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

植物、毛虫和攻击毛虫的寄生蜂和苍蝇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。?厄瓜多尔东安第斯山脉的毛虫和寄生蜂？是厄瓜多尔安第斯山脉的Yanayacu生物站（YBS）的一个密集的植物、毛虫和寄生虫库存。该项目的主要目标是收集和编目的毛虫和相关的寄生虫在这个网站上的不同社区，发现新的物种，该地区的多样性的特点，并传播这一信息与可搜索的数据库访问的科学家和公众在世界各地。拟议活动的智力价值包括昆虫分类方面的重大进展，以及提供可用于全球生物多样性热点地区赤道安第斯山脉保护工作的关键清单。这些数据还将用于解决各种基本问题和应用问题，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少数民族的科学教育和研究经验计划。

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.