Strategies of diaspore dispersal investment in Compositae: the case of the Andean highlands.

Background And Aims: Understanding diaspore morphology and how much a species invests on dispersal appendages is key for improving our knowledge of dispersal in fragmented habitats. We investigate diaspore morphological traits in high-Andean Compositae and their main abiotic and biotic drivers and test whether they play a role in species distribution patterns across the naturally fragmented high-Andean grasslands.

Methods: We collected diaspore trait data for 125 Compositae species across 47 tropical high-Andean summits, focusing on achene length and pappus-to-achene length ratio, with the latter as a proxy of dispersal investment.

Freeze-thaw revival of rotifers and algae in a desiccated, high-elevation (5500 meters) microbial mat, high Andes, Perú.

This is the first study of the highest elevation cyanobacteria-dominated microbial mat yet described. The desiccated mat was sampled in 2010 from an ephemeral rock pool at 5500 m above sea level in the Cordillera Vilcanota of southern Perú. After being frozen for 6 years at -20 °C in the lab, pieces of the mat were sequenced to fully characterize both the 16 and 18S microbial communities and experiments were conducted to determine if organisms in the mat could revive and become active under the extreme freeze-thaw conditions that these mats experience in the field.

Long-term monitoring of tropical alpine habitat change, Andean anurans, and chytrid fungus in the Cordillera Vilcanota, Peru: Results from a decade of study.

The Cordillera Vilcanota in southern Peru is the second largest glacierized range in the tropics and home to one of the largest high-alpine lakes, Sibinacocha (4,860 m). Here, (marbled water frog), (Andean toad), and (marbled four-eyed frog) have expanded their range vertically within the past century to inhabit newly formed ponds created by ongoing deglaciation. These anuran populations, geographically among the highest (5,200-5,400 m) recorded globally, are being impacted by the chytrid fungus (), and the disease it causes, chytridiomycosis.