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

植物、毛虫、寄生黄蜂和攻击毛虫的苍蝇（类寄生蜂）是大多数陆地生态系统的重要组成部分，占世界上所有已描述生物的20%以上。？厄瓜多尔安第斯山脉东部的毛虫和寄生蜂？是在厄瓜多尔安第斯山脉的Yanayacu生物站（YBS）进行的一项密集的植物、毛虫和寄生虫调查。该项目的主要目标是在该地点收集和编目不同的毛毛虫和相关的拟寄生虫群落，发现新物种，描述该地区的多样性，并通过一个可搜索的数据库向全世界的科学家和公众传播这些信息。这项活动的智力价值包括在昆虫分类方面取得重大进展，以及提供一个关键的清单，可用于赤道安第斯山脉的保护工作，这是全球生物多样性的热点。这些数据还将用于解决各种基础和应用问题，特别是与气候变化和生物多样性有关的问题。该项目的广泛影响包括四名当地实地助理、三名厄瓜多尔学生、三名厄瓜多尔高级科学家、一名博士后研究员、至少十二名合作昆虫专家以及各种研究生和本科生的直接参与。该项目还将包括加强针对少数民族的科学教育和研究体验项目。

Plants, caterpillars, and parasitic wasps and flies that attack caterpillars (parasitoids) are important components of most terrestrial ecosystems and represent more than 20% of all described organisms in the world. ?Caterpillars and parasitoids in the Eastern Andes of Ecuador? is an intensive plant, caterpillar, and parasitoid inventory at the Yanayacu Biological Station (YBS) in the Ecuadorian Andes. The primary objectives of the project are to collect and catalog the diverse community of caterpillars and associated parasitoids at this site, to discover new species, to characterize diversity of the region, and to disseminate this information with a searchable database accessible to scientists and the public throughout the world. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity includes significant advances in insect classification as well as providing a critical inventory that can be used in conservation efforts in the equatorial Andes, a global hotspot of biodiversity. The data will also be used to address a variety of basic and applied questions, particularly those associated with climate change and biodiversity. The broader impacts of this project include direct involvement of four local field assistants, three Ecuadorian students, three Ecuadorian senior scientists, one postdoctoral researcher, at least twelve collaborating insect specialists, and various graduate and undergraduate students. The project will also include enhancements in science education and research experience programs for minorities.