Understanding Vanishing Endemism: Survey of the Invertebrates and Plants of Threatened Montane Habitats in Hispaniola

这项生物学调查调查了加勒比海伊斯帕尼奥拉岛(多米尼加共和国，海地)山区森林中的昆虫、植物和其他生物，包括地球上一些最受威胁的自然栖息地。这些栖息地中有很高比例的动植物物种是当地特有的，在其他地方是找不到的。山地栖息地的破坏速度令人震惊，许多物种面临灭绝的威胁，其中许多物种为了解新大陆其他地区，特别是环加勒比地区，如美国东南部、墨西哥、中美洲和南美洲北部等相关物种的生物学方面提供了必不可少的信息。伊斯帕尼奥拉的植物是安的列斯群岛中最鲜为人知的岛屿。据估计，山区80%的无脊椎动物物种没有收集到，科学界也不知道。项目目标是(1)进一步了解加勒比受威胁栖息地的生物多样性，(2)改善伊斯帕尼奥拉的生物多样性研究基础设施，(3)迅速为保护濒危的伊斯帕尼奥拉栖息地提供建议，(4)促进对各种和具有重要生态意义的加勒比动植物群体的创造性研究。2002年，截至2005年8月。密集抽样的目标区域包括伊斯帕尼奥拉的所有六个断层划定的山脉系统(海地两个，DR四个)。采样强调来自陆地和淡水系统的昆虫和植物，特别是巨大多样性的谱系(鳞翅目、鞘翅目、双翅目、被子植物)。超过5,320株植物、150,000个无脊椎动物标本和两者的DNA样本将分发给全球170名合作专家，以识别、研究和出版关于加勒比海不同血统的信息。该项目将(1)收集、准备和分发用于研究的标本，(2)发现和公布以前未知的生物，(3)记录物种及其相关物种的时空发生情况，(4)在万维网上交流生物信息，以及(5)将调查结果应用于资源管理方面的紧急问题。该项目的发现对包括系统学、进化、生态学和保育在内的科学研究具有重要意义。这是一项以卡内基自然历史博物馆(匹兹堡)为基础的多机构和国际活动，与来自史密森研究所和哈佛大学的共同PI合作，来自海地和海地主要机构(Jardin Botaico国家博物馆、国家自然历史博物馆、海地国立大学)、政府机构(总干事de Vida Silvestre y Bioarisidad(DR)、L环境部(海地))以及私人基金会(Fundacion Moscoso Puello、Grupo Jarawa)的工作人员共同参与了这项工作。该项目将提供任何地方现有的关于西斯帕尼奥拉生境的最完整的生物文件，对于保护和管理这些濒危的山地生境至关重要，并将成为加勒比及其他地区未来多国、多机构生物清单的典范。

Understanding Vanishing Endemism: Survey of the Invertebratesand Plants of Threatened Montane Habitats in HispaniolaThis biological survey investigates insects, plants, and other organisms from mountain forests on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic, Haiti), including some of the most threatened natural habitats on earth. A high percentage of animal and plant species in these habitats are endemic, found nowhere else. Destruction of montane habitats is occurring at an alarming rate and many species are threatened with extinction, including many which provide information essential for understanding biological aspects of related species elsewhere in the New World, especially circum-Caribbean regions such as the southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. Plants of Hispaniola are the least known of any island in the Antilles. An estimated 80% of invertebrate species in mountainous regions is uncollected and unknown to the scientific community. Project goals are (1) to further an understanding of biological diversity in threatened Caribbean habitats, (2) to improve infrastructure in Hispaniola for research on biodiversity, (3) to rapidly provide recommendations for conservation of endangered Hispaniolan habitats, and (4) to foster creative research on diverse and ecologically significant groups of Caribbean animals and plants.The principal project accomplishment will be a comprehensive, multi-seasonal biotic inventory of great urgency starting Sept. 2002, ending Aug. 2005. Regions targeted for intensive sampling encompass all six fault-delimited mountain systems in Hispaniola (two in Haiti, four in DR). Sampling emphasizes insects and plants from terrestrial and freshwater systems, especially megadiverse lineages (Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, angiosperms). More than 5,320 plants, 150,000 invertebrate specimens, and DNA samples of both will circulate to 170 cooperating specialists worldwide for identification, research, and publication on diverse Caribbean lineages. The project will (1) collect, prepare, and circulate specimens for research, (2) discover and publish on previously unknown organisms, (3) document spatial and temporal occurrence of species and their associates, (4) communicate biological information over the World Wide Web, and (5) apply survey findings to urgent problems in resource management. The findings from this project have significance for scientific research, including systematics, evolution, ecology, and conservation. This is a multi-institutional and international effort based at Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh) with collaborating co-PI's from Smithsonian Institution and Harvard University, staff from key institutions in DR and Haiti (Jardin Botaico Nacional, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, State University of Haiti), government agencies (Direccion General de Vida Silvestre y Biodiversidad (DR), Ministere de L'Environnement (Haiti)), and private foundations (Fundacion Moscoso Puello, Grupo Jaragua). The project will provide the most complete biotic documentation of Hispaniolan habitats available anywhere, will be essential to preservation and management of these endangered montane habitats, and will be a model for future multinational, multi-institutional biotic inventories in the Caribbean and beyond.