Abstract
Researchers can have unintentional, yet significant effects on their study systems. We tested for the effects of an intensive tree census on seedling dynamics in a 50-ha permanent forest plot on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. At the community level, and for different shade-tolerance guilds, we found no significant differences in seedling recruitment or survival inside compared to controls outside the plot. However, among growth forms, canopy trees and lianas exhibited significantly lower seedling survival inside the plot. Results suggest that intense researcher activity impacts short-term vegetation dynamics, but effects do not accumulate over time.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aide TM (1987) Limbfalls: a major cause of sapling mortality for tropical forest plants. Biotropica 19:284–285
Bender EA, Case TJ, Gilpin ME (1984) Perturbation experiments in community ecology—theory and practice. Ecology 65:1–13
Boucher DH, Aviles J, Chepote R, Domínguez OE, Vilchez B (1991) Recovery of trailside vegetation from trampling in a tropical rainforest. Environ Manage 15:257–262
Cahill JF, Castelli JP, Casper BB (2001) The herbivory uncertainty principle: visiting plants can alter herbivory. Ecology 82:307–312
Castilho CV, Magnusson WE, Araujo RNO, Costa Pereira E, Souza SS (2006) The use of French spikes to collect botanical vouchers in permanent plots: evaluation of potential impacts. Biotropica 38:555–557
Clark DB, Clark DA (1991) The impact of physical damage on canopy tree regeneration in tropical rain forest. J Ecol 79:447–457
Comita LS, Goldsmith GR (2008) Impact of research trails on seedling dynamics in a tropical forest. Biotropica 40:251–254
Comita LS, Aguilar S, Perez R, Lao S, Hubbell SP (2007) Patterns of woody plant species abundance and diversity in the seedling layer of a tropical forest. J Veg Sci 18:163–174
Condit R (1998) Tropical forest census plots. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Dietrich WE, Windsor DM, Dunne T (1982) Geology, climate and hydrology of Barro Colorado Island. In: Leigh EG Jr, Rand AS, Windsor DM (eds) The ecology of a tropical forest: seasonal rhythms and long-term changes. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, pp 21–46
Glasby TM, Underwood AJ (1996) Sampling to differentiate between pulse and press perturbations. Environ Monit Assess 42:241–252
Goldsmith GR, Comita LS, Morefield LL, Condit R, Hubbell SP (2006) Long-term research impacts on seedling community structure and composition in a permanent forest plot. Forest Ecol Manage 234:34–39
Hubbell SP, Foster RB (1983) Diversity of canopy trees in a neotropical forest and implications for conservation. In: Sutton SL, Whitmore TC, Chadwick AC (eds) Tropical rain forest: ecology and management. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, pp 25–41
Hubbell SP, Foster RB (1986) Commonness and rarity in a neotropical forest: implications for tropical tree conservation. In: Soule M (ed) Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, pp 205–231
Ickes K, Dewalt SJ, Thomas SC (2003) Resprouting of woody saplings following stem snap by wild pigs in a Malaysian rain forest. J Ecol 91:222–233
Leigh EGJ (1999) Tropical forest ecology: a view from Barro Colorado Island. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Leigh EGJ, Rand SA, Windsor DM (1982) The ecology of a tropical forest: seasonal rhythms and long-term changes. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC
Losos E, Leigh EGJ (eds) (2004) Tropical forest diversity and dynamism: findings from a large-scale plot network. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Paciorek CJ, Condit R, Hubbell SP, Foster RB (2000) The demographics of resprouting in tree and shrub species of a moist tropical forest. J Ecol 88:765–777
Phillips OL, Nunez P, Timana ME (1998) Tree mortality and collecting botanical vouchers in tropical forests. Biotropica 30:298–305
R Development Core Team (2006) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna
Rees M, Condit R, Crawley M, Pacala S, Tilman D (2001) Long-term studies of vegetation dynamics. Science 293:650–655
Sheil D (1995) A critique of permanent plot methods and analysis with examples from Budongo forest, Uganda. For Ecol Manage 77:11–34
Underwood AJ (1991) Beyond BACI—experimental designs for detecting human environmental impacts on temporal variations in natural populations. Aust J Mar Freshw Res 42:569–587
van Mantgem PJ, Stephenson NL (2004) Does coring contribute to tree mortality? Can J For Res 34:2394–2398
Wolski LF, Trexler JC, Nelson EB, Philippi T, Perry SA (2004) Assessing researcher impacts from a long-term sampling program of wetland communities in the Everglades National Park, Florida, USA. Freshw Biol 49:1381–1390
Yorks TP, West NE, Mueller RJ, Warren SD (1997) Toleration of traffic by vegetation: life form conclusions and summary extracts from a comprehensive data base. Environ Manage 21:121–131
Acknowledgments
We thank Leslie Morefield, Salomon Aguilar, Blexein Contreras, and the BCI plot crew for assisting with the seedling censuses. Valuable comments were provided by Sarah Batterman and Adam Roddy. Funding for this research was provided by a U.S. National Science Foundation grant (award number 0075102) and Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) supplemental grant. L. Comita acknowledges the support of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and a University of Georgia Presidential Fellowship. Logistical support was provided by the University of Georgia, the Center for Tropical Forest Science and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Comita, L.S., Goldsmith, G.R. & Hubbell, S.P. Intensive research activity alters short-term seedling dynamics in a tropical forest. Ecol Res 24, 225–230 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0490-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0490-4