellite data. Results show that AGLB is highest in Central Amazonia and in regions to the east and north, including the Guyanas. Biomass is generally above 300 Mg ha⁻¹ here except in areas of intense logging or open floodplains. In Western Amazonia, from the lowlands of Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia to the Andean mountains, biomass ranges from 150 to 300 Mg ha⁻¹. Most transitional and seasonal forests at the southern and northwestern edges of the basin have biomass ranging from 100 to 200 Mg ha⁻¹. The AGLB distribution has a significant correlation with the length of the dry season. We estimate that the total carbon in forest biomass of the Amazon basin, including the dead and belowground biomass, is 86 Pg C with ±20% uncertainty.     

Phylogeography of Xiphorhynchus fuscus (Passeriformes, Dendrocolaptidae): vicariance and recent demographic expansion in southern Atlantic forest

Knowledge of the evolutionary processes that shaped a biota is important for both academic and conservation purposes. The objective of the present study is to analyse the mitochondrial genetic variation of Xiphorhynchus fuscus (Aves: Dendrocolaptidae) from the southern Atlantic forest in Brazil and Argentina, and to discuss whether the results support different hypotheses regarding the local intraspecific diversification of this species . We sequenced 575 bp of the control region of 114 specimens collected in the Brazilian states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, and Santa Catarina, and in the province of Misiones in Argentina. We studied the population genetic structure with analysis of molecular variance and the demographic history with multiple regression analysis, coalescence simulations, and demographic tests. Xiphorhynchus fuscus presented a significant population genetic structure (Φ_st = 0.57). Three mitochondrial lineages were described, one associated with Xiphorhynchus fuscus tenuirostris and the others with Xiphorhynchus fuscus fuscus. The data did not support the primary influence of geographical barriers or rivers in the intraspecific diversification of X. fuscus in the southern Atlantic forest. Instead, the data supported the influence of isolation by geographical distance, recent vicariance events, and demographic expansions apparently related to Pleistocene and Holocene forest dynamics.  © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 91 , 73–84.     

Flower-visiting bees and the breakdown of the tristylous breeding system of Eichhornia azurea (Swartz) Kunth (Pontederiaceae)

Populations of Eichhornia azurea (Swartz) Kunth (Pontederiaceae) are often composed of three floral morphs that differ in style length and anther position. Hence, E. azurea is described as tristylous. For sexual reproduction the plant requires specialized pollinators able to transfer pollen from flowers with long-, mid-, or short-level anthers to flowers with long-, mid-, or short-styles, respectively. This is because within a floral morph, self-incompatibility is the rule. Populations of E. azurea were studied from six localities in south-eastern Brazil (São Paulo and Minas Gerais). The frequencies of floral morphs, floral morphology and flower-visiting bees were recorded in each population. Ten different bee species were observed visiting plants. Four of them were considered generalist bees and not appropriate for legitimate pollination of the three floral morphs. Another three species were considered opportunists and only three species were considered to be potential pollinators. At the coastal region (Juréia), the plant population lacked the short-styled morph and the mid-styled morph and exhibited a semi-homostylous condition, in which the low-level anthers were adjacent to the stigma. This morph showed high level of self-compatibility. The disappearance of the short-styled morph from this region is likely correlated with the absence of Ancyloscelis gigas Friese, a specialized long-tongued bee that is oligolectic on this plant in other localities.  © 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 77 , 499–507.     

The Buttressed Blue Marble Tree: Wood and Growth Characteristics of Elaeocarpus angustifolius (Elaeocarpaceae)

Elaeocarpus angustifolius, a forest tree native to Australia,was introduced into the Hawaiian Islands and is now naturalizedlocally. The main purpose of this study was to test the hypothesisthat a radial increase in wood specific gravity was presentin trunk wood of these trees, which grow quite large (diameterat breast height=200 cm) and have massive buttress systems.Information on buttress height and number and specific gravityof the outer trunk wood (sampled at breast height), as wellas anatomical characteristics pertaining to conduction (vesseldiameter and density), was obtained from a range of different-sizedtrees. Both buttress height and number increase with increasingtree diameter. Wood specific gravity has a median value of 0.49and increases more than 50% over the range of tree diametersstudied. Vessel diameter increases over two-fold and vesselfrequency decreases with increasing tree diameter, althoughvery large trees (diameters>70 cm) exhibit more variability.Trees have buttresses spaced evenly around the circumference(maximum of 15–20) and exhibit no difference in wood specificgravity on the leeward and windward sides in spite of theirlocation in the trade wind belt. Radial increases in specificgravity of the type documented here may be important in evaluatingthe carbon present in forest stores. Copyright 2000 Annals ofBotany Company Buttresses, wood specific gravity, vessel diameter and density, Elaeocarpus angustifolius.     

WPA guidance on the protection and promotion of mental health in children of persons with severe mental disorders

This guidance details the needs of children, and the qualities of parenting that meet those needs. Parental mental disorders can damage the foetus during pregnancy through the action of drugs, prescribed or abused. Pregnancy and the puerperium can exacerbate or initiate mental illness in susceptible women. After their birth, the children may suffer from the social disadvantage associated with severe mental illness. The parents (depending on the disorder, its severity and its persistence) may have intermittent or prolonged difficulties with parenting, which may sometimes result in childhood psychological disturbance or child maltreatment. This guidance considers ways of preventing, minimizing and remedying these effects. Our recommendations include: education of psychiatrists and related professions about the effect of parental mental illness on children; revision of psychiatric training to increase awareness of patients as caregivers, and to incorporate relevant assessment and intervention into their treatment and rehabilitation; the optimum use of pharmacological treatment during pregnancy; pre-birth planning when women with severe mental illness become pregnant; development of specialist services for pregnant and puerperal women, with assessment of their efficacy; community support for parenting by mothers and fathers with severe mental disorders; standards of good practice for the management of child maltreatment when parents suffer from mental illness; the importance of multi-disciplinary teamwork when helping these families, supporting their children and ensuring child protection; the development of child and adolescent mental health services worldwide.     

The Amazon River system as an ecological barrier driving genetic differentiation of the pink dolphin (Inia geoffrensis)

The pink dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) is widely distributed along the Amazon and Orinoco basins, covering an area of approximately 7 million km². Previous morphological and genetic studies have proposed the existence of at least two evolutionary significant units: one distributed across the Orinoco and Amazon basins and another confined to the Bolivian Amazon. The presence of barriers in the riverine environment has been suggested to play a significant role in shaping present‐day patterns of ecological and genetic structure for this species. In the present study, we examined the phylogeographic structure, lineage divergence time and historical demography using mitochondrial (mt)DNA sequences in different pink dolphin populations distributed in large and small spatial scales, including two neighbouring Brazilian Amazon populations. mtDNA control region (CR) analysis revealed that the Brazilian haplotypes occupy an intermediate position compared to three previously studied geographic locations: the Colombian Amazon, the Colombian Orinoco, and the Bolivian Amazon. On a local scale, we have identified a pattern of maternal isolation between two neighbouring populations from Brazil. Six mtDNA CR haplotypes were identified in Brazil with no sharing between the two populations, as well as specific cytochrome b (cyt b) haplotypes identified in each locality. In addition, we analyzed autosomal microsatellites to investigate male‐mediated gene flow and demographic changes within the study area in Brazil. Data analysis of 14 microsatellite loci failed to detect significant population subdivision, suggesting that male‐mediated gene flow may maintain homogeneity between these two locations. Moreover, both mtDNA and microsatellite data indicate a major demographic collapse within Brazil in the late Pleistocene. Bayesian skyline plots (BSP) of mtDNA data revealed a stable population for Colombian and Brazilian Amazon lineages through time, whereas a population decline was demonstrated in the Colombian Orinoco lineage. Moreover, BSP and Tajima's D and Fu's F_s tests revealed a recent population expansion exclusively in the Bolivian sample. Finally, we estimated that the diversification of the Inia sp. lineage began in the Late Pliocene (approximately 3.1 Mya) and continued throughout the Pleistocene. Published 2011. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102 , 812–827.