Baraloto, Christopher

Baraloto, Christopher
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Positions

Associate Professor, Biological Sciences , College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Contact Info

cbaralot@fiu.edu

Website

overview

Christopher is broadly interested in the mechanisms and underlying patterns of plant species distributions, their relationship with ecosystem structure and function, and their response to resource exploitation and global change. He works primarily in the diverse lowland forests of South America, with principal research sites in French Guiana, Peru and Brazil.

selected publications

Article
- 2021
  
  Evidence of elemental homeostasis in fine root and leaf tissues of saplings across a fertility gradient in tropical montane forest in Hainan, China. PLANT AND SOIL.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1007/s11104-020-04802-y Web of Science: 000610479000006
- 2020
  
  Surprising low diversity of the plant pathogen Phytophthora in Amazonian forests. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY. 22:5019-5032.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15099 Web of Science: 000600370300009
- 2020
  
  Tree mode of death and mortality risk factors across Amazon forests. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. 11.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18996-3 Web of Science: 000590820100001
- 2020
  
  Environmental determinants of leaf litter ant community composition along an elevational gradient. BIOTROPICA. 53:97-109.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/btp.12849 Web of Science: 000575552800001
- 2020
  
  Morphological variation of fine root systems and leaves in primary and secondary tropical forests of Hainan Island, China. ANNALS OF FOREST SCIENCE. 77.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1007/s13595-020-00977-7 Web of Science: 000560383900001
- 2020
  
  Independent evolutionary changes in fine-root traits among main clades during the diversification of seed plants. NEW PHYTOLOGIST. 228:541-553.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/nph.16729 Web of Science: 000547743200001
- 2020
  
  Long-term thermal sensitivity of Earth's tropical forests. SCIENCE. 368:869-+.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw7578 Web of Science: 000537569500042
- 2020
  
  Tree communities and soil properties influence fungal community assembly in neotropical forests. BIOTROPICA. 52:444-456.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/btp.12747 Web of Science: 000510472700001
- 2020
  
  Relative Efficiency of Pitfall Trapping vs. Nocturnal Hand Collecting in Assessing Soil-Dwelling Spider Diversity along A Structural Gradient of Neotropical Habitats. DIVERSITY-BASEL. 12.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.3390/d12020081 Web of Science: 000519115400019
- 2020
  
  Disentangling the effects of environment and ontogeny on tree functional dimensions for congeneric species in tropical forests. NEW PHYTOLOGIST. 226:385-395.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/nph.16393 Web of Science: 000510216500001
- 2019
  
  Evidence for trait-based community assembly patterns in hardwood hammock forests. ECOSPHERE. 10.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2956 Web of Science: 000510015700005
- 2019
  
  Evolutionary diversity is associated with wood productivity in Amazonian forests. NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION. 3:1754-1761.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-1007-y Web of Science: 000500728800025
- 2019
  
  Precipitation mediates sap flux sensitivity to evaporative demand in the neotropics. OECOLOGIA. 191:519-530.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04513-x Web of Science: 000493775700004
- 2019
  
  Fungi of French Guiana gathered in a taxonomic, environmental and molecular dataset. SCIENTIFIC DATA. 6.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41597-019-0218-z Web of Science: 000490560100002
- 2019
  
  Coordinated community structure among trees, fungi and invertebrate groups in Amazonian rainforests. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 9.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47595-6 Web of Science: 000478743700049
- 2019
  
  A spatiotemporal natural-human database to evaluate road development impacts in an Amazon trinational frontier. SCIENTIFIC DATA. 6.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41597-019-0093-7 Web of Science: 000472446000001
- 2019
  
  Dominant tree species drive beta diversity patterns in western Amazonia. ECOLOGY. 100.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2636 Web of Science: 000462934100009
- 2019
  
  Trait-based community assembly pattern along a forest succession gradient in a seasonally dry tropical forest. ECOSPHERE. 10.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2719 Web of Science: 000472716600053
- 2019
  
  Imaging spectroscopy predicts variable distance decay across contrasting Amazonian tree communities. JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY. 107.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13067 Web of Science: 000458616400017
- 2019
  
  sPlot - A new tool for global vegetation analyses. JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE. 30:161-186.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/jvs.12710 Web of Science: 000466421500001
- 2019
  
  Habitats shape taxonomic and functional composition of Neotropical ant assemblages. OECOLOGIA. 189.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04341-z Web of Science: 000460033700019
- 2019
  
  Compositional response of Amazon forests to climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY. 25.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14413 Web of Science: 000453370700005
- 2018
  
  A methodology to derive global maps of leaf traits using remote sensing and climate data. REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT. 218.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2018.09.006 Web of Science: 000449449800006
- 2018
  
  Global trait-environment relationships of plant communities. NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION. 2.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0699-8 Web of Science: 000450904100018
- 2018
  
  Understanding the recruitment response of juvenile Neotropical trees to logging intensity using functional traits. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS. 28.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1002/eap.1776 Web of Science: 000451913200006
- 2018
  
  Divergent Secondary Metabolites and Habitat Filtering Both Contribute to Tree Species Coexistence in the Peruvian Amazon. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE. 9.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00836 Web of Science: 000435670900001
- 2018
  
  Coordination and trade-offs among hydraulic safety, efficiency and drought avoidance traits in Amazonian rainforest canopy tree species. NEW PHYTOLOGIST. 218:1015-1024.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/nph.15058 PMID: 29457226 Web of Science: 000430127000017
- 2018
  
  Species Distribution Modelling: Contrasting presence-only models with plot abundance data. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 8.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18927-1 PMID: 29343741 Web of Science: 000422716900137
- 2017
  
  Diversity and carbon storage across the tropical forest biome. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 7.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/srep39102 PMID: 28094794 Web of Science: 000391933300001
- 2017
  
  Economically important species dominate aboveground carbon storage in forests of southwestern Amazonia. ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY. 22.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.5751/ES-09297-220240 Web of Science: 000404997600031
- 2017
  
  Geographical Variation in Community Divergence: Insights from Tropical Forest Monodominance by Ectomycorrhizal Trees. AMERICAN NATURALIST. 190:S105-S122.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1086/692439 PMID: 28731828 Web of Science: 000406102900008
- 2017
  
  Nutrient-cycling mechanisms other than the direct absorption from soil may control forest structure and dynamics in poor Amazonian soils. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 7.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/srep45017 PMID: 28332608 Web of Science: 000397134200001
- 2016
  
  Amazon forest response to repeated droughts. GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES. 30.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1002/2015GB005133 Web of Science: 000382582400001
- 2016
  
  Carbon recovery dynamics following disturbance by selective logging in Amazonian forests. ELIFE. 5.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.7554/eLife.21394 Web of Science: 000392106600001
- 2016
  
  Contributions of a global network of tree diversity experiments to sustainable forest plantations. AMBIO. 45:29-41.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1007/s13280-015-0685-1 PMID: 26264716 Web of Science: 000368038800003
- 2016
  
  Evolutionary heritage influences Amazon tree ecology. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. 283.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1587 Web of Science: 000390404200010
- 2016
  
  Evolutionary patterns of volatile terpene emissions across 202 tropical tree species. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION. 6:2854-2864.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1810 PMID: 27069586 Web of Science: 000376149400019
- 2016
  
  GuiaTreeKey, a multi-access electronic key to identify tree genera in French Guiana. PHYTOKEYS. 27-44.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.68.8707 Web of Science: 000381355900003
- 2016
  
  Habitat Endemism in White-sand Forests: Insights into the Mechanisms of Lineage Diversification and Community Assembly of the Neotropical Flora. BIOTROPICA. 48:24-33.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/btp.12301 Web of Science: 000372510300003
- 2016
  
  Interdependency of plants and animals in controlling the sodium balance of ecosystems and the impacts of global defaunation. ECOGRAPHY. 39:204-212.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/ecog.01589 Web of Science: 000368793700011
- 2016
  
  Phylogenetic Overdispersion in Lepidoptera Communities of Amazonian White-sand Forests. BIOTROPICA. 48:101-109.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/btp.12294 Web of Science: 000372510300010
- 2016
  
  Plant functional traits have globally consistent effects on competition. NATURE. 529:204-U174.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/nature16476 PMID: 26700807 Web of Science: 000368015700035
- 2016
  
  Positive biodiversity-productivity relationship predominant in global forests. SCIENCE. 354.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf8957 Web of Science: 000387816500036
- 2016
  
  Rare species contribute disproportionately to the functional structure of species assemblages. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. 283.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0084 Web of Science: 000375965600014
- 2016
  
  Taxonomic and functional composition of arthropod assemblages across contrasting Amazonian forests. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY. 85:227-239.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12445 PMID: 26346553 Web of Science: 000368141400022
- 2016
  
  The global spectrum of plant form and function. NATURE. 529:167-U73.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/nature16489 PMID: 26700811 Web of Science: 000368015700027
- 2016
  
  There's no place like home: seedling mortality contributes to the habitat specialisation of tree species across Amazonia. ECOLOGY LETTERS. 19:1256-1266.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/ele.12661 PMID: 27600657 Web of Science: 000382543100008
- 2016
  
  Variation in stem mortality rates determines patterns of above-ground biomass in Amazonian forests: implications for dynamic global vegetation models. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY. 22:3996-4013.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13315 PMID: 27082541 Web of Science: 000387813300015
- 2015
  
  Drought tolerance as predicted by leaf water potential at turgor loss point varies strongly across species within an Amazonian forest. FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY. 29:1268-1277.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12452 Web of Science: 000362395400004
- 2015
  
  Effects of road infrastructure on forest value across a tri-national Amazonian frontier. BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION. 191:674-681.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2015.08.024 Web of Science: 000364257100076
- 2015
  
  Estimating the global conservation status of more than 15,000 Amazonian tree species. SCIENCE ADVANCES. 1.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500936 Web of Science: 000216599300024
- 2015
  
  Globally, functional traits are weak predictors of juvenile tree growth, and we do not know why. JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY. 103:978-989.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.12401 Web of Science: 000356630600020
- 2015
  
  Hyperdominance in Amazonian forest carbon cycling. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. 6.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7857 PMID: 25919449 Web of Science: 000353703400024
- 2015
  
  Long-term decline of the Amazon carbon sink. NATURE. 519:344-+.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/nature14283 PMID: 25788097 Web of Science: 000351171900039
- 2015
  
  Optimal strategies for sampling functional traits in species-rich forests. FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY. 29:1325-1331.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12433 Web of Science: 000362395400010
- 2015
  
  Pervasive Local-Scale Tree-Soil Habitat Association in a Tropical Forest Community. PLOS ONE. 10.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141488 PMID: 26535570 Web of Science: 000364298400067
- 2015
  
  Phylogenetic diversity of Amazonian tree communities. DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS. 21:1295-1307.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12357 Web of Science: 000362795700003
- 2013
  
  Hyperdominance in the Amazonian Tree Flora. SCIENCE. 342:325-+.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1126/science.1243092 Web of Science: 000325755100034
Correction
- 2021
  
  TRY plant trait database - Enhanced coverage and open access (vol 26, pg 119, 2020). GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY. 1318-1318.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15482 Web of Science: 000618255200016
- 2020
  
  Morphological variation of fine root systems and leaves in primary and secondary tropical forests of Hainan Island, China (vol 77, 76, 2020). ANNALS OF FOREST SCIENCE.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1007/s13595-020-01013-4 Web of Science: 000593032400001
Letter
- 2015
  
  Rapid tree carbon stock recovery in managed Amazonian forests. CURRENT BIOLOGY. R787-R788.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.07.034 PMID: 26394096 Web of Science: 000361885100005
Review
- 2020
  
  Quantifying Tropical Plant Diversity Requires an Integrated Technological Approach. TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION. 1100-1109.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.08.003 Web of Science: 000591286200012
- 2019
  
  Botanic gardens are an untapped resource for studying the functional ecology of tropical plants. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0390 Web of Science: 000450501500005
- 2017
  
  Maximising Synergy among Tropical Plant Systematists, Ecologists, and Evolutionary Biologists. TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION. 258-267.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2017.01.007 PMID: 28214038 Web of Science: 000398227300011
- 2015
  
  A global meta-analysis of the relative extent of intraspecific trait variation in plant communities. ECOLOGY LETTERS. 1406-1419.
  Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/ele.12508 PMID: 26415616 Web of Science: 000364519000014
- 2003
  
  Natural forest regeneration - From seed to young stem [abstract]. 179-187.

research interests

Functional Traits and Community Assembly
Plant-insect interactions and beta-diversity of Amazonian tree lineages
Biodiversity, global change and forest management
Integrative studies of socio-ecological resilience, conservation and development

Our lab is broadly interested in the mechanisms underlying patterns of plant species distributions, their relationship with ecosystem structure and function, and their response to resource exploitation and global change. We work primarily in the diverse lowland forests of South America, with principal research sites in French Guiana, Peru and Brazil. Current research focuses on four themes.