Biodiversität im Wandel - ILZ - Universität Bonn

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Lateinamerika-Symposium – Biodiversität im Wandel 

Latin America Symposium – Biodiversity in Change 

Bonn, December 12-13, 2008 

Lateinamerika Symposium – Biodiversität im Wandel 


Veranstalter: 

HANS JÜRGEN BÖHMER 

Interdisziplinäres Lateinamerikazentrum (ILZ) 

c/o Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung (ZEF) 

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn 

Walter-Flex-Str. 3 

53113 Bonn 

Tel.: +49 (0)228 73 49 00 

KARL-LUDWIG SCHUCHMANN 

Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig 

Museumsmeile Bonn, Adenauerallee 160 

53113 Bonn, Germany 

Tel.: +49 (0)228 91 22 238 

KARL MATTHIAS WANTZEN 

Limnologisches Institut 

Universität Konstanz 

Postfach M 659 

78457 Konstanz, Germany 

Tel.: +49 (0)7531-884577 

Herausgeber 

H. J. Böhmer, K.-L. Schuchmann & K. M. Wantzen 

Gestaltung 

Henry Lehnert (ILZ) 

Bonn im Dezember 2008

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Inhalt 




Programm .............................................................................................................................................4 

Abstracts der Vorträge ........................................................................................................................6 

PAUL MÜLLER: Biodiversity in Change.................................................................................................6 

WOLFGANG JUNK: Stand und Perspektiven der Limnologie in Amazonien ..........................................7 

KARL MATTHIAS WANTZEN: The Pantanal: Biodiversity, ecology, and sustainable management of a 

seasonal floodplain wetland ...............................................................................................................8 

PIA PAROLIN: Tree Diversity and survival strategies in Amazonian floodplain forests .........................9 

ULRICH SAINT-PAUL & KAREN DIELE: Interrelations between mangroves, local economy, and social 

sustainability. A review from a case study in North Brazil ................................................................ 10 

OTTO HUBER & ERNESTO MEDINA: Vegetationsstudien in Venezuela ................................................. 11 

LYDIA MÖCKLINGHOFF & FRAUKE FISCHER: Timber plantations in northern Brazil as an optimal habitat 

for the Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) ............................................................................ 12 

JOCHEN H. BIHN: Species and functional diversity of ants in tropical secondary forests .................... 13 

BERND P. FREYMANN & K.-L. SCHUCHMANN: New aspects of the breeding biology of some Neotropical 

birds ................................................................................................................................................. 14 

ECKHARD W. HEYMANN: Neotropical primates – diversity and ecological functions ........................... 15 

HUBERT HÖFER ET AL.: InBioVeritas – Kompetenzzentrum für den Schutz der Biodiversität im 

atlantischen Küstenregenwald Brasiliens – von der Forschung zur Anwendung .............................. 16 

NADJA RÜGER: Demographic diversity: Light- (and size-) dependence of recruitment and mortality 

rates across a tropical lowland rainforest community ....................................................................... 17 

PETER HORCHLER: Auswirkungen einer anthropogenen Störung auf die Baumartendiversität in 

einem Tieflandregenwald am Oberen Orinoko (Venezuela) ............................................................. 18 

GERHARD GEROLD: Waldkonversion durch Agrarkonolisation in Südamerika – Auswirkungen auf die 

Ökosystemressourcen Wasser und Boden im Rahmen von climate change ................................... 19 

TIMO KRUMMEL: Degradierte Weiden in NE-Amazonien: Satellitengestützte Erfassung und 

Bewertung ........................................................................................................................................ 20 

HERMANN BEHLING: Vegetation and biodiversity dynamics in neotropical ecosystems during the late 

Quartenary ....................................................................................................................................... 21 

ROBERT MÜLLER: Modelling deforestation and biodiversity conservation in the Bolivian low land 

forests .............................................................................................................................................. 22 

NILS KÖSTER: Neotropische Epiphyten – Diversität, Biogeographie und Gefährdung ....................... 23 

JULE PETERS: Biogeography of the genus Fosterella (Bromeliaceae) ............................................... 24 

CLAUDIA RÄDIG: Verbreitungsmuster neotropischer Angiospermen: Diversitätszentren und ihre 

potentielle Gefährdung ..................................................................................................................... 25

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Abstracts der ausgestellten Poster .................................................................................................. 26 

FLORIAN WITTMANN ET AL.: Use of Amazonian floodplain trees ......................................................... 26 

MIGUEL ALVAREZ ET AL.: Research on ecology and distribution of ephemeral wetlands in Chile: 

current stand and perspectives ........................................................................................................ 27 

JUAN CARLOS CORRICO ALBINO: Agrobiodiversity assessment in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil ..... 28 

ROMY WERNER ET AL.: Vegetation dynamics on abandoned beaver ponds on Navarino Island 

(Fuegian Archipelago, Chile) ............................................................................................................ 29 

PITAGORAS C. BISPO ET AL.: Diversity and adult phenology of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and 

Trichoptera in a neotropical stream .................................................................................................. 30 

LUISA F. RICAURTE & KARL M. WANTZEN: A landscape approach for the wetland knowledge and 

management .................................................................................................................................... 31 

BRENNER SILVA ET AL.: Shortwave radiation Absorption into a Grassland-Pasture Competition Model 

for southern Ecuador ....................................................................................................................... 32 

PEDRO LUÍS RODRIGUES DE MORALES: The Brazilian Herbarium of Maximilian, Prince of Wied ......... 33 

PIA PAROLIN: Submerge tolerant Symmeria paniculata in Amazonian floodplains ............................ 34 

STEFAN HOHNWALD: Bird Community of a Smallholding in the Densely Settled Rural Landscape of 

the Bragantina region, Northeastern Amazon .................................................................................. 35 

EDGARDO GARRIDO-PEREZ: How History explains plant diversity and plant-plant relationships: the 

case of lianas and trees in the Yucatan, Mexico .............................................................................. 36 

Namensliste ....................................................................................................................................... 37

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Programm 




Freitag 12.12.2008 Samstag 13.12.2008 

9:00 Uhr Begrüßung 

Hans Jürgen Böhmer 

Karl-Ludwig Schuchmann 

Karl Matthias Wantzen 

9:30 Uhr 

Paul Müller, 

Evolution und Arealsystem- 

Dynamik 

Abstract 1 

Convener: 

Paul Müller 

10:00 Uhr Wolfgang Junk, 

Limnologie in Amazonien, 

aktuelle Situation und 

Perspektiven 

Abstract 2 

Convener: 

Hans Jürgen Böhmer 

Hubert Höfer, 

Kompetenzzentrum für den Schutz der 

Biodiversität im atlantischen 

Küstenregenwald Brasiliens - von der 

Forschung zur Anwendung 

Abstract 11 

Nadja Rüger, 

Demographische Diversität: Licht- (und 

Größen) abhängigkeit von 

Regenerations- und Wachstumsraten 

der Baumarten eines tropischen 

Tieflandregenwaldes in Panama 

Abstract 12 

10:30 Uhr Pause Peter Horchler, 

Auswirkungen einer anthropogenen 

Störung auf die Baumartendiversität in 

einem Tieflandregenwald am Oberen 

Orinoko (Venezuela) 

Abstract 13 

11:00 Uhr K. Matthias Wantzen, 

Das Pantanal: Biodiversität, 

Ökologie und nachhaltiges 

Management 

Abstract 3 

11:30 Uhr Pia Parolin, 

Tree diversity and survival 

strategies in Amazonien 

floodplain forests 

Abstract 4 

12:00 Uhr Ulrich Saint-Paul, 

Interrelations between 

mangroves, local economy, and 

social sustainability. A review 

from a case study in North Brazil 

Abstract 5 

Gerhard Gerold, 

Waldkonversion durch 

Agrarkolonisation in Südamerika - 

Auswirkungen auf die 

Ökosystemressourcen Wasser und 

Boden im Rahmen von climate change 

Abstract 14 

Timo Krummel, 

Degradierte Weiden in NE-Amazonien: 

Satellitengestützte Erfassung und 

Bewertung 

Abstract 15 

Hermann Behling, 

Vegetation and biodiversity dynamics 

in Neotropical ecosystems during the 

late Quaternary 

Abstract 16

5 

12:30 Uhr Mittagspause 

Convener: 

K.-L. Schuchmann 

14:00 Uhr Otto Huber & Ernesto Medina, 

Vegetationsstudien in Venezuela 

Abstract 6 

14:30 Uhr Lydia Möcklinghoff & Frauke 

Fischer, 

Timber plantations in Northern 

Brazil as an optimal habitat for 

the Giant Anteater 

(Myrmecophaga tridactyla) 

Abstract 7 

15:00 Uhr Jochen Bihn, 

Species and functional diversity 

of ants in tropical secondary 

forests 

Abstract 8 




Mittagspause 

Convener: 

K. Matthias Wantzen 

Robert Müller et al., 

Modelling deforestation and 

biodiversity conservation in the 

Bolivian low land forests 

Abstract 17 

Nils Köster et al., 

Neotropische Epiphyten - Diversität, 

Biogeographie und Gefährdung 

Abstract 18 

Jule Peters et al., 

Biogeography of the genus Fosterella 

(Bromeliaceae) 

Abstract 19 

15:15 Uhr Claudia Raedig, 

Verbreitungsmuster neotropischer 

Angiospermen: Diversitätszentren und 

ihre potentielle Gefährdung 

Abstract 20 

15:30 Uhr Pause Abschlussdiskussion: 

Biodiversitätsforschung in 

Lateinamerika - Raum für neue 

Synergien? Convener: Böhmer, 

Schuchmann, Wantzen 

16:00 Uhr Bernd P. Freymann & K.-L. 

Schuchmann, 

New aspects of the breeding 

biology of some Neotropical birds 

Abstract 9 

16:30 Uhr Eckhard W. Heymann, 

Neotropical primates - 

diversity and ecological functions 

Abstract 10 

17:00 Uhr Ende 

20:00 Uhr Abendessen Museum Koenig, 

Adenauerallee 160, 

Einlass 19.30 Uhr

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Abstract 01 

„Biodiversity in Change“ (12. – 13. Dezember 08) 

Prof. Dr.Dr.h.c.mult. Paul Müller 




1969 hoben Max Plancker (Sioli, Fittkau, Klinge, Ray, Furch u.a.) und Biogeographen der 

Universität des Saarlandes (Schmithüsen, Müller) in Plön ein über zwanzig Jahre unsere 

Biodiversitäts-Diskussionen befruchtendes Symposium zur „Biogeographie und Ökologie 

Südamerikas“ aus der Taufe. Jeder von uns verfügte über unterschiedliche Erfahrungen, 

beherrschte unterschiedliche Methoden, wusste, dass man als Naturwissenschaftler nicht 

Wahrheit mit Mehrheitsauffassungen verwechseln durfte, dass man auch bereit sein musste, 

das was man liebte, selbst infrage zu stellen oder stellen zu lassen. Wir alle kannten 

Ausschnitte, Teile der Biodiversität neotropischer Ökosysteme und gehörten damit nicht zu 

jener modernen medialen Superspezies von „Biodiversitäts-Aposteln“, die insbesondere seit 

1992 das Wort pausenlos beschwören, aber schon längst verlernt haben, eine Spitzmaus 

von einer Rötelmaus zu unterscheiden. Wir diskutierten die Grenzen der Aussagefähigkeit 

der eingesetzten Methoden und unterschieden sorgfältig „Arbeitshypothesen“ und 

„Wahrheiten“. Die Zusammenhänge zwischen den „Teilen“ und dem „Ganzen“ waren uns 

wichtig und deren Informationsgehalte für Evolution, Landschaftsgenese und/oder 

ökosystemare Funktionen. 

Meine eigenen bescheidenen Beiträge beschäftigten sich dabei mit der Dynamik der 

Arealsysteme der terrestrischen Vertebraten und den Ausbreitungszentren der 

neotropischen Biota. Die Ausbreitungszentren-Analyse folgte dabei zunächst einem 

vergleichend chorologischen Ansatz, wie er von Reinig und meinem Lehrer de Lattin bereits 

vor dem zweiten Weltkrieg entwickelt wurde. Dabei bewegte naturgemäß die Frage welche 

ökologischen und/oder landschaftsgeschichtlichen Faktoren zu einer Konzentration von 

Areal- und/oder Endemiten-Zentren ( mit unterschiedlichen Taxa und unterschiedlichem 

phylogenetischen Alter ) an ganz bestimmten Erdstellen geführt hatten. Die dabei 

auftauchenden Fragen konnten nur durch eine detaillierte Analyse der Differenzierungs- und 

Verwandtschaftsmuster aufgeklärt werden. Dabei kam es darauf an, dass man zuerst von 

seinen eigenen Objekten her zu einer schlüssigen Aussage kam, die erst danach mit den 

Ergebnissen anderer Wissenschaften verglichen wurde. Dabei spielte natürlich die 

ökologische Bindung der Taxa an unterschiedliche Ökosysteme eine erhebliche Rolle. Was 

mit morphologischen und physiologischen Analysen begann, wird heute schon längst mit 

molekulargenetischen Methoden und/oder Kreuzungsexperimenten fortgeführt, wobei jede 

Methode ein neues Fenster öffnet. Am Beispiel der Ausbreitungszentrenanalyse und der 

Arealdynamik und Phylogenie einer Tiergruppe, die mich seit Studententagen in den 

Sipaliwini-Savannen, den Savanneninseln von Obidos und Santarem oder Marajo bis heute 

begleitet, den neotropischen Klapperschlangen (Crotalus durissus-Komplex), soll unser 

Denk- und Arbeits-System kurz beleuchtet werden.

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Abstract 02 

Stand und Perspektiven der Limnologie in Amazonien 

Wolfgang Junk 

MPIL Plön, wjj@evolbio.mpg.de 




Seit Anfang der 50er Jahre bis 2007 bestand eine intensive Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem 

MPI für Limnologie, Plön, und dem INPA in Manaus, welche die Entwicklung dieser 

Fachrichtung in Deutschland und Brasilien maßgeblich beeinflusst hat. Die Umorientierung 

des Plöner Instituts zur Evolutionsbiologie hat eine Lücke in der deutsch-brasilianischen 

Zusammenarbeit hinterlassen zu deren Schließung andere deutsche Institute aufgerufen 

sind. 

Sie werden in Amazonien eine gute wissenschaftliche Grundlage auf den meisten 

Teilgebieten der Limnologie vorfinden. Eine Ausnahme macht die Mikrobiologie, die bis 

heute in Amazonien unterrepräsentiert ist. Besonders gut untersucht sind die 

Überschwemmungsgebiete des Amazonas und des Rio Negro in der Gegend von Manaus. 

Kleinere Fließgewässer sind weniger untersucht, mit Ausnahme der Fische. Weitgehend 

unbekannt sind wegen ihrer Unzugänglichkeit die interfluvialen Überschwemmungsgebiete. 

Neuere Untersuchungen terrestrischer Ökologen weisen darauf hin, dass sich diese Gebiete 

durch einen hohen Endemismenreichtum auszeichnen und viele neue Arten in allen Tier und 

Pflanzengruppen zu erwarten sind. Das Interesse an limnologischer Forschung in Brasilien 

nimmt stetig zu, wie die Entwicklung der sehr aktiven Brasilianischen Limnologischen 

Gesellschaft zeigt. Zur Zeit laufende Forschungsvorhaben werden vorgestellt und die 

Möglichkeiten der deutsch-brasilianischen Zusammenarbeit auf dem Limnologie-Sektor in 

Amazonien diskutiert.

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Abstract 03 




The Pantanal: Biodiversity, ecology, and sustainable management of a seasonal 

floodplain wetland 

K. Matthias Wantzen 

ATIG - Aquatic-Terrestrial Interaction Group, Universität Konstanz, matthias.wantzen@uni-konstanz.de 

The Pantanal is a flood-pulse-driven wetland in the upper basin of the Paraguay River. This 

talk summarizes results from more than 15 years of cooperative research, focusing on the 

environmental settings, major ecosystem services, human impacts, and conceptual 

approaches for a sustainable management, both in the wetland and in the catchments of its 

tributaries.

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Abstract 04 




Tree diversity and survival strategies in Amazonian floodplain forests 

Pia Parolin 

Universität Hamburg, pparolin@botanik.uni-hamburg.de 

More than 1000 tree species are adapted to the prolonged periodical flooding in Amazonian 

floodplain forests. They are subjected to regular periods of flooding with freshwater which 

lasts for up to nine months a year, and water columns reach heights exceeding 10 metres. 

Flooding causes drastic changes in the bioavailability of nutrients, concentrations of 

phytotoxins, and anoxic conditions prevail in the rhizosphere. Trees do not only persist in a 

dormant state, but grow vigorously during most of the year. These extreme conditions are 

tolerated because of a large variety of adaptations to flooding, starting at the seed stage with 

hydrochory and ichthyochory as main means of dispersal, followed by fast germination and 

high tolerance to complete submergence in seedlings, and ending in a not yet completely 

apprehended number of adaptions in adult trees, at phenological, physiological, 

morphological, and anatomical levels. Morphological adaptions of the root system comprise 

hypertrophy of lenticels, formation of adventitious roots, plank-buttressing and stilt rooting, 

development of aerenchyma, and the deposition of cell wall biopolymers such as suberin and 

lignin in the root peripheral cell layers. Water loss and gas exchange in the flooding period 

are effectively reduced by alterations in vegetative phenology and water storage. Since also 

these forests, as most wetland ecosystems, are threatened by human overpopulation and 

overexploitation, the challenge to understand and thus maintain this ecosystem increases 

with every decade. Basic knowledge about growth rhythms and annual wood increase give 

us the possibility to analyse recruitment strategies and to put up management plans which 

lead to sustainable management which is not an option but a must in this unique ecosystem.

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Abstract 05 




Interrelations between mangroves, local economy, and social sustainability. A review 

from a case study in North Brazil 

Ulrich Saint-Paul 1 & Karen Diele 

Zentrum für Marine Tropenökologie, Bremen, 1 Ulrich.saint-paul@zmt.uni-bremen.de 

The littoral region of coastal Pará in NE Brazil is part of the world’s second-largest 

continuous mangrove region. The Bragança peninsula is the specific study area of the 

interdisciplinary still ongoing joint German Brazilian project on Mangrove Dynamics and 

Management (MADAM), which started in 1995. Human use in this mangrove ecosystem is 

characterized by about 15 products, which have either subsistence value or generate 

monetary income for the local rural population. The importance of these functions for the 

rural households increases with the distance from the urban center. In the primary production 

sector, agriculture and artisanal fisheries are the main source of income in the wider 

Bragantinian region. Both industries are characterized by many small operators. The 

industrial sector is very underrepresented throughout the region. Presently the control of the 

allocation of resources within this region rests predominantly in the hands of local individuals. 

This paper examines the conditions for the successful co-management of diverse species, 

resource use patterns and household income portfolios in a mangrove environment. 

Therefore stakeholders have been incorporated directly, e.g., by participation in workshops. 

This is part of the support of the formation of the local RESEX (reserves extrativistas) 

movement, a Brazilian model of natural resources co-management.

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Abstract 06 

Vegetationsstudien in Venezuela 

Otto Huber 1 & Ernesto Medina² 




Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Caracas, 

Venezuela 

1 

ohuber@mac.com ; otto.huber@ucv.ve ; ² medinage@gmail.com ; emedina@ivic.ve 

In diesem Kurzvortrag wird ein derzeit laufendes Vorhaben vorgestellt, welches in der 

Veröffentlichung eines "Handbuchs der Vegetation von Venezuela" (Manual de la vegetación 

de Venezuela) und einer dazugehörigen ökologischen Vegetationskarte 1:2 Millionen 

besteht. Das Handbuch baut sowohl auf einer eingehenden Literaturanalyse, als auch in der 

mehr als 40-jährigen persönlichen Felderfahrung der beiden Autoren in praktisch allen 

Landesteilen Venezuelas auf. Im zentralen Bereich dieses Werkes werden alle bisher 

veröffentlichten Vegetationseinheiten des Landes zusammenfassend dargestellt und deren 

jeweiligen ökologischen, vegetationskundlichen und floristischen Besonderheiten 

besprochen; dazu sollen auch die ökophysiologischen und funktionellen Aspekte der 

einzelnen Vegetationslandschaften anhand repräsentativer Vegetationstypen erklärt und 

interpretiert werden. Zusätzlich zu diesem ansprechend gestalteten und reich illustrierten 

Kernstück des Handbuches, in welchem ca. 180 Einheiten auf ca. 600 Seiten behandelt 

werden, sollen auch die historischen, floristischen und pflanzengeografischen Eigenheiten 

der terrestrischen Vegetation von Venezuela erläutert und im Lichte der neuesten 

Erkenntnisse diskutiert werden. Buch und Karte sollen in erster Linie dazu führen, die seit 

Humboldt bekannte, aber bis heute nicht einheitlich dargestellte tropische Vielfalt der 

venezolanischen Pflanzendecke systematisch zu definieren und in größeren kontinentalen 

Zusammenhängen einzuordnen; zusätzlich zu dieser vorwiegend didaktischen Zielsetzung 

soll mit diesem Projekt jedoch auch eine moderne, solide Basis geschaffen werden, um eine 

zielorientierte Raum- und Naturschutzplanung besonders in den noch relativ pristinen 

Gebieten im Süden Venezuelas zu ermöglichen.

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Abstract 07 




Timber Plantations in northern Brazil as an optimal habitat for the Giant Anteater 

(Myrmecophaga tridactyla) 

Lydia Möcklinghoff 1 & Frauke Fischer² 

1 

lydiamoecklinghoff@gmx.de, ² Wildlife, Conservation & Management, Zoology III-Animal Ecology and Tropical 

Biology, fischer@biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de 

The combined global area of timber plantations increased from 130 million hectares in 1996 

to 192 million hectares in 2006 - a growth of 48% in ten years. In Brazil about six million 

hectares of forest plantations exist with a growth rate of 13% annually. The need for 

conserving biodiversity within these landscapes is increasingly recognized. Many plantation 

forest managers are following sustainable management guidelines such as those of the 

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The study presented here determines the habitat use of 

giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) in FSC managed timber plantations of Acacia 

mangium and the surrounding savanna landscape in northern Brazil. Within the study area 

the animals occurred in outstanding high densities and showed a marked preference for the 

plantations. The natural savanna habitat was hardly used. Important habitat parameters 

appeared to be prey and water availability as well as habitat heterogeneity. There has been 

an alarming population decline in other parts of the Giant Anteaters’ distribution with a local 

extinction in Uruguay. This study supplies essential information about the species’ habitat 

requirements. That information is important for an effective conservation of the charismatic 

flagship species. Sustainable managed plantations of Acacia mangium are suitable habitats 

for giant anteaters; nevertheless the conversion of natural savanna habitat to timber 

plantations has to be regarded critically. There are no studies about the influence of the 

plantations on other savanna species and the landscape will probably never recover from 

this intervention.

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Abstract 08 




Species and functional diversity of ants in tropical secondary forests 

Joch H. Bihn 

Department of Ecology - Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität Marburg 

bihn@staff.uni-marburg.de 

The area covered by secondary forests in the tropics is rapidly increasing. It has been 

argued that these secondary habitats may offset the expected biodiversity loss from 

deforestation. However, our knowledge on the value of secondary forests for biodiversity 

conservation is limited for most taxa—especially for invertebrates. Therefore, I examined the 

recovery of ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) diversity and their ecological functions in 

secondary forests in Brazil\'s Atlantic Forest. Ant assemblages of the soil and the leaf litter 

were sampled in a total of 27 study sites that encompassed a gradient of naturally 

regenerating forests in three different successional age stages (~5 years, 10-15 years & 35- 

50 years after abandonment), and in old-growth forests. Richness and composition of ant 

assemblages in secondary forests recovered slowly and did not approach conditions typical 

of old growth forests. The distribution of genera along the successional gradient was 

arranged in a nested pattern where ant genera of younger successional stages were a 

subset of genera present in older stages. Soil ant assemblages recovered more slowly than 

ant assemblages of the leaf litter. The reduced species diversity of ants in secondary forests 

was accompanied by proportional decline in the functional diversity of assemblages. In 

addition, rates of seed predation by ants were reduced in secondary forests in comparison to 

old-growth forests. Our results show that secondary forests do not act as refuges for many 

forest-adapted animals. Moreover, the ecological services offered by secondary habitats may 

be quite different from those offered by old-growth forests.

14 

Abstract 09 

New aspects of the breeding biology of some Neotropical birds 

Bernd P. Freymann 1 & K.-L. Schuchmann² 




1 

Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, Community and Conservation Ecology Group, University of 

Groningen, PO Box 14, NL-9750 AA Haren, b.freymann@rug.nl 

² Alexander Koenig Research Institute and Museum of Zoology (ZFMK), Leibniz Institute for Terrestrial 

Biodiversity, Research Group: Biology and Phylogeny of Tropical Birds kl.schuchmann.zfmk@uni-bonn.de 

We present the results of two recent studies covering aspects of nest material choice and 

postnatal growth rate in some Neotropical birds. First an experimental laboratory study: 

Usage of fungal rhizomorphs of marasmioid fungi ("horsehair fungi") as nesting material, 

especially by tropical birds, is a widespread but poorly documented phenomenon. Given that 

the natural abundance of fungal rhizomorphs is considerably less within the same habitat 

than the abundance of other plant fibres, the question arises as to what the adaptiveness of 

this behavior is. We found that the fungal rhizomorphs utilized by Streak-backed Orioles 

(Icterus pustulatus) in Costa Rica as outer nesting material have a significantly higher tensile 

strength than the grassy fibres that line the interior parts of the same nests. Furthermore, the 

water uptake of the fungal rhizomorph fibres is significantly less than that of grassy fibres. 

Accordingly, nests constructed out of fungal rhizomorphs are stronger and more water 

repellent than nests made solely out of grassy fibres. Secondly, we review the published 

information on postnatal growth rates of hummingbirds (13 species, Trochilidae), and report 

previously unpublished records for nine additional trochilid species. The allometric 

relationship based on the log10-transformed data of K (growth rate constant) and body mass 

has a slope of -0.313 and an intercept of -0.346. Visual inspection suggests that higher Kvalues 

are found in nearctic hummingbirds, supporting the idea that the hypothesis by 

Ricklefs (1968, 1976), namely that tropical passerines grow more slowly than temperate 

ones, is also valid for hummingbirds.

15 

Abstract 10 

Neotropical primates – diversity and ecological functions 

Eckhard W. Heymann 




Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Abt. Verhaltensökologie & Soziobiologie, eheyman@gwdg.de 

New World primates represent the most diverse radiation within primate order. Due to new 

discoveries and taxonomic revisions, the number of species has strongly increased over the 

last two decades. Most New World primates are distributed in rainforest habitats, but some 

species also occupy drier forests and cerrado and caatinga vegetation. Due to their strongly 

frugivorous diets, most New World primates are potentially important seed dispersal vectors, 

but some taxa are also notorious seed predators. This contribution will review the current 

knowledge of New World primate diversity and provide comparative information on their 

ecological roles. Shortly, the conservation status and the current threats to New World 

primate diversity will also be discussed.

16 

Abstract 11 




InBioVeritas - Kompetenzzentrum für den Schutz der Biodiversität im atlantischen 

Küstenregenwald Brasiliens - von der Forschung zur Anwendung 

Hubert Höfer, Rainer Fabry, Clóvis Borges, Luciane Marinoni, Marcia Marques, Renato 

Marques 

Staatl. Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, hubert.hoefer@smnk.de 

Das 2007 von deutschen und brasilianischen Forschungsinstitutionen gegründete 

Kompetenzzentrum erarbeitet auf der Basis zweier laufender Kooperationsprojekte 

Strukturen für eine längerfristige und projektunabhängige Kooperation. Vorhandene 

Kompetenzen im Bereich des Naturschutzes in der Mata Atlântica sollen gebündelt bzw. 

integriert werden, um die notwendige Wissensbasis zu erweitern und wissenschaftliche 

Erkenntnisse für die Anwendung zur Verfügung zu stellen. 

Konkrete Ziele sind: 

1) Wissenschaftlich fundierte Kenntnisse für Modelle zur nachhaltigen Nutzung der 

natürlichen Ressourcen und für die Ausbildung des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses zu 

schaffen und zu integrieren sowie diese als Entscheidungshilfen zum Schutz der 

Biodiversität der Mata Atlântica zu verbreiten; 

2) bereits vorhandene Initiativen zur Erfassung der Biodiversität aufzunehmen und zu 

integrieren, um darauf basierend die nationale Strategie für Biodiversitätserfassung in 

Brasilien zu unterstützen; 

3) auf der Grundlage wissenschaftlicher Untersuchungen Maßnahmen zur Umweltbildung 

und für einen wissenschaftlichem Austausch durch Besuche und Arbeiten in den 

Projektgebieten zu fördern; 

4) als dauerhafte Initiative die Wertigkeit von privaten wie öffentlichen Schutzgebieten durch 

Forschung und Umweltbildung und einen ständigen Prozess der Bildung von Strukturen und 

personellen Kapazitäten zu erhöhen; 

5) Vorgehensweisen und Methoden von Biodiversitätserfassung und -analyse mittels 

spezifischer Protokolle zu standardisieren und damit die Vergleichbarkeit und 

Verwendbarkeit von Daten aus unterschiedlichen vom Kompetenzzentrum durchgeführten 

oder koordinierten Projekten zu gewährleisten; 

6) Vorgehensweisen zur Hinterlegung und Verwaltung des gesammelten biologischen 

Materials in Referenzsammlungen zu definieren und (die nicht-sensiblen) Daten verfügbar zu 

machen.

17 

Abstract 12 




Demographic diversity: Light- (and size-) dependence of recruitment and mortality 

rates across a tropical lowland rainforest community 

Nadja Rüger¹, Stephen P. Hubbell², Andreas Huth 3 and Richard Condit 4,5 

1 

Dresden University of Technology, Institute of Forest Growth and Forest Computer Sciences, Department of 

Forest Biometrics/Systems Analysis, Pienner Str. 8, 01737 Tharandt 

² University of California Los Angeles, Department Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Los Angeles, CA 90095, 

USA 

3 

UFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Ecological Modelling, Permoserstr. 

15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany 

4 

Center for Tropical Forest Science, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, APO AA 34002–0948, 

USA 

5 

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, 735 State St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101, USA 

Many hypotheses about species coexistence involve differential resource use and tradeoffs 

in species’ life history traits. However, quantifying resource use in highly diverse communities 

is often challenging. We use a hierarchical Bayesian approach to quantify the variation of 

light- (and size-) dependence of recruitment and mortality rates across >300 woody species 

in a 50-ha long-term forest census plot in Panama. Available light was estimated for each 

individual tree (≥ 1 cm dbh) from yearly censuses of canopy density. 

The majority of tree and shrub species showed a moderate increase in recruitment rate to 

increasing light availability, while only few species exhibited an either strongly positive or 

slightly negative response. Our results suggest that the majority of species share similar light 

requirements for recruitment, i.e. they can regenerate in the shaded understory but benefit 

moderately from higher light availability in treefall gaps. 

Mortality rates at standardized conditions (i.e. 5 cm diameter at breast height and 2% light) 

varied greatly among species, ranging from 0.5% to >30%. However, 77% of the species had 

low mortality rates (

18 

Abstract 13 




Auswirkungen einer anthropogenen Störung auf die Baumartendiversität in einem 

Tieflandregenwald am Oberen Orinoko (Venezuela) 

Peter Horchler 

Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde, horchler@bafg.de 

Die lokale Dominanz einer Baumart (Goupia glabra Aubl.) in einem entlegenen 

Tieflandregenwald am Oberen Orinoko (Süd-Venezuela) war Anlass zu einer Untersuchung 

der Baumartendiversität und -zusammensetzung sowie der sie beeinflussenden 

Standortverhältnisse. Die in den Jahren 1999 und 2000 durchgeführte Felduntersuchung 

lieferte folgendes Schlüsselergebnis: Trotz einer relativ hohen Gesamtdiversität (145 Arten 

mit BHD größer oder gleich 10 cm) konnten deutlich unterschiedliche Dominanzverhältnisse 

zwischen der jungen (BHD kleiner 10 cm) und älteren Baumpopulation (BHD größer oder 

gleich 10 cm) nachgewiesen werden. Als Hauptgrund hierfür wird ein mehr als 100 Jahre 

zurückreichendes anthropogenes Brandereignis vermutet, dessen Auswirkung noch in der 

Artenzusammensetzung der älteren Bäume ablesbar ist. Beleg für das Brandereignis sind 

sehr häufig anzutreffende Fundstücke junger Brandkohle in der obersten Bodenschicht. Die 

Untersuchungsmethoden und Ergebnisse werden vorgestellt, mögliche allgemeine 

Folgerungen werden diskutiert.

19 

Abstract 14 




Waldkonversion durch Agrarkolonisation in Südamerika - Auswirkungen auf die 

Ökosystemressourcen Wasser und Boden im Rahmen von climate change 

Gerhard Gerold 

Geographisches Institut der Universität Göttingen, Abteilung Landschaftsökologie, ggerold@gwdg.de 

Basierend auf den Projektergebnissen in Südamerika (Ecuador, Bolivien, Norbrasilien) 

werden die geoökologischen Konsequenzen der weitergehenden Tropenwaldkonversion 

(aktuell durch den "Soja-Boom") auf die Ressourcenkompartimente Bodenfruchtbarkeit, C- 

Speicherung und regionalen Wasserhaushalt aufgezeigt. Dabei steht die jüngere 

Entwicklung im Amazonastiefland mit den Beispielen aus dem Oriente Ecuadors, Boliviens 

und dem Norden Brasiliens (Belem) im Focus, ebenso die möglichen Auswirkungen der 

prognostizierten Klimaänderungen (climate change).

20 

Abstract 15 




Degradierte Weiden in NE-Amazonien: Satellitengestützte Erfassung und Bewertung 

Timo Krummel 

Georg-August-University, Landscape Ecology Unit, Department of Geography, tkrumme@gwdg.de 

Weiden sind in NE-Amazonien weit verbreitet und gelten seit langem als umstritten. Neu 

angelegte Weiden degradieren ökologisch nach nur wenigen Jahren und werden 

ökonomisch unproduktiv. Mittels Satellitendaten wurde der Flächenanteil der Weiden in drei 

Degradationsstadien erfasst und bewertet.

21 

Abstract 16 




Vegetation and biodiversity dynamics in Neotropical ecosystems during the late 

Quaternary 

Hermann Behling 

Universität Göttingen, Abt. Palynologie und Klimadynamik, Hermann.Behling@bio.uni-goettingen.de 

In respect to the issue of global change, the question is raised how stable tropical 

ecosystems are and how far they react on climate change. Important is also to understand 

how biodiversity changes in view of natural and anthropogenic environmental changes. 

Palaeoecological studies based on pollen analysis in different Neotropical ecosystems 

provide inside on past vegetation dynamics and plant diversity changes. Four examples from 

Brazil will be given. A new long pollen record from eastern Amazonia, covering several 

glacial and interglacial periods, document marked changes between Amazon rain forest and 

savanna vegetation. The Amazon rain forest must have been markedly reduced during 

glacial periods. There is evidence of lower pollen and spore diversity reflecting lower plant 

diversity during periods of dry climatic conditions and high diversity during wetter ones. A 

pollen record from the southeastern Brazilian Atlantic lowland shows the replacement of 

cerrado by semi-deciduous forests during the early Holocene. Plant diversity increased 

markedly during that time. Palaeoecological data from the southeastern Brazilian Atlantic 

mountain forest and high elevation grassland region show that drier climatic conditions and a 

higher fire frequency during the early Holocene caused an expansion of the high elevation 

grassland and a reduction of the local biodiversity. A detailed record from the Araucaria 

forest region in S Brazilian, highland, which spans back to the last 42,000 years, documents 

that the grasslands have been markedly replaced only since the late Holocene. Dry climatic 

conditions during glacial, early and mid Holocene times block the expansion of Araucaria 

forest. The marked increase of fire frequency, probably of anthropogenic origin, caused a 

decrease of plant diversity during the dry early to mid Holocene period.

22 

Abstract 17 




Modelling deforestation and biodiversity conservation in the Bolivian low land forests 

Robert Müller 1 , Florian Schierhorn², Sophia Rohde³ & Gerhard Gerold 4 

Geographisches Institut der Universität Göttingen, Abteilung Landschaftsökologie, 1 robemule@yahoo.com ² 

I_like_my_laugh@gmx.de ³ sophia.ro@googlemail.com, 4 ggerold@t-online.de 

Bolivia’s low land forests are highly threatened by conversion to cropland and pasture. Whilst 

montane rain forests are richest in biodiversity and endemism, it is the lowland forests that 

are most threatened by deforestation. These forests are also highly diverse and provide 

important environmental services. We analyse dynamics of deforestation in lowland forests 

by spatially explicit logistic regression models and also by mapping opportunity costs of 

forest conservation. We focus on the department of Santa Cruz where deforestation rates 

are highest in Bolivia and where a high variety of land use forms is found. Results show that 

conversion of forests to agro-industry is highly predictable by favourable environmental 

conditions for agriculture and access to markets, whilst small scale farming and cattle 

ranching threaten forests in a less predictable way, mainly driven by proximity to settlements 

and roads. Models can not confirm a significant influence of conservation policies on the 

current land use patterns; this is mainly due to the fact that most protected areas are situated 

in areas with low opportunity costs. Forest concessions seem to be more efficient in 

conserving low land forests than protected areas. Development scenarios are modelled, 

including the simulation of road paving, technological progress in agriculture and economic 

depression causing reduced exportation of agricultural products. Expected impacts on 

biodiversity and possible strategies for forest conservation are discussed, including possible 

programs under a REDD scheme (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and 

Degradation).

23 

Abstract 18 




Neotropische Epiphyten – Diversität, Biogeographie und Gefährdung 

Nils Köster 

Nees-Institut für Biodiversität der Pflanzen, Universität Bonn, nk@uni-bonn.de 

Epiphyten sind artenreiche und strukturell wichtige Elemente tropischer Wälder, besonders 

in der Neotropis. Seit vielen Jahren beschäftigt sich eine Arbeitsgruppe am Nees-Institut für 

Biodiversität der Pflanzen (Uni Bonn) mit den Verteilungsmustern neotropischer 

Epiphytendiversität auf verschiedenen Skalenebenen, stillt wichtige Ergebnisse daraus vor 

und zeigt mögliche Perspektiven auf. Die erfolgten Arbeiten umfassen sowohl 

Untersuchungen zu kleinräumige Verteilungsmustern vaskulärer Epiphyten innerhalb 

verschiedener Waldökosysteme als auch biogeographische Analysen der 

Epiphytendiversität auf regionaler und kontinentaler Ebene. Ökologie und Dynamik von 

Epiphytengemeinschaft wurden anhand andiner Berg- und amazonischer 

Tieflandregenwälder in Ecuador und Venezuela untersucht. Dabei konnten eine ausgeprägte 

Einnischung in Mikrohabitate und eine hohe räumliche und zeitliche Dynamik nachgewiesen 

werden. Die Entstehungsmechanismen von Diversitätsmustern bei neotropischen Epiphyten 

und ihre Abhängigkeit von Umwltfaktoren wurden durch Auswertung nationaler Checklisten 

und im Vergleich zahlreicher lokaler Epiphyteninventare analysiert. Dabei zeigte sich eine 

starke Abhängigkeit der Epiphytendiversität von Menge und Verteilung des 

Jahresniederschlages sowie von topographsichen Faktoren. In den letzten Jahren ist vor 

allem die Gefährdung der Epiphytendiversität durch anthropogene Habitatveränderungen in 

den Fokus der Forschung gerückt. In einem Berg- und einem Tieflandregenwald in Ecuador 

wurde die Artenvielfalt vaskulärer Epiphyten in natürlichen und anthrogopen überformten 

Habitaten vergleichend untersucht. Trotz relativ hoher Artenzahl in Waldfragmenten und 

einigen Sekundärwäldern zeigte sich dabei eine starke graduelle Verarmung der 

Epiphytengemeinschaft auf isoliert stehenden Bäumen du die hohe Bedeutung von 

Primärwaldgebieten für die Erhaltung von Epiphyten.

24 

Abstract 19 

Biogeography of the genus Fosterella (Bromeliaceae) 




Jule Peters 1 , Christoph Nowicki 2 , Katharina Schulte 3 , Martina Rex 1 , Kurt Weising 1 , Georg 

Zizka 3 , Pierre L. Ibisch 2 

1 Institute of Biology, University of Kassel, 2 Faculty of Forestry, University of Applied Sciences Eberswalde 

3 Research Institute Senckenberg & J. W. Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt/M., jule-peters@gmx.de 

The Neotropical genus Fosterella (Bromeliaceae) currently includes 31 species with a centre 

of distribution and diversity in the Andes of Bolivia, particularly in the montane rain forests of 

the Yungas ecoregion. Most of the species are characterized by rather small ranges and can 

be found from lowland Amazon forest and isolated mountain ranges of the Brazilian shield to 

cool cloud forest and high arid valleys in the Andes. Morphological delimitation of several 

species is difficult due to a scarcity of characters. In our collaborative project involving three 

institutions, we combine molecular, morphological and biogeographical data in order to get 

insights in (1) the taxonomy and phylogeny of the genus Fosterella, (2) its origin and 

expansion into its current range, and (3) the formation of endemic species within the Bolivian 

Andes. Here we present a first detailed biogeographical analysis, which will be discussed in 

the light of recent taxonomic and phylogenetic findings. Potential distribution ranges of 

Bolivian Fosterella species are extrapolated and actual diversity patterns are visualized with 

the help of a computational model that is based on the concept of habitat suitability. 

Conclusions on the evolution and spread of the genus derived from biogeographical patterns 

are discussed.

25 

Abstract 20 




Verbreitungsmuster neotropischer Angiospermen: Diversitätszentren und ihre 

potentielle Gefährdung 

Claudia Raedig 1 & Sven Lautenbach² 

1 Universität Leipzig, Institut für Biologie I, Spezielle Botanik, raedig@uni-leipzig.de, ² Helmholtz-Zentrum für 

Umweltforschung GmbH & UFZ, Department Landschaftsökologie 

Die Tropen sind generell wenig besammelt, und die taxonomische Bestimmung der 

gesammelten Arten ist äufig unvollständig oder fehlerhaft, gleiches gilt für die zugehörigen 

Verbreitungsdaten. Die Auswertung solcher Verbreitungsdaten ist dementsprechend gerade 

für tropische Gebiete sowie für hochdiverse Taxa schwierig. Beides trifft auf die 

neotropischen Angiospermen zu, deren Anzahl auf etwa 90,000 Arten geschätzt wird. Um 

ein detailliertes Bild ihrer Verbreitungsmuster zu erhalten, analysieren wir neotropische 

Angiospermen auf der Basis von Arten bzw. Art-Arealen in 1° x 1° Rasterauflösung. Wir 

stellen eine Methode vor, um taxonomisch korrekte, aber unvollständige Daten zu 

analysieren. Mittels dieser Methode konnten vier große Diversitätszentren in Zentralamerika, 

entlang der Anden, in Amazonien und an der brasilianischen Küste identifiziert werden. 

Kleinsträumig verbreitete Arten, die besonders vom Aussterben bedroht sind, sind 

ungleichmäßig über die gesamte Neotropis verteilt. Die Kombination von Diversitätszentren 

mit Karten von Naturschutzgebieten (laut World Database on Protected Areas WDPA 2007), 

Waldentwicklungs- und Bevölkerungsentwicklungs-Szenarien zeigt die besonders vom 

Globalen Wandel betroffenen und damit gefährdetsten Gebiete auf.

26 

Poster 01 

Use of Amazonian floodplain trees 




1 

Florian Wittmann, ² Astrid de Oliveira Wittmann, ²Maria T. F. Piedade & ³ Juan Carlos Montero 

1 

Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Biogeochemistry, INPA/Max Planck Project, Brasil 

F-Wittmann@web.de 

² Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia (INPA) Brazil, aowitt@gmx.de 

³ Institute of Silviculture, University of Freiburg, carlos.montero@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de 

Although the inhabitants of Central Amazonian floodplains preserve an intimate knowledge of 

natural resources, little information is available on traditional and commercial utilization of 

floodplain trees within the Brazilian Amazon. Forest use options are thus largely restricted to 

selective logging of few timber species of commercial interest and the extraction of nontimber 

forest products (NTFPs). We investigated traditional and commercial uses of 

floodplain trees by local inhabitants in both Central Amazonian white-water (vírzea) and 

black-water (igapó) floodplain forests, using information from herbaria, literature, and forest 

management projects. Our results indicate that 73% of all investigated tree species are 

useful to the floodplain inhabitants. Most species provides NTFPs, the most important 

fraction being phyto-medical extracts. Other NTFP (i.e., latex, edible fruits, fish baits, hunting 

poisons) are restricted to few species, but can locally be of economic importance. 

Approximately 42% of the investigated species provide timber, mostly locally used for house 

and boat construction. In igapó forests, an explorative survey suggests that the availability of 

information about traditional forest utilization is scarce. Social scientists and development 

organizations have termed this particular environment as the “river of hunger” due to the low 

productivity and limited forest use options for subsistence. Attempting to find out evidence of 

traditional and commercial tree uses, we will assess the forest resources used by local 

people and locally-based management schemes. The results will be used to work out 

recommendations and discuss implications for local development, conservation and use of 

this ecosystem.

27 

Poster 02 




Research on ecology and distribution of ephemeral wetlands in Chile: current stand 

and perspectives 

1 

Alvarez, Miguel; ² San Martín, Cristina; ² Ramírez, Carlos 

1 

INRES, Geobotany and Nature Conservation, University Bonn 

² Botanical Institute/Geobotany, Austral University, Chile 

In ephemeral wetlands (EW) dry periods alternate with flooding ones, promoting the 

evolution of high specialized plant species. The principal aim of our work is to show the state 

of the art about ecology and distribution of EW in Chile based on published and own works. 

We also discuss the challenges for further researches. Investigations about EW in Chile are 

very scarce: we found only 8 publications, all restricted to the study of the flora and 

vegetation. EW have presumably a broad distribution in Chile, principally in the 

Mediterranean climate range and its transition to the temperate range, however detailed 

researches are concentrated around the 40° S. The vegetation of Chilean EW presents some 

floristic affinities with Californian vernal pools determined through geographical vicariance. 

Areal disjunctions are also presented between Chile and the region around the Paranímouth. 

EW specialists include both high endemics as well as cosmopolites. The lack of 

knowledge about! 

EW both in the scientific community as well as in the public opinion makes it difficult to 

protect these ecosystems that are naturally fragmented and rare. Future researches should 

be concentrated on the determination of the whole distribution of EW in Chile and their 

protection status at the species and community level, and on a better understanding about 

the ecology and phylogeny of EW organisms.

28 

Poster 03 

Agrobiodiversity assessment in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil 

Torrico Albino, Juan Carlos 

Institute for Technology in the Tropics, Uni Köln, juan.torrico@fh-koeln.de 




In the municipality of Teresópolis Rio de Janeiro the genetic resources of plants in a 

dynamic, ecological and economic complex was evaluated, and the agro-biodiversity in 

seven farming systems that occur within 7 agro-ecosystems and 2 natural systems was 

assessed. It was evaluated the use and management of biodiversity and indicators of 

agricultural crop genetic resources. The ecological farming systems, agroforestry, 

sylvopastoral systems, and perennial cultivations present the best indices and help to reduce 

the pressure on the fragments and deforested areas. Also, they play an important role as 

biocorridor and buffering reserves and it also introduces a modest biodiversity level in these 

depredated areas of the Atlantic forest.

29 

Poster 04 




Vegetation dynamics on abandoned beaver ponds on Navarino Island (Fuegian 

Archipelago, Chile) 

Romy Werner 1 , Kurt Jax 2 , Hans Jürgen Böhmer 1,3 

1 

Technische Universität München, Lehrstuhl für Landschaftsökologie, Am Hochanger 6, D-85350 Freising, 

romy.werner@gmx.net 

2 Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung – UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, D-04318 Leipzig, kurt.jax@ufz.de 

3 Interdisziplinäres Lateinamerikazentrum (ILZ), Universität Bonn 

Walter-Flex-Straße 3, D-53113 Bonn, HJ.Boehmer@uni-bonn.de 

The main objective of this case study is to analyse the effects of the invasive North American 

beaver (Castor canadensis) on the autochtonous Nothofagus forest on Navarino Island in the 

Fuegian Archipelago (Archipiélago de Tierra del Fuego), Chile. On the study sites, (1) plant 

species diversity, (2) plant species composition, (3) rate of exotic plant species, (4) tree 

species composition, (5) tree density, (6) stem diameter, and (7) height of newly established 

trees were surveyed. 

Our results show that the invasive beaver causes a significant increase in diversity on 

abandoned beaver ponds as compared to forest sites. Moreover, every single succession 

site is characterized by a specific species composition, which is primarily influenced by cattle 

grazing and/or flooding. The rate of exotic species varies intensely between the sites. The 

factors for this variation could, however, not be determined with final certainty. In contrast to 

sites not influenced by beavers, regeneration on the abandoned ponds shows a pronounced 

dominance of Nothofagus antarctica. The following five factors were identified as presumably 

controlling the establishment of Nothofagus, (1) relative location of a source patch, (2) 

presence of woody debris, (3) grazing, (4) competition and (5) flooding. 

Key words: succession, regeneration, biological invasion, species diversity, exotic species.

30 

Poster 5 




Diversity and adult phenology of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera in a 

neotropical stream 

1 Pitagoras C. Bispo, ²Claudio O. Neves, ²Marinez I. Marques & ³Karl M. Wantzen 

1 

State University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, pitagoras@assis.unesp.br 

² Federal University of Mato Grosso 

³ University of Konstanz, Germany, matthias.wantzen@uni-konstanz.de 

The adults of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) were collected using 

emergence traps in four differents habitats of the Tenente Amaral Stream, Jaciara, Mato 

Grosso State, Center West, Brazil. Questions to be studied were: 1) Are there differences of 

richness and faunistic composition of EPT between the seasons (dry and rainy) and among 

the habitats? 2) Are there clear patterns of emergence and the differents morphospecies 

present similar emergence patterns? 3) Could the rainfall be a predictive factor of abundance 

of emergents adults of EPT? The emergence traps caught a total of 6691 individuals in 65 

morphospecies of 11 families of EPT. The higher abundance and richness occurred in lotic 

habitats. On the other hand, the standardized richness (rarefaction) was higher in lotic than 

in lentic habitats. The faunistic composition presented significant difference among the 

habitats (ANOSIM, R= 0,635; p= 0,002 to 5000 permutations), but no diference was 

observed bet! 

ween the seasons (dry and rainy) (ANOSIM, R= -0,188; p= 0,85 to 5000 permutations).

31 

Poster 6 




A landscape approach for the wetland knowledge and management 

1,2 Luisa F. Ricaurte & 1 Karl M. Wantzen 

1 

Aquatic-Terrestrial Interaction Group (ATIG), Institute of Limnology, University of Konstanz. 

2 

Researchers, Aquatic Ecosystem Group, Instituto Amazónico de Investigaciones Científicas Sinchi 

This paper reports results from a study on characterization, distribution and quantification of 

wetlands in the Colombian Amazon (upper basins of the Caqueta river (Japura river in 

Brasil), 1° 39´ 25.37” N, 75° 23´ 09.83” W, and 1° 09´ 41.16” N, 75° 55´ 19.63” W). We 

combined intensive ground truthing on landscape morphology, vegetation structure and 

hydrological-limnological criteria with results from satellite imagery, 2 satellite images 

Landsat TM, ETM-859, corresponding to dry and rainy season, were interpreted visually. In 

the field we characterized different abiotic and biotic elements of 18 case studies, and the 

validated results were used for the final classification. In an area of 370,000 ha, 862 wetlands 

were identified at a scale of 1:100.000. The typological analysis revealed 5 lenthic wetland 

types such as small lakes and swamps and 3 lothic types including rivers and small 

permanent and temporary, Andean and Amazonian streams. This experience suggests that 

the incorporation of the ecological characteristics of the water bodies as well as the attributes 

of the landscape units are relevant for regional and local wetland inventories and 

classifications, with results contributing significantly to the management of the ecosystems 

and to the understanding of their structural and functional aspects.

32 

Poster 7 




Shortwave Radiation Absorption into a Grassland-Pasture Competition Model for 

southern Ecuador 

1,3 

Silva, Brenner; ³Bendix, Jörg; ²Roos, Kristin; ³Göttlicher, Dietrich; ³Rollenbeck, Rütger; 

³Nauß, Thomas; ²Beck, Erwin 

1 

Laboratory for Climatology and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Geography, University of Marburg, Germany, 

bendix@staff.uni-marburg.de 

2 

Plant Physiology, Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Geoscience, University of Bayreuth, Germany, 

erwin.beck@uni-bayreuth.de 

3 

PhD-Student at University of Marburg, supported by Brazilian Council of Technological and Scientific 

Development (CNPq), brenner.silva@students.uni-marburg.de 

A special ecosystem can be found covering the top of mountain ranges in South America. 

High elevated grasslands occur naturally following adaptation to extreme climates and 

lixiviated soils. It contrasts with a large biodiversity of forests and involves an intricate 

process, which is normally not understood before the introduction of cultivated species. The 

main objective of the present study is the investigation of growing mechanisms of a native 

species, the southern bracken (Pteridium arachnoideum), and its competition with the most 

common cultivated pasture (Setaria sphacelata) in the eastern Andes of south Ecuador. The 

current study is part of the subproject C3.1 within the scope of the DFG-Research Unit 

“Biodiversity and Sustainable Management of a Megadiverse Mountain Ecosystem in South 

Ecuador”. Recently it incorporates a PhD-student granted by the Brazilian Council of 

Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq), including the challenge to extend the 

inves! 

tigations to Brazilian ecosystems. Current activities are concerned with a modelling approach 

used to explain the main hypothesis of the growth advantage of bracken. Up to now solar 

radiation absorption was calculated using a radiation scheme, which is based on the 

Community Land Model, originally applied to a global scale. A new parameterization and 

conceptual questions shall be presented, as well as first results about the competition for 

light. The feasibility of the model to explain the short wave radiation absorption and its 

applicability to investigate growth competition in the future are to be questioned.

33 

Poster 8 

The Brazilian Herbarium of Maximilian, Prince of Wied 

Pedro Luís Rodrigues de Moraes 

Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brasil, plrmorae@yahoo.de 




Prince Maximilian of Wied was one of the first naturalists that visited Brazil in the 19 th 

century. He explored the southeastern regions of Brazil between 1815 and 1817, returning 

with a wealth of information about native South Americans, and also rich zoological and 

botanical material. His collection of plants gathered in Brazil is currently housed in several 

herbaria, mainly at BR, GOET, GZU, and LE. Up to the present, there are at least 1019 

gatherings by Wied that are known from the literature, representing 114 families, 440 genera, 

886 species of vascular plants and 17 families, 32 genera, 122 species of lower plants. 

About 60% of them have been located already. In May 1998, the private herbarium of Wied 

was rediscovered in the library of the Palace of Neuwied. It comprehends 125 specimens of 

plants encompassing 97 species distributed in 36 families of Angiosperms (and two still 

indeterminate), and three families of Cryptogams. Although the private collection represents 

only a small fraction (c. 10% of species) of the whole Brazilian herbarium gathered by Wied, 

its historical value is indisputable since WIED’S vouchers are among the first ones collected in 

Brazil that are still extant. The specimens also have a remarkable scientific value, not only for 

being duplicates of nomenclatural types of several species, but for sampling former 

vegetations that no longer exist in many of the places visited by the prince, thus representing 

plant samples of populations that have undergone local extinction. As such, they might also 

represent morphological variants that are not found in nature any more.

34 

Poster 9 

Submerge tolerant Symmeria paniculata in Amazonian floodplains 

Pia Parolin 




Symmeria paniculata Benth. (Polygonaceae) is a light-demaning small evergreen tree 

species which is distributed in tropical South American wetlands as well as on river-banks 

from Senegal to Sierra Leone in Africa. In Brazilian Amazonia, it grows in the lowest of the 

flooding gradient in nutrient-poor blackwater inundation forests. 

S. paniculata is one of the most submergence tolerant trees known to date. It does not shed 

its submerged leaves despite flooding durations of up to seven months. The whole plant may 

be flooded for prolonged periods at the sapling stage, partly in complete darkness. 

This extraordinary capacity might lead to the assumption that leaf characteristics indicate 

specialfeatures which allow the tolerance and survival of prolonged flooding. This however is 

not the case. 

Comparisons of anatomical and morphological leaf structures with other tropical tree species 

or other Poligonaceae revealed that S. pniculata follows the general patterns of the family, 

i.e. the leaves did not appear to be related to particular floodplain conditions. However, 

several ffeatures such as thick epidermis cells and cuticula, cuticular wrinkles, epiccuticular 

waxes, raised stomatal rims, and sunken stomata should facilitate the survival under 

floodplain conditions. 

Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements at up to 8m under water showed that the leaves 

were able to maintain an undamaged photochemical apparatus, also when submerged in 

complete darkness for up to 163 days.

35 

Poster 10 




Bird Community of a Smallholding in the Densely Settled Rural Landscape of the 

Bragantina Region, Northeastern Amazon 

Stefan Hohnwald 

The purpose of this poster is to report bird records from the little studied Bragantina region, in 

the densely populated North-eastern amazon. As this region was a center of colonization in 

the last century, rainforests were almost completely replaced by a dynamic, mosaic-like rural 

landscape pattern. A two years presence in the region, from February 1999 to January 2001, 

offered the opportunity to collect some ornithological observation data on a smallholding and 

around two little lakes, in the municipality of IgarapÃ©-AÃ§u. Bird species are noted besides 

field work for an agricultural experiment, at 32 days. Species lists show the expected 

reduced bird diversity in comparison to primary forests and a dominace of robust, 

widespread generalists, e.g. Smooth-billed Ani, Silver-beaked Tanager, and Common 

Ground-Doves. However, endmic White-tailed Cotinga, Least Grebe, and up to 34 Bluewinged 

Macaws, at the same time, have also been observed. In all, 110 birds species (95 

genera, 40 families) are listed with information about abundance and habitat. Due to the 

used methodology, results provide not a complete picture of the bird community, but a more 

detailed survey is recommended, especially in gallery forests, which might act as refuges for 

forest species.

36 

Poster 11 




How History explains plant diversity and plant-plant relationships: the case of lianas 

and trees in the Yucatan, Mexico 

Edgardo Garrido-Perez 

Global crops abandonment is increasing the coverage of secondary forests respect to oldgrown 

ones, resulting in higher abundances of lianas (climbing woody vines). The legacy of 

previous land use on liana-species composition and liana-effects on trees and carbon stock 

remains poorly studied. The land use history of Solferino village (northeastern Yucatan 

Peninsula, Mexico) was reconstructed by combining archaeological, historical, traditional, 

and remote sensing evidences. Interpreting this history suggests that latex extraction from 

Manilkara zapota trees and selective logging enhanced the abundance of Bignoniaceae and 

Sapindaceae lianas. Meanwhile slash-and-burn agriculture enhanced the abundance of 

Dalbergia glabra (Fabaceae, Papilionoideae). On the stands dominated by Bignoniaceae and 

Sapindaceae, trees hosting larger liana-tangles grew less, thereby making the above-ground 

carbon stock smaller than possible without lianas; but the opposite occurred on the stands 

dominated by D. glabra. It suggests that different liana-effects on trees and carbon capture in 

liana-abundant areas are legacies of previous land uses via changes of further liana-species 

composition. Studying cultural effects on current plant diversity and plant-plant interactions 

promises a better understanding of secondary forests, how to manage them, and what 

makes some species more abundant than others; but requires to combine Plant Ecology with 

Social Sciences.

37 

Namensliste (Seite) 

Alvarez, Miguel (27) 

Beck, Erwin (32) 

Behling, Hermann (21) 

Bendix, Jörg (32) 

Bihn, Joch H. (13) 

Bispo, Pitagoras C. (30) 

Böhmer, Hans Jürgen (29) 

Borges, Clóvis (16) 

Condit, Richard (17) 

Diele, Karin (10) 

Fabry, Rainer (16) 

Fischer, Frauke (12) 

Freymann, Bernd P. (14) 

Garrido-Perez, Edgardo (36) 

Gerold, Gerhard (19,22) 

Göttlicher, Dietrich (32) 

Heymann, Eckhard W. (15) 

Höfer, Hubert (16) 

Hohnwald, Stefan (35) 

Horchler, Peter (18) 

Hubbel, Stephen P. (17) 

Huber, Otto (11) 

Huth, Andreas (17) 

Ibisch, Pierre L. (24) 

Jax, Kurt (29) 

Junk, Wolfgang (7) 

Köster, Nils (23) 

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Neves, Claudio O. (30) 

Nowicki, Christoph (24) 

Parolin, Pia (9,34) 

Peters, Jule (24) 

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Biodiversität im Wandel - ILZ - Universität Bonn

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