Joseph E Hawes

Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) · Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management (INA)

Tropical floodplain forests is an encompassing term that describes a variety of unique habitats worldwide, united by their existence at the dynamic interface between terrestrial and aquatic systems. Complex spatial and temporal relationships with the flood regimes of river and lake systems drive the lateral exchange of water and nutrients to surrounding forests in time with a seasonal ‘flood pulse’. The resulting variations and fluctuations in environmental conditions across floodplain forests are reflected in the adaptations of plant and animal communities, which in turn yield ecological interactions and processes that can differ markedly in character from other tropical forests. This Special Issue aims to take a broad perspective on the structural and functional dynamics of these understudied forests. Articles are welcome that explore links between areas such as hydrology and geomorphology with patterns and processes in plant and animal communities, as well as with resulting ecosystem services, including carbon storage and the potential effects of anthropogenic threats and conservation practices. https://www.mdpi.com/journal/forests/special_issues/Tropical_Floodplain_Forests

The aim of this MSc project is to investigate, through phylogenetic comparative analyses, if and how social complexity, diet and climate played a role in the change in brain size of extant and extinct hominids.

Extractive and sustainable development reserves are increasing in number and aggregate area across tropical forest regions. Yet there is little understanding of how sustainable current harvests of forest and freshwater resources actually are. We work in western Brazilian Amazonia, where deforestation rates remain low but where many natural resources extracted by human populations for subsistence or sale are at risk of overexploitation. Resources are harvested from forest environments (e.g. game vertebrates, fruits and seeds, medicinal oleoresins) and freshwater bodies (e.g. fish and turtles from oxbow lakes, streams and rivers) to sustain the basic livelihoods of both reserve residents and the surrounding population. Projeto Médio Juruá (PMJ) is named after our study location in the Brazilian State of Amazonas, along the mid-section of the Rio Juruá – a prominently meandering tributary of the Rio Solimões. Our work in this region has been primarily based in two contiguous reserves in the municipal district of Carauari: the Uacari Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS Uacari) and the Médio Juruá Extractive Reserve (ResEx Médio Juruá) but also extends to rural communities and urban centres outside the official protected areas. Ultimately this project aims to develop, in partnership with our collaborating institutions in Brazil, a sustainable co-management protocol to inform the sustainable use of game, fisheries and other non-timber forest products by rural communities throughout the Brazilian Amazon.