Global increases in habitat loss and fragmentation have resulted in non-habitat land cover, or the matrix, becoming an increasingly prominent feature of landscapes. The matrix can influence the population dynamics of species in fragments by modifying processes operating locally on individual patches (e.g., edge effects on survival) or at landscape scales (e.g., inter-patch dispersal). However, the relative magnitude of patch- vs. landscape-scale matrix effects on the populations found in patches remains unclear. We established 12 experimental landscapes in which we controlled for habitat amount and fragmentation while manipulating the quality of the matrix around (i) individual habitat patches and (ii) across the entire landscape in a factorial design. We then compared the magnitude of local- and landscape-scale matrix effects on a specialist herbivore, Chelinidea vittiger (Hemiptera: Coreidae). Population size in fragments was influenced by both patch- and landscape-scale treatments: population size increased in patches surrounded by high-quality matrix, but only in landscapes dominated by low-quality matrix, due in part to decreased inter-patch movements in these landscapes. In contrast, the effects on both survival and reproductive output were solely at the patch-scale, with both lower in patches surrounded by low-quality matrix. Our results underscore the outsized importance of matrix habitat immediately adjacent to fragment edges -- even though patch-scale manipulations affected only a fraction (3%) of the area that landscape-scale manipulations did, patch-scale effects were more common. The relationship between dispersal, population size, and scale-dependent effects of matrix quality emphasizes the need to explicitly consider the spatial scale at which different processes operate when predicting responses to habitat fragmentation. Our results also suggest that the matrix immediately adjacent to habitat remnants is of particular importance when considering alternative strategies for landscape conservation or restoration.

List of papers used in literature review for "A lack of open data standards for large infrastructure projects hampers social-ecological research in the Brazilian Amazon"

List of papers used in literature review for "A lack of open data standards for large infrastructure projects hampers social-ecological research in the Brazilian Amazon"

Interactions between plants and herbivores are central in most ecosystems, but their strength is highly variable. The amount of variability within a system is thought to influence most aspects of plant-herbivore biology, from ecological stability to plant defense evolution. Our understanding of what influences variability, however, is limited by sparse data. We collected standardized surveys of herbivory for 503 plant species at 790 sites across 116° of latitude. With these data, we show that within-population variability in herbivory increases with latitude, decreases with plant size, and is phylogenetically structured. Differences in the magnitude of variability are thus central to how plant-herbivore biology varies across macroscale gradients. We argue that increased focus on interaction variability will advance understanding of patterns of life on Earth.

Habitat fragmentation remains a major focus of research by ecologists decades after being put forward as a threat to the integrity of ecosystems. While studies have documented myriad biotic changes in fragmented landscapes, including the local extinction of species from fragments, the demographic mechanisms underlying these extinctions are rarely known. However, many of them – especially in lowland tropical forests – are thought to be driven by one of two mechanisms: (1) reduced recruitment in fragments resulting from changes in the diversity or abundance of pollinators and seed dispersers or (2) increased rates of individual mortality in fragments due to dramatically altered abiotic conditions, especially near fragment edges. Unfortunately, there have been few tests of these potential mechanisms due to the paucity of long-term and comprehensive demographic data collected in both forest fragments and continuous forest sites. Here we report 11 years (1998-2009) of demographic data from populations of the Amazonian understory herb Heliconia acuminata (LC Rich.) found at Brazil’s Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP). The resulting data set comprises >66000 plant×year records of 8586 plants, including 3464 seedlings that became established after the initial census. Seven populations were in experimentally isolated fragments (one in each of four 1-ha fragments and one in each of three 10-ha fragments), with the remaining six populations in continuous forest. Each population was in a 50×100m permanent plot, with the distance between plots ranging from 500 m-60 km. The plants in each plot were censused annually, at which time we recorded, identified, marked, and measured new seedlings, identified any previously marked plants that died, and recorded the size of surviving individuals. Each plot was also surveyed 4-5 times during the flowering season to identify reproductive plants and record the number of inflorescences each produced. These data have been used to investigate topics ranging from the way fragmentation-related reductions in germination influence population dynamics to statistical methods for analyzing reproductive rates. This breadth of prior use reflects the value of these data to future researchers. In addition to analyses of plant responses to habitat fragmentation, these data can be used to address fundamental questions in plant demography, the evolutionary ecology of tropical plants, and for developing and testing demographic models and tools. Though we welcome opportunities to collaborate with interested users, there are no restrictions on the use this data set. However, we do request that those using the data for teaching or research inform us of how they are doing so and cite this paper and the data archive when appropriate. Any publication using the data must also include a BDFFP Technical Series Number in the Acknowledgments. Authors can request this series number upon the acceptance of their article by contacting the BDFFP’s Scientific Coordinator or E. M. Bruna.

List of papers used in literature review for "A lack of open data standards for large infrastructure projects hampers social-ecological research in the Brazilian Amazon"

This is the length (in cm) and area (in cm squared) of N = 144 leaves of the Amazonian understory herb Heliconia acuminata (Heliconiaceae) collected in Reserve #1501 of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project near Manaus, Brazil. Leaves were traced onto paper and the length and area of each leaf tracing were measured with a LI-COR Model 3000A Leaf Area Meter. For additional details on the study species, site, and use of these data see the following article: Bruna, E. M., O. Nardy, S. Y. Strauss, and S. P. Harrison. 2002. Experimental assessment of Heliconia acuminata growth in a fragmented Amazonian landscape. Journal of Ecology, 90(4): 639-649.

This is the length (in cm) and area (in cm squared) of N = 144 leaves of the Amazonian understory herb Heliconia acuminata (Heliconiaceae) collected in Reserve #1501 of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project near Manaus, Brazil. Leaves were traced onto paper and the length and area of each leaf tracing were measured with a LI-COR Model 3000A Leaf Area Meter. For additional details on the study species, site, and use of these data see the following article: Bruna, E. M., O. Nardy, S. Y. Strauss, and S. P. Harrison. 2002. Experimental assessment of Heliconia acuminata growth in a fragmented Amazonian landscape. Journal of Ecology, 90(4): 639-649.

Initial release of the data and code

Initial release of the data and code