International Research Fellowship Program: Determinants of Relative Species Abundance: A Cross-Continental Comparison of Tropical Tree Communities

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0703571ComitaThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-four-month research fellowship by Dr. Liza S. Comita to work with Dr. Stuart J. Davies at the Center for Tropical Forest Science in Panama.Why are some species common, while others are exceedingly rare? In the tropics, identifying the causes of commonness and rarity in tree communities is essential for understanding how forests are structured and has important implications for the conservation of tropical diversity. The objectives of this study are to examine the determinants of and limits to species abundances in tropical tree communities and to investigate whether the processes shaping species relative abundance patterns differ among tropical forests. To this end, standardized datasets from a network of large forests plots located throughout the tropics are being used to test hypotheses concerning patterns of commonness and rarity both within and among tropical tree communities. This global plot network is coordinated by the Center for Tropical Forest Science (Panama City, Panama), which possesses the world's largest database on tropical tree dynamics, with information on over 3 million individuals of ~6000 species, estimated to represent 10% of all tropical tree species on earth. The current study is among the most comprehensive cross-site analyses of species abundances in diverse tropical forests and will provide fundamental information about how such communities are structured. An understanding of the similarities and differences among tropical forests sites will aid efforts to conserve and restore the incredible diversity of the tropics. In addition, the project is providing postdoctoral training in an international context and is helping the postdoctoral fellow further her career goal of applying basic research findings to forest conservation and restoration efforts in Latin America.