Castela senticosa (Simaroubaceae: Sapindales), a New Species from the Caribbean Clade Endemic to Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest on Hispaniola

Abstract— Recent fieldwork in the Sierra Martín García in southwestern Dominican Republic has yielded a new species of the American clade Castela (Simaroubaceae), Castela senticosa sp. nov., from seasonally dry tropical forest. This species has been collected from two separate localities, including Môle St. Nicolas in northwestern Haiti in 1929, but until now fertile material with both flowers and fruit was unknown. We provide a photographic plate and illustration, place it phylogenetically using plastome data, and compare it morphologically with close relatives. This increases the number of known species of Castela on Hispaniola from one to two, both of which are endemic but from different clades, and yields another species for the Greater Antilles, a known biodiversity hotspot and clear center of diversification for this group of arid-adapted, thorny shrubs. This work emphasizes that seasonally dry, tropical forests, although often understudied, house as yet undiscovered biodiversity and deserve far more comprehensive studies.

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A new cryptic species of Oreobates (Anura: Craugastoridae) from the seasonally dry tropical forest of central Brazil

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4441.1.5 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4441 (1) ◽

pp. 89 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

WILIAN VAZ-SILVA ◽

NATAN MEDEIROS MACIEL ◽

SHEILA PEREIRA DE ANDRADE ◽

RENATA CECÍLIA AMARO

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Tropical Forest ◽

Dominant Frequency ◽

Phylogenetic Position ◽

Molecular Evidence ◽

Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest ◽

Dry Tropical Forest ◽

Seasonally Dry ◽

Central Brazil ◽

Rag 1

A new species of Oreobates Jiménez de la Espada, 1872 is described from the seasonally dry tropical forest associated to rocky outcrops of the northeastern Goiás State, Central Brazil. Oreobates antrum sp. nov. is diagnosable by the combination of morphological characters (e.g. small size, dorsal and ventral skin texture smooth to finely shagreened, and broadly enlarged truncate discs on Fingers III and IV), call attributes (composed of a single note and no harmonics with dominant frequency ranged 2070 Hz to 3273 Hz), and supported by molecular evidence (phylogenetic position and genetic divergence) with high degree of differentiation among other Oreobates species (divergences of 4.0–20.6% for 12S, 7.0–14% for 16S, 0.7–4.0% for RAG-1, and 1.1–8.0% for TYR). The new species was recovered as the sister of Oreobates remotus.

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A NEW SPECIES OF TUBEROUS BEGONIA (BEGONIACEAE) FROM ANDEAN PERU

Edinburgh Journal of Botany ◽

10.1017/s0960428619000301 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 77 (1) ◽

pp. 145-159

Author(s):

P. W. Moonlight ◽

R. Hollands ◽

A. Cano ◽

D. A. Purvis

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Tropical Forest ◽

Related Species ◽

Conservation Status ◽

South American ◽

Forest Environment ◽

Closely Related Species ◽

Dry Tropical Forest ◽

Seasonally Dry ◽

A New Species

A striking new species of Begonia, B. joshii, is described from Amazonas Region, Peru. The new species is unusual among the South American members of the genus both in its combination of tuberous habit with peltate leaves and in living in a seasonally dry tropical forest environment. A phylogeny of this and closely related species is presented, and its sectional affiliation and IUCN conservation status are discussed. A key to the peltate Peruvian species of Begonia is provided.

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Phytosociology of a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest in the State of Michoacán, Mexico

Botanical Sciences ◽

10.17129/botsci.2568 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 98 (4) ◽

pp. 441-467

Author(s):

Consuelo Medina-García ◽

Alejandro Velázquez ◽

Joaquin Giménez de Azcárate ◽

Miguel Ángel Macías-Rodríguez ◽

Alejandra Larrazábal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tropical Forest ◽

Tropical Forests ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest ◽

Mexican Pacific ◽

Dry Tropical Forest ◽

Seasonally Dry ◽

Plant Associations ◽

Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests ◽

Dry Tropical Forests

Background: seasonally dry tropical forests are considered critical and important ecosystems because they harbor exceptional biological diversity. Mexico lacks sound phytosociological studies of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest and Michoacán is no exception. The present study may be regarded the first phytosociological in most of the Mexican pacific coast where seasonally dry tropical forests occurs. Questions/Objective: We aimed at describing the representative plant associations of the seasonally dry tropical forest, distributed on western Michoacán and to provide a sintaxonomic classification framework based on the floristic differentiation of the recognized communities and highlight its phytocenotic diversity. Study site and dates: Estado de Michoacán; 20 years. Methods: A total of 82 phytosociological inventories were conducted. Data were submitted to multivariate two-way indicator species analyses to depict plant communities and their ecological affinities. Results: From its analysis and interpretation, nine plant groups were differentiated, of which all but one was given the rank of association, which are Lysilomo acapulcensis–Heliocarpetum terebinthinacei, Ceibo aesculifoliae–Lysilometum divaricatae, Caesalpinio platylobae-Cordietum elaeagnoidis, Cochlospermo vitifolii-Lueheetum candidae, Lysilomo divaricatae-Cordietum elaeagnoidis; Stenocereo quevedonis-Cordietum selerianae, Guazumo ulmifoliae-Cordietum elaeagnoidis¸ Lonchocarpo huetamoensis-Cordietum elaeagnoidis and the community of Spondias purpurea-Cochlospermum vitifolium. Conclusions: Comparative floristic and structural profiles among plant communities permitted us to distinguish their bioclimatic relationships. Diagnostic species representative of all plant associations were selected and used for sintaxonomic nomenclature. Plant associations were finally array along bioclimatic and altitudinal gradients and showed in arranged phytosociological tables. The plant association/community’descriptions permitted to compare structural physiognomy, floristic composition, ecological affinities, distribution patterns and bioclimatic liaison among them.

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PALEOCLIMATIC AND PALEOECOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTION OF A MIDDLE TO LATE EOCENE SOUTH AMERICAN SEASONALLY DRY TROPICAL FOREST

10.1130/abs/2019am-336594 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Camila Martínez ◽

◽

Carlos Jaramillo ◽

Jhonatan Martínez Murcia ◽

Federico Moreno ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tropical Forest ◽

Late Eocene ◽

South American ◽

Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest ◽

Dry Tropical Forest ◽

Seasonally Dry

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Quantitative estimates of deciduousness in woody species from a seasonally dry tropical forest are related to leaf functional traits and the timing of leaf flush

10.1101/2021.03.03.433407 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Souparna Chakrabarty ◽

Sheetal Sharma ◽

Shatarupa Ganguly ◽

Asmi Jezeera ◽

Neha Mohanbabu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tropical Forest ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Woody Species ◽

Leaf Phenology ◽

Deciduous Species ◽

Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest ◽

Leaf Functional Traits ◽

Dry Tropical Forest ◽

Seasonally Dry ◽

Quantitative Estimates

AbstractLeaf phenology based classification of woody species into discrete evergreen and deciduous categories is widely used in ecology, but these categories hide important variation in leaf phenological behaviour. Few studies have examined the continuous nature of deciduousness and our understanding of variation in quantitative estimates of leaf shedding behaviour and the causes and consequences of this is limited. In this study we monitored leaf phenology in 75 woody species from a seasonally dry tropical forest to quantify three quantitative measures of deciduousness, namely: maximum canopy loss, duration of deciduousness, and average canopy loss. Based on proposed drought tolerance and drought avoidance strategies of evergreen and deciduous species, respectively, we tested whether the quantitative measures of deciduousness were related to leaf functional traits. Additionally, to understand the functional consequences of variation in deciduousness we examined relationships with the timing of leaf flushing and senescing. We found wide and continuous variation in quantitative measures of deciduousness in these coexisting species. Variation in deciduousness was related to leaf function traits, and the timing of leaf flushing. Along a continuous axis ranging from evergreen to deciduous species, increasing deciduousness was associated with more acquisitive leaf functional traits, with lower leaf mass per area and leaf dry matter content, and greater leaf nitrogen content. These results indicate that the continuous nature of deciduousness is an important component of resource acquisition strategies in woody species from seasonally dry forests.

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