The genus Quercus is one of the most important clades of woody angiosperms in the northern hemisphere in terms of species diversity, ecological dominance, and economic value. Oaks are dominant members of a wide variety of habitats, including temperate deciduous forest, temperate and subtropical evergreen forest, subtropical and tropical savannah, subtropical woodland, oak-pine forest, oak-’piño...

This study examines the suitability of 30 m Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM), 250 m time-series Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and other auxiliary datasets for mapping forest extent in China at 30 m resolution circa 2010. We calculated numerous spectral features, EVI time series, and topographical features that are helpful for forest/non-forest dist...

The health of 36 wild, free-ranging ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve was assessed across 2 habitats of varied human impact: a reserve riverine gallery forest, and a degraded mixed dry deciduous and Alluaudia-dominated spiny forest. While there were no statistically significant differences in leukocyte count or differential between habitats, female lemurs in ...

Gene flow through dispersal has traditionally been thought to function as a force opposing evolutionary differentiation. However, directional gene flow may actually reinforce divergence of populations in close proximity. This study documents the phenotypic differentiation over more than two decades in body size (tarsus length) at a very short spatial scale (1.1 km) within a population of pied f...

In the eastern United States, eastern hemlock Tusga canadensis (L.) Carriere forests are threatened by the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae, a pest that is causing widespread hemlock mortality. Eastern hemlock is an essential component of forested communities. Adelgid-induced hemlock mortality is causing a shift in forest composition and structure, altering ecosystem function and...

We describe a new gecko of the genus Blaesodactylus from a karstic outcrop in deciduous dry forest of Ankarana National Park, northern Madagascar. Blaesodactylus microtuberculatus sp. nov., the fifth recognized species of Blaesodactylus, is distinguished from all other congeners, B. ambonihazo, B. antongilensis, B. boivini and B. sakalava by a combination of small, homogeneous gular granules, u...