ATBC 2008 - Metz

Symposium

Regeneration ecology across the tropics: cross-site comparisons of seed and seedling dynamics

Organizers : Margaret Metz (mmetz -at- berkeley.edu) and Liza Comita (comital -at- si.edu)

The dynamics of seeds and seedlings play a large role in determining the structure and composition of tropical forests. In addition, many prominent hypotheses concerning the ecological mechanisms maintaining tropical forest diversity emphasize processes occurring at early life stages. However, the degree to which sites differ in regeneration dynamics, and the consequences of those differences, are not fully understood. Therefore, in keeping with the 2008 ATBC meeting theme of "Past and Recent History of Tropical Ecosystems: Cross-Continental Comparisons and Lessons for the Future", we proposed a symposium to bring together researchers examining the dynamics of these early life history stages at multiple sites throughout the tropics. Presentations will include explicit comparisons of seed and seedling dynamics among sites that differ in diversity, climate, disturbance regimes, forest age and biogeographic history. Talks will explore the consequences of the differences and similarities in regeneration dynamics among sites, with the ultimate goal of increasing understanding of general patterns of forest diversity and dynamism across tropical forests. We believe that the symposium, which will include both early career researchers as well as more senior scientists from around the world, will be of interest to a large number of attendees at the ATBC annual meeting.