Biodistance Analysis via Dental Phenotypic Diversity in Early Collective Burials at Cerro Juan Díaz, Panamá (30-650 CE) [Análisis de Biodistancia Mediante la Diversidad Fenotípica Dental en los Entierros Colectivos Tempranos del Cerro Juan Díaz, Panamá (30-650 EC)].

Objectives: Burial space reuse and prolonged interaction with the dead were common practices in the Isthmo-Colombian Area, dating back to at least the Early Ceramic Period in the Greater Coclé region. However, biological and social relationships of individuals interred in collective burial contexts remain unclear. Here, we explore intra-cemetery biological variation through a biological distance analysis of individuals interred in large mortuary features from the first mortuary horizon at the site of Cerro Juan Díaz in Panamá.

Population trends of insect pollinators in a species-rich tropical rainforest: stable trends but contrasting patterns across taxa.

Recent reports of insect decline have raised concerns regarding population responses of ecologically important groups, such as insect pollinators. Additionally, how population trends vary across pollinator taxonomic groups and degree of specialization is unclear. Here, we analyse 14 years of abundance data (2009-2022) for 38 species of native insect pollinators, including a range of Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera specialists and generalists from the tropical rainforest of Barro Colorado Island, Panama.

Pot-Pollen Volatiles, Bioactivity, Synergism with Antibiotics, and Bibliometrics Overview, Including Direct Injection in Food Flavor.

Stingless bees (Hymenoptera; Apidae; Meliponini), with a biodiversity of 605 species, harvest and transport corbicula pollen to the nest, like , but process and store the pollen in cerumen pots instead of beeswax combs. Therefore, the meliponine pollen processed in the nest was named pot-pollen instead of bee bread. Pot-pollen has nutraceutical properties for bees and humans; it is a natural medicinal food supplement with applications in health, food science, and technology, and pharmaceutical developments are promising.

Mechanistic insights into mosquito antennal architecture for auditory adaptations.

Unlike organisms equipped with tympanal ears, mosquitoes hear using their antennae, which are lightweight sensory structures capable of detecting sound. Here, we study the antennae of two species - Aedes aegypti and Uranotaenia lowii - known to use hearing for different functions. Through the use of geometrically comprehensive computational models, we find that architectural features in the mosquito antenna provide mechanisms that promote the detection of species and sex specific acoustic targets amidst the non-target signals produced by their own wingbeats.

Biomechanics and ontogeny of gliding in wingless stick insect nymphs (Extatosoma tiaratum).

Many wingless arboreal arthropods can glide back to tree trunks following free falls. However, little is known about the behaviors and aerodynamics underlying such aerial performance, and how this may be influenced by body size. Here, we studied gliding performance by nymphs of the stick insect Extatosoma tiaratum, focusing on the dynamics of J-shaped trajectories and how gliding capability changes during ontogeny.

Photosynthetic responses to temperature across the tropics: a meta-analytic approach.

Background And Aims: Tropical forests exchange more carbon dioxide (CO2) with the atmosphere than any other terrestrial biome. Yet, uncertainty in the projected carbon balance over the next century is roughly three-times greater for the tropics than other ecosystems. Our limited knowledge of tropical plant physiological responses, including photosynthetic, to climate change is a substantial source of uncertainty in our ability to forecast the global terrestrial carbon sink.

Geographically widespread and novel hemotropic mycoplasmas and bartonellae in Mexican free-tailed bats and sympatric North American bat species.

Unlabelled: Bacterial pathogens remain poorly characterized in bats, especially in North America. We describe novel (and in some cases panmictic) hemoplasmas (10.1% positivity) and bartonellae (25.

Decline in diversity of tropical soil fauna under experimental warming.

Climate change is exacerbating a global decline in biodiversity. Numerous observational studies link rising temperatures to declining biological abundance, richness and diversity in terrestrial ecosystems, yet few studies have considered the highly diverse and functionally significant communities of tropical forest soil and leaf litter fauna. Here, we report major declines in the order-level richness and diversity of soil and leaf litter fauna following three years of experimental whole-profile soil warming in a tropical forest.

Vapor-pressure-deficit-controlled temperature response of photosynthesis in tropical trees.

Rising temperatures can affect stomatal and nonstomatal control over photosynthesis, through stomatal closure in response to increasing vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and biochemical limitations, respectively. To explore the independent effects of temperature and VPD, we conducted leaf-level temperature-response measurements while controlling VPD on three tropical tree species. Photosynthesis and stomatal conductance consistently decreased with increasing VPD, whereas photosynthesis typically responded weakly to changes in temperature when a stable VPD was maintained during measurements, resulting in wide parabolic temperature-response curves.

A new species of Heterogorgia Verrill, 1868 (Octocorallia, Malacalcyonacea) from a mesophotic fishing shoal in the eastern Pacific.

Heterogorgia abdita sp. nov. is a newly identified mesophotic octocoral species collected at Tigre shoal off Santa Elena Peninsula (Pacific Costa Rica).

Description of four new species of Lamiinae (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) from Panama.

Four new species of Lamiinae from Panama are described: Sternacutus akersae sp. nov.; Trichotithonus barrocoloradensis sp.

Taxonomy and phylogeny of the family Suberitidae (Porifera: Demospongiae) in California.

This study presents a comprehensive taxonomic revision of the family Suberitidae (Porifera: Demospongiae) for California, USA. We include the three species previously known from the region, document two additional species previously known from other regions, and formally describe four new species as Pseudosuberites latke sp. nov.

Consistent long-distance foraging flights across years and seasons at colony level in a neotropical bat.

All foraging animals face a trade-off: how much time should they invest in exploitation of known resources versus exploration to discover new resources? For group-living central place foragers, this balance is challenging. Due to the nature of their movement patterns, exploration and exploitation are often mutually exclusive, while the availability of social information may discourage individuals from exploring. To examine these trade-offs, we GPS-tracked groups of greater spear-nosed bats () from three colonies on Isla Colón, Panamá.

Towards a liana plant functional type for vegetation models.

Lianas (woody climbers) are crucial components of tropical forests and they have been increasingly recognized to have profound effects on tropical forest carbon dynamics. Despite their importance, lianas' representation in vegetation models remains limited, partly due to the complexity of liana-tree dynamics and the diversity in liana life history strategies. This paper provides a comprehensive review of advances and challenges for mechanistically representing lianas in forest ecosystem models and a proposed path towards effectively representing lianas in these models.

Antiprotozoal Natural Products from Endophytic Fungi Associated with Cacao and Coffee.

Background: Collectively, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease cause approximately 8 million cases and more than 40,000 deaths annually, mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The current drugs used to treat these diseases have limitations and many undesirable side effects; hence, new drugs with better clinical profiles are needed. Fungal endophytes associated with plants are known to produce a wide array of bioactive secondary metabolites, including antiprotozoal compounds.

Assessing the spatial scale of synchrony in forest tree population dynamics.

Populations of forest trees exhibit large temporal fluctuations, but little is known about the synchrony of these fluctuations across space, including their sign, magnitude, causes and characteristic scales. These have important implications for metapopulation persistence and theoretical community ecology. Using data from permanent forest plots spanning local, regional and global spatial scales, we measured spatial synchrony in tree population growth rates over sub-decadal and decadal timescales and explored the relationship of synchrony to geographical distance.

Daily activity patterns in agoutis ( spp) in response to relaxed predation.

Animals' fitness is determined in a large proportion by the balance in energetic requirements maintained during daily activities, in response to environmental factors. Predation is a major environmental factor influencing the activity patterns of prey, and the deployment of adaptive responses to predation represents a significant cost to prey populations and communities. Experimental removal of predators to study the effect on activity patterns of prey is impractical for vertebrate species.

Lithological Controls on Soil Aggregates and Minerals Regulate Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency and Necromass Stability.

Microbial carbon (C) use efficiency (CUE) drives soil C formation, while physical-chemical protection stabilizes subsequent microbial necromass, both shaped by soil aggregates and minerals. Soils inherit many properties from the parent material, yet the influence of lithology and associated soil geochemistry on microbial CUE and necromass stabilization remains unknow. Here, we quantified microbial CUE in well-aggregated bulk soils and crushed aggregates, as well as microbial necromass in bulk soils and the mineral-associated organic matter fraction, originating from carbonate-containing (karst) and carbonate-free (clastic rock, nonkarst) parent materials along a broad climatic gradient.