Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Assisted Detection of Rock Outcrops in Appalachian Hardwood Forests

The identification of small habitat features embedded within forest ecosystems is a challenge for many wildlife inventory and monitoring programs, especially for those involving rock outcrop specialist taxa. Rock outcrops are often difficult to remotely detect in dense Appalachian hardwood forests, as most outcrops remain hidden under the forest canopy and therefore invisible when relying on aerial orthoimagery to pinpoint habitat features. We investigated the ability for light detection and ranging (LiDAR) point cloud data to identify small rock outcrops during the environmental assessment phase of a proposed management project on the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia, USA. We specifically compared this approach to the visual identification of rock outcrops across the same area using aerial orthoimagery. Our LiDAR-based approach identified three times as many rock outcrop sites as aerial orthoimagery, resulting in the field-verification of four times as many previously-unknown populations of green salamanders Aneides aeneus, a rock outcrop specialist amphibian of high conservation concern, than would have been possible if relying on aerial orthoimagery alone to guide surveys. Our results indicate that LiDAR-based methods may provide an effective, efficient, and low-error approach that can remotely identify below-canopy rock outcrops embedded within Appalachian forests, especially when researchers lack pre-existing knowledge of local terrain and the location of habitat features.

Biomarkers in the rock outcrop of the Kazusa Group reveal palaeoenvironments of the Kuroshio region

Long-chain alkenones and n-alkanes preserved in marine and lake sediment cores are widely used to reconstruct palaeoenvironments. However, applying this technique to exposed sedimentary rock sequences is relatively challenging due to the potential for the diagenetic alteration of organic biomarkers. Here, we extract long-chain alkenones and n-alkanes from an exposed outcrop of the Kazusa Group in central Japan, one of the most continuous sedimentary successions in the world, covering almost the entire Pleistocene. We find that the alkenone unsaturation ratio and average chain length of n-alkanes appears to reflect the glacial-interglacial changes in sea surface temperature and terrestrial climate, respectively. Alkenone-based sea surface temperatures between 1.1 and 1.0 million years ago concur with foraminiferal Mg/Ca-based temperature estimates and may reflect an intrusion of the Kuroshio Current. We suggest that the preservation of these biomarkers in the Kazusa Group demonstrates its potential to provide a detailed palaeoenvironmental record.

Phylogenetic Divergence and Ecophysiological Variation in the Disjunct Kalmia buxifolia (Sand-myrtle, Ericaceae)

Abstract—Kalmia buxifolia (sand-myrtle, Ericaceae) is disjunctly distributed across the high-elevation rock outcrops of the southern Appalachians, upper monadnocks and pine savannas of the Carolina Piedmont and Coastal Plain, and the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Here, we sampled plants from each region and reconstructed the phylogeographic history of K. buxifolia to test a rock-outcrop Pleistocene refugium hypothesis, estimate the potential direction(s) and timing of migration, and date divergence from its alpine sister species, K. procumbens. We also assess whether isolation in these different environments has led to variation in intrinsic water-use efficiency. Dating analysis challenges the current hypothesis that rock-outcrop species are relics of Pleistocene refugia (< 18,000 ybp), placing the divergence of K. buxifolia and K. procumbens much earlier, in the late-Miocene (9.40 Ma). Chloroplast haplotype analysis indicates four potential refugial sites, with the most ancient on Mount LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains, and point to an Appalachian corridor as the likely Pine Barrens colonization route. The sister species divergence time and population level divergences within K. buxifolia generally coincide with major climatic shifts from the late-Miocene to mid-Pleistocene. Results from carbon isotope discrimination indicate that plant water-use varies geographically within K. buxifolia, as does leaf morphology, although it is unclear whether this variation is due to genetic adaptation or phenotypic plasticity. These patterns of phylogenetic divergence and resulting ecophysiological diversity within K. buxifolia are significant for clarifying long-held questions about the biogeographic history and trait differentiation within this species. Further, our results suggest that high-elevation rock outcrop communities may have been inhabitated by northern-affinity species for much longer than previously assumed, and that subsequent population disjunction and isolation may have resulted in ecophysiological differentiation in these communities.

Biomarkers in the rock outcrop of the Kazusa Group reveal paleoenvironments of the Kuroshio region

The classical biomarkers of long-chain alkenones and n-alkanes preserved in marine and lake sediment cores are widely used to reconstruct paleoenvironments. Here, we detected these biomarkers are preserved in the rock outcrop of the Kazusa Group exposed in central Japan, the most continuous sedimentary succession in the world, covering almost the entire Pleistocene. The alkenone unsaturation ratio and average chain length of n-alkanes appeared to reflect the glacial-interglacial changes in the sea surface temperature (SST) and terrestrial climate, respectively. Alkenone-based SSTs during 1.1–1.0 Ma were significantly higher than present-day SSTs in the same area, as supported by foraminiferal Mg/Ca-based temperatures, possibly reflecting the direct intrusion of the warm Kuroshio Current. Applying these biomarkers, which might be circumstantially preserved owing to their immunity to high temperature and consolidation stress during burial and uplift, we expect that the Kazusa Group should reveal detailed oceanic and atmospheric changes of the Kuroshio region.

Floristic diversity of Anjaneri Hills, Maharashtra, India

High altitude plateaux are found throughout northern Western Ghats. These plateaux harbor a great diversity of monsoon flora and endemism but are highly neglected due to the seasonality and harsh climatic conditions. Anjaneri Hill is an important rock outcrop in northern Western Ghats. It is the type locality of Ceropegia anjanerica. As an attempt to make a floristic inventory of an important area, a preliminary study was undertaken. A total of 385 flowering plants from 68 families have been reported from Anjaneri protected area in the present study, of these 114 are endemics. Out of these 114 species, 81 are endemic to India while 33 taxa are endemic to the Western Ghats. Anjaneri rock outcrop shows great floral diversity due to varied microhabitats. The observations on phenology and adaptive traits were recorded. The data on geology and geomorphology is presented in order to understand the geological nature of the rock outcrop. Intensive study on varied microhabitat is needed for the documentation of floral diversity existing on the Anjaneri Hill.

Living among thorns: herpetofaunal community (Anura and Squamata) associated to the rupicolous bromeliad Encholirium spectabile (Pitcairnioideae) in the Brazilian semi-arid Caatinga

Bromeliads are important habitats for reptiles and amphibians, and are constantly used as shelter, refuge, foraging or thermoregulation sites due to their foliar architecture, which allows for constant maintenance of humidity and temperature. This study aimed to identify the herpetofauna inhabiting the non-phytotelmata rupicolous bromeliad Encholirium spectabile Mart. ex Schult. &amp; Schult.f. and to analyze the microhabitat usage of these bromeliads by different species in the Caatinga of northeastern Brazil. From January 2011 to August 2012, we collected data by active search throughout three paralel transects in a rock outcrop in the municipality of Santa Maria, state of Rio Grande do Norte. We recorded four species of anuran amphibians, six lizards, and seven snakes in the bromeliads. The average air temperature was lower and air humidity higher inside than outside the bromeliads, and bromeliads at the rock outcrop borders had lower temperatures and higher humidity than those at the center. We found a significant difference in the distribution of individuals throughout the rock outcrop, with most specimens found at the borders. We also found significant differences regarding the use of each microhabitat by the taxonomic groups, with lizards and snakes using green leaves and dry leaves evenly, along with fewer records in inflorescence stems, and anurans mainly using green leaves, with few records on dry leaves, and no records in the inflorescence stems. This study highlights rupicolous bromeliads as key elements in the conservation and maintenance of amphibians and reptiles in the rock outcrops of Brazilian semi-arid Caatinga.