Collaborative Research: Caterpillars and Parasitoids in the Eastern Andes of Ecuador.

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ABSTRACTParasitoids, which are an important component of most terrestrialecosystems, are parasitic animals (mostly wasps, flies, and nematodes)that kill their hosts as part of their normal life cycle. Plants, theirinsect herbivores, and the parasitoids that attack those herbivoresrepresent more than half of all described organisms in the world."Caterpillars and parasitoids in the Eastern Andes of Ecuador" consists ofan intensive plant, caterpillar, and parasitoid inventory at the YanayacuBiological Station (YBS) in the Ecuadorian Andes. The primary objectivesare to: 1) Collect and catalog the diverse community of caterpillars andassociated parasitoids at this site and to provide specimens forsystematics (classification of organisms and their evolutionaryrelationships). 2) Disseminate this information with a searchable databaseaccessible to scientists and the public throughout the world. 3) Collectbaseline natural history information such as specialized associationsbetween plants, herbivores, and parasitoids; development rates; and otherlife cycle information for both known and undescribed species. 4) Providethe foundation for an identification key to the caterpillars of theEcuadorian Andes. Caterpillar collecting and rearing will take place in acloud forest on the eastern slope of the Andes in Napo province, Ecuador,centered around the YBS. Collecting will be conducted by carefullyinspecting selected plant species along transects and also byopportunistically collecting all caterpillars observed in the collectingarea. Caterpillars and parasitoids will be reared to adults. Adultbutterflies, moths, and parasitoids will be distributed to a network ofcollaborating specialists for identification and for descriptions of newspecies, revisions, and evolutionary studies. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity includessignificant advances in insect classification by providing specimens toexperts as well as providing a critical inventory that can be used in theconservation of biodiversity. Forests of the equatorial Andes arerecognized as a global hotspot of biodiversity that is being destroyed atan alarming rate, but conservation efforts are improving. The currentsurvey will make an important contribution towards documenting anddescribing the caterpillars and parasitoids of this threatened area, andwill increase the local value of the Andean forests by providingscientific and economic incentives for their conservation. The ecology andsystematics that are a part of this study will also be used to address avariety of basic and applied questions in ecology and evolutionarybiology, ranging from the evolution of unique plant-insect interactions tothe conservation and management of biodiversity. The broader impacts ofthis project include direct involvement of 4 local field assistants, 3Ecuadorian students, 3 Ecuadorian senior scientists, 1 postdoctoralresearcher, at least 12 collaborating insect specialists, and variousgraduate and undergraduate students. Therefore the project strengthensinternational scientific dialogue and relationships. The overall projectwill include enhancements in science education and research experienceprograms for minorities. Finally, the research will enhance training insystematics to help stem the decline in expertise that is currently havinga negative impact on all disciplines in biology.