Arthropod Biodiversity in a Lowland Tropical Rainforest II

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9401069 Stone As the second phase of an ongoing collaborative project between the Organization for Tropical Studies and the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio, Costa Rica), a faunal inventory of tropical rainforest arthropods (mites, spiders, and insects) will be intensified and broadened at La Selva, a biotically rich and scientifically active biological station situated in the Atlantic lowlands of Costa Rica. A full-equipped, dedicated arthropod laboratory, collections facility, and data management system created with previous NSF support in Phase 1 of the project, and the talents of the ALAS Parataxonomists and Biodiversity Technician, who were extensively trained with that support, will allow immediate and efficient use of physical and human resources in Phase 2. The scope of the inventory will be expanded with the addition of two kinds of new focal Taxa: (1) those within the broader Survey Taxa established in Phase 1, for with many collections have been made and specimens already prepared, and (2) new Focal Taxa not within Phase 1 Survey Taxa, but added to enlarge the ecological and phylogenetic scope of the project. Collection and preparation of new material in Phase 2 will shift to a series of concentrated efforts, by the project staff and relevant collaborators, for one Focal Taxon (or set of related Focal Taxa) at a time, using an ecologically-structured, quantified-effort collection strategy and all techniques appropriate for each taxon. Twenty-five systematists P.I.'s and Collaborators (including 7 Collaborators from Costa Rican institutions) will contribute to work of the inventory in Phase 2, while enriching their own phylogenetic and biogeographical studies with material form La Selva. Specimens will be integrated into the national biodiversity inventory already underway at INBio, thus placing the La Selva survey material in a larger geographical and systematic context, promoting further study of this material by INBio's growing international network of specialist s, and ensuring permanent accessibility of the specimens. The project is structured to promote extensive avenues of collaboration between North American and Costa Rican scientists. Exploration and evaluation of methods for estimating arthropod faunal richness and composition will continue, through the use of taxon ratios (both hierarchical and intergroup), species accumulation curves, and parametric and non-parametric analyses of abundance patterns. The design and functionality of the database application successfully developed and implemented in Phase 1 for the project will be further refined and expanded, and the application will be made available to other projects, both as a source of experience-based ideas and as a working tool. Taken together, these activities should serve to further position the project as a demonstration and methodological evaluation pilot for other multi-taxon biodiversity inventories, as well as a ground-breaking and significant inventory in its own right.