Refuting the hypothesis of Centinelan extinction at its place of origin.

Scientists' limited understanding of tropical plant communities obscures the true extent of species loss caused by habitat destruction1. The Centinelan extinction hypothesis2,3 posits an extreme but widely referenced scenario wherein forest clearing causes the immediate extinction of species known only from a single geographic location. It remains unclear, however, whether the disappearance of such microendemics reflects their global extinction or insufficient collection effort at larger scales. Here we test these hypotheses by synthesizing decades of floristic data from the heavily deforested tropical cloud forest (TCF) at Centinela, Ecuador. We find that 99% of its putative microendemics have been collected elsewhere and are not extinct. Our field work also revealed new species, highlighting the enduring conservation value of TCFs and the intense efforts required to illuminate such plant diversity 'darkspots'4. Field and herbarium research remain essential to the conservation action needed to forestall large-scale plant extinctions in Earth's beleaguered cloud forests.

Past Fire and Vegetation Change in the Hyperdiverse Forests of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

The Ecuadorian Amazon holds more biodiversity than most other places on Earth. Palms are a particularly dominant component of the vegetation; however, it remains unknown to what degree the pattern has persisted through time. Here, we investigate the persistence of palm dominance through time and the degree to which past human activities (e.g., fire, cultivation, and forest opening) have affected changes in palm abundances across five regions of the Ecuadorian Amazon. We analyzed soil cores (40-80 cm depth) from each region for charcoal (evidence of past fire) and phytoliths (evidence of past vegetation change). The timings of fires (based on 14C radiocarbon dates), the occurrence, recurrence, and number of fires (based on charcoal presence and abundance in samples), and the amount of change in palm abundances (based on phytoliths) varied within and between the studied regions. The charcoal and phytolith results indicate the presence of low levels of past human activity at all sites. Our results show that patterns of modern palm hyperdominance found in Amazonian forests have not been persistent through time, and that even low levels of past human activities can affect palm abundance.

One sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is dependent on river floodplains.

Amazonia's floodplain system is the largest and most biodiverse on Earth. Although forests are crucial to the ecological integrity of floodplains, our understanding of their species composition and how this may differ from surrounding forest types is still far too limited, particularly as changing inundation regimes begin to reshape floodplain tree communities and the critical ecosystem functions they underpin. Here we address this gap by taking a spatially explicit look at Amazonia-wide patterns of tree-species turnover and ecological specialization of the region's floodplain forests. We show that the majority of Amazonian tree species can inhabit floodplains, and about a sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is ecologically specialized on floodplains. The degree of specialization in floodplain communities is driven by regional flood patterns, with the most compositionally differentiated floodplain forests located centrally within the fluvial network and contingent on the most extraordinary flood magnitudes regionally. Our results provide a spatially explicit view of ecological specialization of floodplain forest communities and expose the need for whole-basin hydrological integrity to protect the Amazon's tree diversity and its function.

Niche breadth of Amazonian trees increases with niche optimum across broad edaphic gradients.

Understanding how biotic interactions and environmental filtering mediated by soil properties shape plant community assembly is a major challenge in ecology, especially when studying complex and hyperdiverse ecosystems like tropical forests. To shed light on the influence of both factors, we examined how the edaphic optimum of species (their niche position) related to their edaphic range (their niche breadth) along different environmental gradients and how this translates into functional strategies. Here we tested four scenarios describing the shape of the niche breadth-niche position relationship, including one neutral scenario and three scenarios proposing different relative influences of abiotic and biotic factors on community assembly along a soil resource gradient. To do so, we used soil concentration data for five key nutrients (N, P, Ca, Mg, and K), along with accurate measurements of 14 leaf, stem, and root traits for 246 tree species inventoried in 101 plots located across Eastern (French Guiana) and Western (Peru) Amazonia. We found that species niche breadth increased linearly with species niche position along each soil nutrient gradient. This increase was associated with more resource acquisitive traits in the leaves and the roots for soil N, Ca, Mg, and K concentration, while it was negatively associated with wood density for soil P concentration. These observations agreed with one of our hypothetical scenarios in which species with resource conservation traits are confined to the most nutrient-depleted soils (abiotic filter), but they are outperformed by faster-growing species in more fertile conditions (biotic filter). Our results refine and strengthen support for niche theories of species assembly while providing an integrated approach to improving forest management policies.

Evolutionary genomics of oceanic island radiations.

A recurring feature of oceanic archipelagos is the presence of adaptive radiations that generate endemic, species-rich clades that can offer outstanding insight into the links between ecology and evolution. Recent developments in evolutionary genomics have contributed towards solving long-standing questions at this interface. Using a comprehensive literature search, we identify studies spanning 19 oceanic archipelagos and 110 putative adaptive radiations, but find that most of these radiations have not yet been investigated from an evolutionary genomics perspective. Our review reveals different gaps in knowledge related to the lack of implementation of genomic approaches, as well as undersampled taxonomic and geographic areas. Filling those gaps with the required data will help to deepen our understanding of adaptation, speciation, and other evolutionary processes.

Accelerating the discovery of rare tree species in Amazonian forests: integrating long monitoring tree plot data with metabolomics and phylogenetics for the description of a new species in the hyperdiverse genus Inga Mill.

In species-rich regions and highly speciose genera, the need for species identification and taxonomic recognition has led to the development of emergent technologies. Here, we combine long-term plot data with untargated metabolomics, and morphological and phylogenetic data to describe a new rare species in the hyperdiverse genus of trees Inga Mill. Our combined data show that Inga coleyana is a new lineage splitting from their closest relatives I. coruscans and I. cylindrica. Moreover, analyses of the chemical defensive profile demonstrate that I. coleyana has a very distinctive chemistry from their closest relatives, with I. coleyana having a chemistry based on saponins and I. cylindrica and I. coruscans producing a series of dihydroflavonols in addition to saponins. Finally, data from our network of plots suggest that I. coleyana is a rare and probably endemic taxon in the hyper-diverse genus Inga. Thus, the synergy produced by different approaches, such as long-term plot data and metabolomics, could accelerate taxonomic recognition in challenging tropical biomes.

The contribution of environmental and dispersal filters on phylogenetic and taxonomic beta diversity patterns in Amazonian tree communities.

Environmental and dispersal filters are key determinants of species distributions of Amazonian tree communities. However, a comprehensive analysis of the role of environmental and dispersal filters is needed to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that drive phylogenetic and taxonomic turnover of Amazonian tree communities. We compare measures of taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity in 41 one-hectare plots to test the relative importance of climate, soils, geology, geomorphology, pure spatial variables and the spatial variation of environmental drivers of phylogenetic and taxonomic turnover in Ecuadorian Amazon tree communities. We found low phylogenetic and high taxonomic turnover with respect to environmental and dispersal filters. In addition, our results suggest that climate is a significantly better predictor of phylogenetic turnover and taxonomic turnover than geomorphology and soils at all spatial scales. The influence of climate as a predictor of phylogenetic turnover was stronger at broader spatial scales (50 km2) whereas geomorphology and soils appear to be better predictors of taxonomic turnover at mid (5 km2) and fine spatial scales (0.5 km2) but a weak predictor of phylogenetic turnover at broad spatial scales. We also found that the combined effect of geomorphology and soils was significantly higher for taxonomic turnover at all spatial scales but not for phylogenetic turnover at large spatial scales. Geographic distances as proxy of dispersal limitation was a better predictor of phylogenetic turnover at distances of 50 < 500 km. Our findings suggest that climatic variation at regional scales can better predict phylogenetic and taxonomic turnover than geomorphology and soils.

The Radiation of Darwin's Giant Daisies in the Galápagos Islands.

Evolutionary radiations on oceanic islands have fascinated biologists since Darwin's exploration of the Galápagos archipelago [1, 2]. Island radiations can provide key insights for understanding rapid speciation, including evolutionary patterns and the processes behind them. However, lack of resolution of species relationships has historically hindered their investigation, particularly in the plant kingdom [3-5]. Here, we report a time-calibrated phylogenomic analysis based on genotyping-by-sequencing data [6] of the 15 species of Scalesia (Darwin's giant daisies), an iconic and understudied plant radiation endemic to the Galápagos Islands and considered the plant counterpart to Darwin's finches [1, 7-9]. Results support a Pliocene to early Pleistocene divergence between Scalesia and the closest South American relatives, and rapid diversification of extant Scalesia species from a common ancestor dated to the Middle Pleistocene. Major evolutionary patterns in Scalesia include the following: (1) lack of compliance with the "progression rule" hypothesis, in which earlier diverging lineages are expected to occupy older islands; (2) a predominance of within-island speciation over between-island speciation; and (3) repeated convergent evolution of potentially adaptive traits and habitat preferences on different islands during the course of diversification. Massive sequencing provided the essential framework for investigating evolutionary and ecological processes in the complex natural laboratory of the Galápagos, thereby advancing our understanding of island plant radiations.

A new rare and endemic species of Sloanea (Elaeocarpaceae) from the Chocó region of Ecuador.

A new species collected in the lowland forests of the Chocó region of Ecuador, Sloanea cayapensis, is described and illustrated and its morphological similarities with other species of Sloanea are discussed.

Trees of Amazonian Ecuador: a taxonomically verified species list with data on abundance and distribution.

We compiled a data set for all tree species collected to date in lowland Amazonian Ecuador in order to determine the number of tree species in the region. This data set has been extensively verified by taxonomists and is the most comprehensive attempt to evaluate the tree diversity in one of the richest species regions of the Amazon. We used four main sources of data: mounted specimens deposited in Ecuadorian herbaria only, specimen records of a large-scale 1-hectare-plot network (60 plots in total), data from the Missouri Botanical Garden Tropicos® database (MO), and literature sources. The list of 2,296 tree species names we provide in this data set is based on 47,486 herbarium records deposited in the following herbaria: Alfredo Paredes Herbarium (QAP), Catholic University Herbarium (QCA), Herbario Nacional del Ecuador (QCNE), Missouri Botanical Garden (MO), and records from an extensive sampling of 29,768 individuals with diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥10 cm recorded in our plot network. We also provide data for the relative abundance of species, geographic coordinates of specimens deposited in major herbaria around the world, whether the species is native or endemic, current hypothesis of geographic distribution, representative collections, and IUCN threat category for every species recorded to date in Amazonian Ecuador. These data are described in Metadata S1 and can be used for macroecological, evolutionary, or taxonomic studies. There are no copyright restrictions; data are freely available for noncommercial scientific use (CC BY 3.0). Please see Metadata S1 (Class III, Section B.1: Proprietary restrictions) for additional information on usage.

Incorporating phylogenetic information for the definition of floristic districts in hyperdiverse Amazon forests: Implications for conservation.

Using complementary metrics to evaluate phylogenetic diversity can facilitate the delimitation of floristic units and conservation priority areas. In this study, we describe the spatial patterns of phylogenetic alpha and beta diversity, phylogenetic endemism, and evolutionary distinctiveness of the hyperdiverse Ecuador Amazon forests and define priority areas for conservation. We established a network of 62 one-hectare plots in terra firme forests of Ecuadorian Amazon. In these plots, we tagged, collected, and identified every single adult tree with dbh ≥10 cm. These data were combined with a regional community phylogenetic tree to calculate different phylogenetic diversity (PD) metrics in order to create spatial models. We used Loess regression to estimate the spatial variation of taxonomic and phylogenetic beta diversity as well as phylogenetic endemism and evolutionary distinctiveness. We found evidence for the definition of three floristic districts in the Ecuadorian Amazon, supported by both taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity data. Areas with high levels of phylogenetic endemism and evolutionary distinctiveness in Ecuadorian Amazon forests are unprotected. Furthermore, these areas are severely threatened by proposed plans of oil and mining extraction at large scales and should be prioritized in conservation planning for this region.

Estimating and interpreting migration of Amazonian forests using spatially implicit and semi-explicit neutral models.

With many sophisticated methods available for estimating migration, ecologists face the difficult decision of choosing for their specific line of work. Here we test and compare several methods, performing sanity and robustness tests, applying to large-scale data and discussing the results and interpretation. Five methods were selected to compare for their ability to estimate migration from spatially implicit and semi-explicit simulations based on three large-scale field datasets from South America (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Ecuador). Space was incorporated semi-explicitly by a discrete probability mass function for local recruitment, migration from adjacent plots or from a metacommunity. Most methods were able to accurately estimate migration from spatially implicit simulations. For spatially semi-explicit simulations, estimation was shown to be the additive effect of migration from adjacent plots and the metacommunity. It was only accurate when migration from the metacommunity outweighed that of adjacent plots, discrimination, however, proved to be impossible. We show that migration should be considered more an approximation of the resemblance between communities and the summed regional species pool. Application of migration estimates to simulate field datasets did show reasonably good fits and indicated consistent differences between sets in comparison with earlier studies. We conclude that estimates of migration using these methods are more an approximation of the homogenization among local communities over time rather than a direct measurement of migration and hence have a direct relationship with beta diversity. As betadiversity is the result of many (non)-neutral processes, we have to admit that migration as estimated in a spatial explicit world encompasses not only direct migration but is an ecological aggregate of these processes. The parameter m of neutral models then appears more as an emerging property revealed by neutral theory instead of being an effective mechanistic parameter and spatially implicit models should be rejected as an approximation of forest dynamics.

Are all species necessary to reveal ecologically important patterns?

While studying ecological patterns at large scales, ecologists are often unable to identify all collections, forcing them to either omit these unidentified records entirely, without knowing the effect of this, or pursue very costly and time-consuming efforts for identifying them. These "indets" may be of critical importance, but as yet, their impact on the reliability of ecological analyses is poorly known. We investigated the consequence of omitting the unidentified records and provide an explanation for the results. We used three large-scale independent datasets, (Guyana/ Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador) each consisting of records having been identified to a valid species name (identified morpho-species - IMS) and a number of unidentified records (unidentified morpho-species - UMS). A subset was created for each dataset containing only the IMS, which was compared with the complete dataset containing all morpho-species (AMS: = IMS + UMS) for the following analyses: species diversity (Fisher's alpha), similarity of species composition, Mantel test and ordination (NMDS). In addition, we also simulated an even larger number of unidentified records for all three datasets and analyzed the agreement between similarities again with these simulated datasets. For all analyses, results were extremely similar when using the complete datasets or the truncated subsets. IMS predicted ≥91% of the variation in AMS in all tests/analyses. Even when simulating a larger fraction of UMS, IMS predicted the results for AMS rather well. Using only IMS also out-performed using higher taxon data (genus-level identification) for similarity analyses. Finding a high congruence for all analyses when using IMS rather than AMS suggests that patterns of similarity and composition are very robust. In other words, having a large number of unidentified species in a dataset may not affect our conclusions as much as is often thought.