Species Inventory of Nematodes in Tropical Rain Forests of Costa Rica

线虫（蛔虫）数量丰富，无处不在，具有重要的生态意义和多样性，但温带和热带生态系统的线虫物种多样性似乎存在差异。例如，一种温带草原植物的根周围可能有100多种蛔虫，而热带雨林中的植物线虫的生物多样性却低得惊人。对这种差异最简单的解释是热带栖息地还没有被大量采样。我们假设，大多数热带线虫的生物多样性将被发现与树木栖息地和无脊椎动物的复杂关系。在这个项目中，我们将与UNA-UCR联盟（哥斯达黎加国立大学和哥斯达黎加大学）合作，对哥斯达黎加的线虫物种进行全面的区域调查，以便在快速砍伐森林期间加快线虫的清查工作。我们将从矿物土壤、凋落物、森林林下植物、附生植物以及相关的传粉媒介和食草无脊椎动物中取样线虫。我们将沿着Barva样带从La Selva采样到Cordillera火山中央保护区的Braulio Carrillo国家公园，海拔从30米到2800米不等。物种将使用永久的显微镜载玻片收集、大量的群落关联样本、DNA凭证和数字图像库进行表征和记录。录像带、标本凭单和分子序列数据将整合到：1)哥斯达黎加官方INBio数据库ATTA， 2) http://nematode.unl.edu网站链接，3)GenBank和4)NSF线虫生命之树数据库（NemATOL, DEB 0228692），供全球访问和未来的系统研究。4名女性（2名来自美国的pi， 2名来自哥斯达黎加的合作者）将担任高级科学家。在哥斯达黎加，研究和教学将通过以下方式结合起来：1)为哥斯达黎加研究生和技术人员提供正式的短期课程；2)确保抽样小组包括pi、技术人员和当地导游，以促进知识交流。博士后1名、研究生2名、本科生3名赴美国实验室培养；这是一个重要的培训目标，因为线虫学是系统学和生物多样性研究中迅速发展的学科。我们的结果将通过与互联网连接的数据库和交互式密钥在全球范围内访问。我们的研究结果将有助于为哥斯达黎加和其他新热带地区未来的保护工作建立基线。

Nematodes (roundworms) are abundant, ubiquitous, ecologically important and diverse but there appears to be a discrepancy in nematode species diversity in temperate versus tropical ecosystems. For example, a temperate grassland plant may have more than 100 species of roundworms around its roots, whereas plants in tropical rainforests have strikingly lower nematode biodiversity. The simplest explanation for this discrepancy is that tropical habitats have yet to been sampled intensively. We hypothesize that most tropical nematode biodiversity will be found in intricate relationships with arboreal habitats and invertebrates. For this project, we will conduct a comprehensive regional survey of nematode species in Costa Rica in partnership with Consortium UNA-UCR (Universidad Nacional and Universidad de Costa Rica) to accelerate the inventory of nematodes during a time of rapid deforestation. We will sample nematodes from mineral soil, litter, forest understory plants, epiphytes, and associated pollinators and herbivorous invertebrates. We will sample from La Selva along the Barva transect to Braulio Carrillo National Park in Cordillera Volcanica Central Conservation Area, ranging in altitude from 30 to 2800 m above sea level. Species will be characterized and documented using permanent microscope slide collections, bulk community associate samples, DNA vouchers and digital image libraries. Video tapes, vouchers of specimens and molecular sequence data will be integrated into: 1) the official INBio database in Costa Rica, ATTA, 2) web linkages at http://nematode.unl.edu, 3) GenBank and 4) NSF Tree of Life database for Nematoda (NemATOL, DEB 0228692) for global access and future systematic studies. Four women (2 PIs from the U.S., 2 collaborators in Costa Rica) will serve as senior scientists. In Costa Rica, research and teaching will be integrated by: 1) providing a formal short-course for Costa Rican graduate students and technicians, and 2) ensuring that sampling teams include PIs, technicians and local guides to facilitate intellectual exchange. One postdoctoral, two graduate and three undergraduate students will be trained in our laboratories in the United States; this is an important training goal because nematology is a rapidly expanding discipline within systematics and biodiversity studies. Our results will be globally accessible through internet-linked databases and interactive keys. Our results will help to establish a baseline for future conservation efforts in Costa Rica and other Neotropical regions.