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

摘要拟寄生物是一种寄生动物（主要是黄蜂、苍蝇和线虫），在其正常生命周期中杀死宿主，是大多数陆地生态系统的重要组成部分。植物，它们的食草昆虫，以及攻击这些食草动物的拟寄生物代表了世界上所有已描述生物的一半以上。“厄瓜多尔安第斯山脉东部的毛虫和寄生蜂”包括在厄瓜多尔安第斯山脉的YanayacuBiological Station （YBS）对植物、毛虫和寄生蜂进行密集调查。主要目的是：1)收集和分类该站点不同种类的毛虫和相关的拟寄生物群落，为分类学（生物分类及其进化关系）提供标本。2)通过世界各地的科学家和公众都可以访问的可搜索数据库传播这些信息。3)收集基本的自然历史信息，如植物、食草动物和拟寄生物之间的特殊联系；发展速度;以及其他已知和未描述物种的生命周期信息。4)为鉴定厄瓜多尔安第斯山脉毛虫的关键提供基础。毛毛虫的采集和饲养将在厄瓜多尔纳波省安第斯山脉东坡的云雾森林中进行，以YBS为中心。收集工作将通过沿着样带仔细检查选定的植物物种，以及机会性地收集在收集区域观察到的所有毛毛虫来进行。幼虫及拟寄生虫将饲养至成虫。成年蝴蝶、飞蛾和拟寄生物将被分发给一个合作专家网络，用于鉴定和描述新物种、修订和进化研究。所提议的活动的智力价值包括通过向专家提供标本以及提供可用于生物多样性保护的关键清单，在昆虫分类方面取得重大进展。赤道安第斯山脉的森林被认为是全球生物多样性的热点地区，正在以惊人的速度遭到破坏，但保护工作正在改善。目前的调查将对记录和描述这一受威胁地区的毛虫和寄生性生物做出重要贡献，并将通过为保护安第斯森林提供科学和经济激励来增加安第斯森林的当地价值。作为本研究一部分的生态学和系统学也将用于解决生态学和进化生物学中的各种基础和应用问题，从独特的植物-昆虫相互作用的进化到生物多样性的保护和管理。该项目的广泛影响包括直接参与4名当地实地助理，3名厄瓜多尔学生，3名厄瓜多尔高级科学家，1名博士后研究员，至少12名合作昆虫专家，以及各种研究生和本科生。因此，该项目加强了国际科学对话和关系。整个项目将包括加强对少数民族的科学教育和研究体验项目。最后，这项研究将加强系统分类学的培训，以帮助遏制目前对生物学所有学科产生负面影响的专业知识的下降。

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.