Long-Term Studies of Small-Sapling Community Dynamics in Relation to Light Gaps in a Neotropical Forest

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HUBBELL The objective of this research is to conduct an annual census ofseedlings and saplings in a tropical rain forest in Panama, to monitor theirannual growth, survival, and recruitment for 5 years. We will also recordthe location and dynamics of all treefall light gaps that open in theforest, because these are the main sites for forest regeneration, whereseedling and small sapling dynamics are accelerated. The dynamics of thisforest, located on Barro Colorado Island (BCI) in the Panama Canal, has beenstudied for the past two decades, but thus far seedlings and small saplingshave not been included. These new data will enable us to test alternativehypotheses for how the more than 300 species of trees are maintained andcoexist in the BCI forest. New evidence suggests that host-specific fungalpathogens that kill seeds and seedlings may be important agents regulatingtree diversity in the BCI forest. We will test this hypothesis and testthe strength of density-dependent regulation in the seedling and smallsapling community. We will also test the hypothesis that treefall gaps,interacting with limited seed dispersal, limit the recruitment success ofmost tree species in the BCI forest. The work is likely to have broadersignificance for understanding how tropical forests in general maintain hightree species diversity.