Drought in Tropical Dry Forests. How do extreme climate events shape the future of tropical forest communities?

Overview of Module: In this module students are introduced to the tropical dry forest biome and the different scales of variation in rainfall (seasonal, year to year, and long-term trends) associated with this habitat in Central America. To reinforce the biome concept students will compare different tropical forest habitats via interpretation of the classic Whittaker biome diagram and Walter-Lieth climate diagrams for specific tropical ecosystems. They are introduced to the concept of ecological monitoring and will explore tree mortality data from an extreme drought event captured in long-term forest dynamic plots. Based on this data they are asked to consider how changes in the frequency of extreme drought events may change the community composition of the tropical dry forest biome. The goal of this module is for students to understand that the abiotic factors that shape biomes are dynamic in nature and to gain an appreciation for the effort required to monitor them in the context of an authentic research project.   Learning Objectives: Describe the key abiotic factors that govern the tropical dry forest ecosystem and compare tropical dry forest to other tropical ecosystems. Differentiate the time scales at which abiotic factors vary, including between season, year-to-year variation, long-term trends, and extreme events. Explain the role of long-term ecological monitoring in understanding the effects of global change on tropical dry forest   Support was provided by: A grant from the United States National Science Foundation (DBI-RCN-UBE 2120141).