Species Inventory of Nematodes in Tropical Rain Forests of Costa Rica

线虫（蛔虫）是丰富的，普遍存在的，生态上的重要性和多样性，但似乎是在温带与热带生态系统的线虫物种多样性的差异。例如，温带草原植物的根部可能有100多种线虫，而热带雨林中的植物线虫生物多样性明显较低。对这一差异的最简单解释是，热带栖息地尚未被密集采样。我们假设，大多数热带线虫生物多样性将被发现在错综复杂的关系与树木栖息地和无脊椎动物。在这个项目中，我们将与UNA-UCR（国立大学和哥斯达黎加大学）合作，在哥斯达黎加开展一项全面的线虫物种区域调查，以加快在快速森林砍伐时期的线虫库存。我们将从矿物质土壤、凋落物、森林林下植物、附生植物以及相关的传粉者和食草无脊椎动物中采集线虫样本。我们将从La Selva沿着巴尔瓦样带到位于Cordillera Volcanica Central Conservation Area的Braulio Carrillo国家公园进行采样，海拔从30米到2800米不等。将使用永久显微镜载玻片收集、大量社区相关样本、DNA凭证和数字图像库对物种进行表征和记录。录像带、标本凭证和分子序列数据将被整合到：1）哥斯达黎加的官方INBio数据库，ATTA，2）http://nematode.unl.edu的网络链接，3）GenBank和4）NSF线虫类生命树数据库（Nematol，DEB 0228692），供全球访问和未来的系统研究。4名女性（2名PI来自美国，哥斯达黎加的2名合作者）将担任高级科学家。在哥斯达黎加，将通过以下方式将研究和教学结合起来：（1）为哥斯达黎加的研究生和技术人员提供正式的短期课程，（2）确保取样小组包括专业调查员、技术人员和当地导游，以促进知识交流。一名博士后，两名研究生和三名本科生将在美国的实验室接受培训;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。我们的研究结果将通过互联网连接的数据库和交互式密钥在全球范围内提供。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一个基线。

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.