Tropical Plant Collecting: From the Field to the Internet by Scott Mori et al.

Page 1

“A wonderful read about tropical fieldwork by one of the great contemporary botanical explorers and a few of his many collaborators.”

TECC

Professor Sir Ghillean Prance, Director Emeritus, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

“This book fulfills multiple gaps that currently exist in the botanical literature, and represents an incredible resource to anyone interested in tropical biology. It is engagingly written throughout and will certainly serve as a major source of inspiration to the next generation of botanists.” Lúcia G. Lohmann, Dept. de Botânica, Universidade de São Paulo

“The most useful book I have read about tropical plant collecting in the last ten years. It should be consulted by systematists preparing monographs and floras as well as by those wishing to collect plants as vouchers for other kinds of studies.” Ricardo Secco, Diretor do Herbário, Dept. de Botânica, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi

Mori Berkov Gracie Hecklau

Paul Maas, Professor Emeritus, University of Utrecht

Tropic a l Pl a n t Collec t ing provides field biologists with information

about carrying out fieldwork in tropical America, gathering botanical collections, managing specimens in herbaria, making information about plants available on the Internet, and raising money to fund both expeditions and the preparation of Floras and monographs. The book is based on over 40 years of tropical plant collecting in Central and South America by the senior editor and his colleagues. Although traditional field and herbarium techniques are discussed, the book emphasizes how new techniques provided by digital photography, databases, and the Internet have revolutionized plant collecting and data presentation in systematic botany. The audience for this book is tropical biologists and students who, as part of their research, need to gather botanical specimens to document their scientific studies. The book is also useful for those taking neotropical field biology courses, and Chapter 3, which covers many of the dangers of traveling and working in neotropical forests, is recommended for anyone planning to visit remote areas of this region. US $34.95

TECC Editora Florianópolis, Brazil www.tecceditora.com info@tecceditora.com

Tropical Plant Collecting

“A must for every young biologist who is preparing for field studies in the tropics.”

From the Field to the Internet

Edited by Scott A. Mori, Amy Berkov, Carol A. Gracie & Edmund F. Hecklau

“This work is a primer on how to successfully conduct fieldwork and Mori’s diverse career has allowed this incredible field explorer the opportunity to pass on much of his knowledge to younger scientists and explorers in general” Thomas B. Croat, P. A. Schulze Curator of Botany, Missouri Botanical Garden

Tropical Plant Collecting



Tropical Plant Collecting From the Field to the Internet Edited by Scott A. Mori Amy Berkov Carol A. Gracie Edmund F. Hecklau

TECC Editora Florian贸polis, Brazil


This book is dedicated to John Daniel Mitchell in recognition of his support of the Institute of Systematic Botany and the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of The New York Botanical Garden

漏 2011 by Scott A. Mori ISBN: 978-85-65005-00-5 Published by TECC Editora Florian贸polis, Brazil www.tecceditora.com - info@tecceditora.com Distributed by Itasca Books Cover painting by Michael Rothman All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote short passages in a review. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the editors, authors, and publisher. The editors, authors, and publisher disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.


Contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xiv Chapter 1. My Career as a Tropical Botanist

BY SCOTT A. MORI

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Box 1-1. The Difference between Monographs and Floras 2 Initiation to Botany 3 Becoming a Tropical Botanist 6 Monograph of the Brazil Nut Family 16 A Year in Panama 17 NYBG Post-Doc 24 Bahia, Brazil 27 NYBG Curator 31 French Guiana 32 Central French Guiana 35 Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project 43 Nouragues 49 Saba 52 Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica 55 Conclusions 58 Chapter 2. Amy’s Year in the Rain Forest

BY AMY BERKOV

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Flirting with Domesticity 61 Sensory Deprivation in the Midst of Plenty 63 Waiting for Things to Fall From the Sky 66 The Emerging of Scamps 69 The Giant Wild Forest Pussy Cat 71 La Carte de Sejour Vrai 72 Seasonal Changes in the Land of Endless Summer 74


N’Habite Pas à la Adresse Indiquée 75 Epilogue 75 Chapter 3. Tips for Tropical Biologists

BY SCOTT A. MORI

Hiking to Camp 78 Camp Sites 79 Camp Life 84 Dangers and Annoyances 85 Accidents 85 Box 3-1. Machete as a Cane 88 Lost in the Forest 89 Dangerous Waters 89 Box 3-2. Lost in the Forest 90 Arachnids 94 Chiggers 94 Scorpions 95 Spiders 96 Ticks 96 Insects 97 Ants 97 Bees and wasps 97 Box 3-3. Tarantula Hawk 101 Whiplash beetles 102 Butterflies and moths 103 Burrowing fleas 104 Tabanid flies 104 Black flies 105 Botflies 106 Parasites 108 Dengue fever 108 Cutaneous larva migrans 109 Leishmaniasis 109 Malaria 112 Snakes 114 Mammals 118 Jaguars 118 Pumas 120 Peccaries 120 Box 3-4. Pecari tajacu 121 Monkeys 123

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Humans 124 Box 3-5. Guerrilleros 126 Conclusions 129 Chapter 4. From the Field

BY SCOTT A. MORI

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Collection Numbers and Duplicates 135 How Many Collections? 138 What to Collect? 140 Vouchers for Ecological Studies 141 Equipment 145 Clothing 145 Collecting equipment 146 Specimen Collecting 148 Finding collections 148 Specimen notes 149 Climbing trees 152 Preparing specimens 163 Specimen images 167 Box 4-1. Protocol for Images of Lecythidaceae 168 Box 4-2. Construction of a Plant Holder for Photography 170 Drying specimens 171 Box 4-3. Construction of a Standard Wooden Propanedriven Drying Frame 173 Box 4-2. Construction of an Aluminum Hotplate-driven Mini Plant Drying Frame 176 Tips for Collecting in Neotropical Countries 183 Before the arrival 184 During the visit 186 Before the departure 187 After the expedition 188 Conclusions 188 Chapter 5. Into the Herbarium

BY SCOTT A. MORI

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Herbarium Management 194 Geographical focus 194 Label making 195 Box 5-1. An Example of a Collection Label 197 Cataloging 198


How many records are needed? 200 Geo-referencing 202 Naming image files 205 Use of space 207 Specimen annotation 211 Herbarium mission statements and collection policies 211 Box 5-2. Mission and Collecting Policy 212 Conclusions 213 Chapter 6. Onto the Internet

BY SCOTT A. MORI

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Electronic Monographs 217 Important Components of Electronic monographs 218 Specimens 219 Multimedia 220 Taxonomy 220 Box 6-1. Species Page Content 221 Literature 223 Glossaries 225 Keys 225 Electronic Floras 226 Box 6-2. Specimens from the Field onto the Internet 227 Citation of e-monographs and e-Floras 230 Problems Remaining to be Addressed 230 Conservation 236 Conclusions 238 Chapter 7. Rain Forests of Tropical America: Is there Hope for their Future? BY SCOTT A. MORI | 239 Tropical rain forest 239 Biodiversity 241 Why are there so many Species in the Neotropics? 242 Economic Importance 245 Plant Succession 248 Both Fragile and Resilient 249 Man’s Role 252 Ecosystem Services 259 Human Population and Consumption 263


Biofuels 264 Water and Climate Change 266 Is there Hope for the future? 270 Appendix A. Adopt-a-Forest Strategy

BY SCOTT A. MORI

Appendix B. Funding for Systematic Botany

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BY SCOTT A. MORI

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Why Support Systematic Botany? 276 Importance of Grants 278 The National Science Foundation (NSF) 279 Hypothesis conundrum 283 National Geographic Society (NGS) 284 Foundations 285 Contracts 287 Fellowships 287 Ecotours 288 Individual Giving 291 Additional Institutional Support 292 Miscellaneous Rund Raising 294 Appendix C. Personal Field Supplies

BY SCOTT A. MORI

Appendix D. Essential Collecting Equipment

| 295

BY SCOTT A. MORI

| 297

Literature Cited | 299 Index to Scientific Names, Common Names, and Place Names | 319


18 / Tropical Plant Collecting: From the Field to the Internet

Fig. 1-6. The author and some of the botanists he collected with in Panama and Guyana. Top left: The author on the El Llano-Carti Road in Panama in 1975. Photo by Jacquelyn Kallunki. Top right: Jacquelyn Kallunki in the DariÊn of Panama in 1975. Bottom left: Alan Bolten in Guyana in 1975. Bottom right: Al Gentry on a Flora Neotropica field trip in Brazil in 1987. Photos B–D by Scott A. Mori.


Chapter 1: My Career as a Tropical Botanist / 25

Fig. 1-8. The author and some botanists he collected with in Amazonian Brazil and French Guiana. Top left: Ghillean T. Prance driving a Zodiac in the Amazon in 1977. Top right: Jean-Jacques de Granville at Pic MatĂŠcho in French Guiana in 2000. Bottom left: George Cremers at the base of Mt. Galbao in French Guiana in 1976. Photos by Scott A. Mori. Bottom right: The author and Carol Gracie at Km 41, a reserve of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project in central Amazonian Brazil in ca. 1988. Photographer unknown.


62 / Tropical Plant Collecting: From the Field to the Internet

Fig. 2-1. My home and work in French Guiana. Top left: Tavakilian displays Titanus giganteus (Linnaeus, 1771), one of the largest beetles in the world. Bottom left: I check out my very airy house. Top right: Scott Mori and I prepare plant vouchers and take notes on the study trees. Photos by Carol A. Gracie. Middle right: I sort beetles by headlamp. Photo by J. Bonavito. Bottom right: Limitless solitude in the middle of the rain forest. Photo by Carol A. Gracie.

rived in the village of Sa端l in a state of intense euphoria, convinced that my luck was changing, and made the final seven kilometer hike to the homestead where I would spend the next year. My new house, tucked amidst secondary forest but only meters from pristine old-growth forest, was enchanting. The lower walls were made of interwoven strips of wood, while billowing lace curtains sufficed


38 / Tropical Plant Collecting: From the Field to the Internet

Fig. 1-14. Eaux Claires in central French Guiana. Top: Approximately 200 years of plant collecting in the tropics is represented by the botanists in this image. Sitting on the steps of Carbet Carol at Eaux Claires in 1995 are: Bottom: Bottom row: Carol Gracie, Bernard Jardin, Frieda Billet, Jean-Jacques de Granville; middle row: Tom Croat, Hiltje Maas, the author, George Cremers; top row: Paul Maas, David Read, Terry Pennington. Bottom. Brian Boom, the author’s first Ph.D. student, and the author arranging the plant presses on the drying frames at Eaux Claires. Photos by Carol A. Gracie.


Chapter 3: Tips for Tropical Biologists / 83

A

B

C

Fig. 3-4. Directions for making a hammock mosquito net and for tying knots associated with hammock sleeping. Top (A): Plans for a hammock mosquito net. Note the pocket on the inside of the hammock for placing items such as a small headlamp. Bottom left (B): Three stages in tying a common knot used to attach hammock end ropes to their supports. This knot is easy to release when the hammock is taken down. Normal knots become very tight and are extremely difficult to untie. Bottom right (C): A taut-line hitch used to tie the mosquito net to its supports. This knot allows for adjusting the tension of the line without untying the knot. Drawing by Bobbi Angell.

he believed their unnerving howls were roars of jaguars. Inexperienced hammock-sleepers sometimes flip out while entering the hammock, or crash to the ground due to improperly tied knots. Figure 3-4B illustrates a knot that will not slip but can be easily released when the hammock is taken down. The knots should be carefully tested before putting one’s entire weight into the hammock. The secret to sleeping comfortably in a hammock is to lie at an angle, rather than parallel to the long axis of the hammock, so that the body is more or less flat and not


Chapter 3: Tips for Tropical Biologists / 103

Fig. 3-10. Top left. A whiplash beetle. Bottom left. An example of a caterpillar, many of which have hairs that can be irritating if they are touched. Photos by Carol A. Gracie. Right: Burn on neck cause by a whiplash beetle in Amazonian Brazil. Photo by Scott A. Mori.

elytra that leave several abdominal segments exposed, and heads nearly as large as the prothorax (Fig. 3-10). I have seen many of these beetles on ecotours to central Amazonia because they often visit lights. When they are common, they frequently land on humans and cause track-like pustules on the skin of unlucky individuals. The only way to avoid this discomfort is to flick the beetle off the skin with a forefinger instead of squashing it in place. Rashes (Fig. 3-10) caused by whiplash beetles should be treated with a topical antibiotic to avoid infection and, in time, will disappear, but if the hemolymph enters an eye, serious damage to sight can occur.

Butterflies and moths. The larvae of some butterflies and moths are covered by hairs that are irritating to the touch (Fig. 3-10). The greatest danger with these caterpillars is to touch one by mistake, or worse, stumble against a tree covered with an entire colony. Some adult moths also possess urticating, barbed scales that are released in self defense—the best-known and most toxic is Hylesia metabus (Cramer, 1775). Adult females of this species release the barbed hairs from their abdomens, and upon contact


Chapter 3: Tips for Tropical Biologists / 105

flies. Their painful bites and annoying swarming behavior are enough to make one take great pleasure in killing these pestiferous tormenters (Fig. 3-11). To avoid bites around the ankles, I usually wear two pairs of socks and tuck my pants into them. Although their beaks are as long as 7 mm, it is difficult for them to penetrate multiple layers of pants and socks. In addition, a hat keeps them out of my hair and a small towel can be used as a “horse’s tail” to swat them away. I also avoid wearing blue clothes or using a blue-colored pack, because these pests seem to be attracted by blue. Their larvae are aquatic, so eliminating standing water around habitations reduces adult populations.

Fig 3-12. Top. Black fly. Bottom. Red welts on legs caused by black fly bites on the Rio Branco, Roraima, Brazil. Photos by Carol A. Gracie.

Black flies (Simuliidae). Black flies (Fig. 3-12) are not only so annoying that they drive people to the brink of insanity, they also transmit serious diseases such as river blindness (onchoseriasis) caused by filiarial nematodes (Katz et al., 1982) and dog heart worm, which also infects humans. Swarms of black flies occur along certain fast-flowing rivers, but not others. For example, on one of our Amazonian ecotours with Moacir Fortes black flies were absent along the Rio Negro, but when we ascended the Rio Branco they were present in such dense swarms that it was impossible to be in the open without long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and a head net. They were, like other biting flies, less offensive when we were in moving boats. When black flies bite they leave small, red blood spots that cause minor discomfort (Fig 3-12), but when hundreds are


Chapter 4: From the Field / 161

Fig. 4-10. Additional clipper pole tips. Left: The poles are more efficiently carried from one tree to another by wrapping them and the rope together with a velco strap at the top and the poles together with another velco strap at the bottom of the pole. Right: To stop the rope from fraying at both ends it is whipped as shown here (steps shown in order from right to left). Do not use a knot for stopping the rope from fraying because it gets stuck in the forks of plant branches when the rope is retrieved. Photos by Scott A. Mori.

from adjacent trees. The ground support person should watch carefully to see where the cut specimens land, because the ground may be obscured to the climber. Before moving to the next tree the pole segments should be separated and held together with VelcroŽ straps (Fig. 4-10) or BungeeŽ cords. If the climber drags the assembled pole through the forest, it will be difficult to maneuver through the understory, and the segments may get bent as the pole is pulled around trees. One downside to climbing with spikes is the potential damage to the tree. Trees with thick outer bark can be climbed with relatively little damage because the outer bark is dead, and therefore spikes do not bite into the tree’s living tissues. When trees produce latex or resin, the exudates immediately fill the wounds and apparently inhibit the entry of insects, bacteria, and fungi into the tree. Castilho et al. (2006) evaluated the impact of wounding due to the use of French climbing spikes on the growth rate and survival of trees. In their study no trees died as a result of spike injury, and the growth rates of spike-climbed trees did not differ


Chapter 4: From the Field / 175

frame end

frame side

protective screen press end

frame end frame end

Fig. 4-15. A wooden hotplate driven mini plant drying frame. The dimensions for this frame are provided in Box 4-4 (i.e., the aluminum mini frame) and are different from the dimensions for the standard propane-driven drying frame provided in Box 4-3. The drying press shown here differs from the standard frame only in the dimensions of the frame. This and the aluminum mini frame are the same dimensions. A mini frame has the ends wider than the sides because it is designed to accommodate fewer collections. Top: The pieces needed to make a wooden plant drying frame. The length of the frame side is determined by the number of collections to be dried and the height of the frame is determined by the source of the heat, this frame is short because a hotplate provides more moderate heat. Bottom left: A protective screen keeps debris and the drying press straps from contact with the heat source. Bottom right: The drying frame, protective screen, and drying press in place. This drying set-up is inexpensive, easy to make, and fast to set up and take down. Photos by the author.


Chapter 7: Rain Forests of Tropical America / 251

Fig. 7-2. Top: The bat, Sturnira lilium, about to land on an infructescence of Solanum rugosum. Bats disperse seeds of this and other species of plants into gaps as well as into other habitats. Bottom: Plants dispersed by bats have begun to colonize a large, manmade gap. The plants on the left foreground are species of Solanum and the plants on the right foreground are a species of Cecropia, both dispersed by bats. Photos by Merlin Tuttle of Bat Conservation International (both taken in French Guiana).


)JW]\ \PM -LQ\WZ[ Scott A. Mori. Dr. Scott A. Mori attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he obtained his B.S. degree in 1964 in Biology and Conservation, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was awarded his Ph.D. in botany in 1974. He is now the Nathaniel Lord Britton Curator of Botany at The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). Dr. Mori is a former Executive Director of Flora Neotropica, a former Director of the Institute of Systematic Botany at NYBG, and an adjunct professor at the City University of New York, the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University, and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Dr. Mori has been awarded the David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration and the Asa Gray award by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists for life-time achievement based on his studies of the classification, ecology, and conservation of New World tropical plants.

Amy Berkov. Dr. Amy Berkov attended the University of Colorado-Denver, where she obtained her B.F.A degree in 1977 in fine art, and the City University of New YorkLehman College, where she was awarded her Ph.D. in biology in 1999. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the City College of New York (CCNY, CUNY), an Honorary Research Associate at NYBG, and an Associate in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Research in her lab focuses on the evolutionary and community ecology of neotropical wood-boring beetles, particularly those associated with the Brazil nut family. Carol A. Gracie. Carol A. Gracie has a B.S. in Plant Studies from the City University of New York, Lehman College. She is retired from NYBG, where she served as Senior Administrator of Children’s Education and Director of Foreign Tours, among other positions. She subsequently worked with her husband, Scott Mori, on tropical research projects, including the preparation of a flora of central French Guiana. Ms. Gracie’s current interests include the temperate flora of northeastern North America. She has co-authored a field guide to the wildflowers of that region (Wildflowers in the Field and Forest: A Field Guide to the Northeastern United States). Her current book, Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History, is in press. Edmund F Hecklau. Dr. Edmund F. Hecklau attended Wagner College, Staten Island, New York, where he obtained his B.S. degree in Biology in 1950, and NYU College of Medicine where he was awarded his M.D. degree in 1954. Following a residency at Buffalo Children’s Hospital, he was in the private practice of General Pediatrics in Greenwich, CT from 1959–1986, and then served as Vice-President of Medical Services at the Greenwich (CT) Hospital from 1986–1991. In his 20 years in retirement, he has been able to refine his some 70-year interest in horticulture and botany, culminating in a volunteer position at NYBG under the mentorship of Dr. Scott Mori, with whom he has co-authored several published papers relating to the flora of Central French Guiana. As a self-described field botanist, from 2006–2010, he conducted educational sessions in field botany and plant name etymology for the naturalist staff of the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks. He initiated and made available to visitors at that museum an educational herbarium of some 150+ species, designed for hands-on public education.



“A wonderful read about tropical fieldwork by one of the great contemporary botanical explorers and a few of his many collaborators.”

TECC

Professor Sir Ghillean Prance, Director Emeritus, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

“This book fulfills multiple gaps that currently exist in the botanical literature, and represents an incredible resource to anyone interested in tropical biology. It is engagingly written throughout and will certainly serve as a major source of inspiration to the next generation of botanists.” Lúcia G. Lohmann, Dept. de Botânica, Universidade de São Paulo

“The most useful book I have read about tropical plant collecting in the last ten years. It should be consulted by systematists preparing monographs and floras as well as by those wishing to collect plants as vouchers for other kinds of studies.” Ricardo Secco, Diretor do Herbário, Dept. de Botânica, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi

Mori Berkov Gracie Hecklau

Paul Maas, Professor Emeritus, University of Utrecht

Tropic a l Pl a n t Collec t ing provides field biologists with information

about carrying out fieldwork in tropical America, gathering botanical collections, managing specimens in herbaria, making information about plants available on the Internet, and raising money to fund both expeditions and the preparation of Floras and monographs. The book is based on over 40 years of tropical plant collecting in Central and South America by the senior editor and his colleagues. Although traditional field and herbarium techniques are discussed, the book emphasizes how new techniques provided by digital photography, databases, and the Internet have revolutionized plant collecting and data presentation in systematic botany. The audience for this book is tropical biologists and students who, as part of their research, need to gather botanical specimens to document their scientific studies. The book is also useful for those taking neotropical field biology courses, and Chapter 3, which covers many of the dangers of traveling and working in neotropical forests, is recommended for anyone planning to visit remote areas of this region. US $34.95

TECC Editora Florianópolis, Brazil www.tecceditora.com info@tecceditora.com

Tropical Plant Collecting

“A must for every young biologist who is preparing for field studies in the tropics.”

From the Field to the Internet

Edited by Scott A. Mori, Amy Berkov, Carol A. Gracie & Edmund F. Hecklau

“This work is a primer on how to successfully conduct fieldwork and Mori’s diverse career has allowed this incredible field explorer the opportunity to pass on much of his knowledge to younger scientists and explorers in general” Thomas B. Croat, P. A. Schulze Curator of Botany, Missouri Botanical Garden

Tropical Plant Collecting


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