Browsing by Autor "Cayola, Leslie"

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Chemical properties of foliar metabolomes represent a key axis of functional trait variation in forests of the tropical Andes
(2025) Sedio, Brian; Chadwick, Sierra; Henderson, David; Forrister, Dale; Cayola, Leslie; Fuentes, Alfredo; Alvestegui, Belén; Muchhala, Nathan; Tello, J. Sebastián; Volf, Martin
Plants interact with their environment through diverse specialized metabolites that protect them from abiotic stressors like drought or radiation and biotic stressors like herbivores or pathogens. However, few studies have considered the chemical properties of metabolites as a potential axis of functional trait variation along environmental gradients. Here, we examined how the chemical properties of foliar metabolomes, such as mean aromaticity, hydrophobicity, and polarity, as well as commonly used morphological traits, vary with climate and elevation among 16 forest plots in the tropical Andes of Bolivia. We found that chemical properties were weakly related to morphological traits among tree species, yet both varied significantly with climate and elevation. In particular, abundance-weighted mean hydrophobicity decreased, and polar surface area increased with elevation and in colder and drier climates. Additionally, co-occurring species showed increasing chemical similarity with elevation for the most-aromatic and most-polar metabolites. These results suggest that abiotic stress associated with colder, drier climates and solar radiation acts as a filter for metabolome chemical properties. This contrasts with chemical dissimilarity observed at lower elevations, which is likely driven by pressure from host-specialized enemies in warmer, wetter climates. Our results introduce the possibility that chemical defenses may be constrained by abiotic stressors. Morphological traits and foliar metabolome chemical properties for each species-by-plot are reported in Dataset S1. Community-weighted mean values are reported in Dataset S2. The structural similarities among 20,571 metabolites are reported as a Qemistree dendrogram in .tre phylogeny format as Dataset S3. Masses, molecular formulae, predicted structures, classifications, and chemical properties and sample-level abundances for 20,571 unique metabolites are provided in Dataset S4.
Data from: Trait-based species selection for restoration: A case study from tropical landscapes dominated by bracken
(2025) Gallegos, Silvia C.; López, Cecilia L.; Naoki, Kazuya; Soliz, Andrea; Fuentes, Alfredo F.; Mayta, Cesar; Cayola, Leslie; Tello, J. Sebastian; Hensen, Isabell
Deforestation leads to non-forested areas that often need active ecological restoration to promote forest succession. Here, we developed a trait-based approach to guide the design of restoration projects and tested our approach in tropical areas deforested by fires and dominated by bracken. Deforestation caused by human-induced fires creates complex conservation problems in tropical areas. After fire, montane tropical deforested areas are often dominated by bracken fern (Pteridium spp.), which prevents the establishment of many species of trees. This means that effective ecological restoration strategies are needed for forest recovery. We explored whether a trait-based approach could be used to guide the selection of tree species in active restoration projects in deforested areas. We first tested whether traits could be used to predict which species can overcome bracken-associated filters. We then tested the relationship between the trait-based predictions for each species and their abundance in a reference old-growth forest. To identify key traits, we conducted a seed addition experiment in bracken-dominated areas that had developed 5-15 years after a fire, using 23 tree species common in the Bolivian montane forests, and monitored seedling establishment, survival, and growth for 36 months. We then related seedling performance to the functional traits of adults and seedlings. We found that six functional traits improved tree seedling performance in bracken-dominated areas, and that only one-third of the species evaluated exceeded a 25% probability of recruitment. Most of the favored traits correspond to conservative strategies. The species dispersed by birds and with large seeds were the most likely to overcome the filters created by bracken. Based on the trait predictions, we found that the species predicted to overcome bracken are not common in old-growth forests. Our results can be used by stakeholders to select the species best suited for active restoration projects in bracken-dominated areas throughout the tropical region. Furthermore, our trait-based approach, which considers seedling performance in disturbed areas, can serve as a guide for species selection in restoration programs in other disturbed systems.
Estructura y composición florística de un bosque amazónico de pie de monte, Área Natural de Manejo Integrado Madidi, La Paz - Bolivia
(Ecología en Bolivia, 2006) Calzadilla-Tomianovich, Miki Hernan; Cayola, Leslie
Se instaló una parcela permanente de muestreo de 1 ha en un sitio de bosque amazónico dentro el Área Natural de Manejo Integrado Madidi. En ella se evaluaron todos los individuos con dap≥10 cm. Fueron registrados 587 individuos, distribuidos en 137 especies, 103 géneros y 42 familias. Entre las familias más diversas están Fabaceae (14 especies, 6 géneros), Euphorbiaceae (12 especies, 9 géneros), Rubiaceae (9 especies, 7 géneros) y Arecaceae (9 especies, 8 géneros). La especie de mayor importancia ecológica fue Iriartea deltoidea (Arecaceae) con un IVI de 12.58% . Las especies encontradas son típicas de la formación boscosa nombrada en trabajos anteriores como bosque amazónico de pie de monte de Bolivia como en otros países (Perú y Ecuador). Este sitio tiene varias especies y familias en común con los bosques amazónicos de Perú y Ecuador. La diversidad es menor a la encontrada en Ecuador y en la parte inferior del rango establecido para Perú, lo que indica la tendencia de disminución de la diversidad conforme aumenta la distancia a la línea ecuatorial.