Smithsonian Institution, 647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater, MD 21037-0028, USA, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology , Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA, Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network, Moore Center for Ecosystem Science and Economics, Conservatio...

Australian rain forests extend from tropical climates in the north to temperate climates in the south, providing an opportunity to investigate physiological responses to temperature of both temperate and tropical species within the same forest type. Eight, rain forest canopy tree species were selected to cover the 33 degrees latitudinal range of rain forests in eastern Australia. Temperature to...

Nitrification, a key process in the global nitrogen cycle that generates nitrate through microbial activity, may enhance losses of fertilizer nitrogen by leaching and denitrification. Certain plants can suppress soil-nitrification by releasing inhibitors from roots, a phenomenon termed biological nitrification inhibition (BNI). Here, we report the discovery of an effective nitrification inhibit...

Petroleum-hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria were obtained after enrichment on crude oil (as a 'chocolate mousse') in a continuous supply of Indonesian seawater amended with nitrogen, phosphorus and iron nutrients. They were related to Alcanivorax and Marinobacter strains, which are ubiquitous petroleum-hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in marine environments, and to Oceanobacter kriegii (96.4-96.5 % ...

The movement of human populations across the planet has character ized human societies throughout history. Historically, resource scarcity or depletion has induced this movement. In recent years, rural populations and their relationships to their environment are again attracting growing interest, especially in connection with population change and particularly migration. Rural areas contain mos...

The National Park Service has developed a long-term ecological monitoring program for 32 ecoregional networks containing more than 270 parks with significant natural resources. The monitoring program assists park managers in developing a broad-based understanding of the status and trends of park resources as a basis for making decisions and working with other agencies and the public for the lon...

Long-term observations of the reactive chemical composition of the tropical marine boundary layer (MBL) are rare, despite its crucial role for the chemical stability of the atmosphere. Recent observations of reactive bromine species in the tropical MBL showed unexpectedly high levels that could potentially have an impact on the ozone budget. Uncertainties in the ozone budget are amplified by ou...

In tropical rain forests, rates of forest turnover and tree species' life-history differences are shaped by the life expectancy of trees and the time taken by seedlings to reach the canopy. These measures are therefore of both theoretical and applied interest. However, the relationship between size, age, and life expectancy is poorly understood. In this paper, we show how to obtain, in a dynami...

Throughout history, mankind has regarded the wilderness as an unlimited resource that can be plundered for food, firewood, and expansion of arable land. While some island nations (including, as we have learned from recent news, Haiti) have already suffered dire consequences from deforestation, the consequences of the loss of wilderness on a global scale were only recognised late in the twentiet...