Leaf Litter Arthropods of MesoAmerica (LLAMA)

中美洲走廊有一系列山脉，生物学家很少探索。山区生态系统受到全球变暖的威胁，全球变暖会使气候带升高，并通过将物种从山顶上赶走而导致物种灭绝。由于缺乏对中美洲山脉的探索，我们对地球生物多样性以及我们可能因应对全球变暖而失去的东西的理解存在明显的漏洞。昆虫构成了生物多样性的大部分，并形成了生态系统的精细结构，但在较大的生命形式中，它们是最不为人所知的。该项目将对从尼加拉瓜到墨西哥南部山区的昆虫多样性进行采样。来自美国和东道国机构的学生组成的合作团队将在实地进行采样计划，然后进行实验室工作，描述新物种并分析物种丰富度和分布的定量数据。结果将（1）增加我们的物种知识库，通过农业和天然产品应用直接造福人类，（2）揭示可能因气候变化而面临灭绝危险的物种，（3）提供关于多样性的定量基线数据，以便今后评估对气候变化的反应，（4）评估物种丰度和分布的基本生态理论。对本科生和研究生跨国团队的依赖将刺激科学培训，并促进美国和拉丁美洲科学界之间更大的科学交流。

The Mesoamerican corridor has a series of mountain ranges that have rarely been explored by biologists. Mountain ecosystems are threatened by global warming, which can elevate climate zones and cause extinction by literally driving species off the top of the mountain. The lack of exploration of Mesoamerican mountains has left a glaring hole in our understanding of the planet's biodiversity and what we might lose in response to global warming. Insects make up the bulk of biodiversity and form the fine-scale fabric of ecosystems, yet among the larger forms of life they are the least known. This project will sample insect diversity on mountains from Nicaragua to southern Mexico. Collaborative teams of students from U.S. and host country institutions will carry out a sampling program in the field, followed by laboratory work to describe the new species and analyze the quantitative data on species richness and distribution.The results will (1) add to our store of species knowledge, which directly benefits humans through agricultural and natural products applications, (2) reveal species that might be in danger of loss through climate change, (3) provide quantitative base-line data on diversity, allowing future assessment of response to climate change, and (4) allow evaluation of fundamental ecological theories of species abundance and distribution. The reliance on multinational teams of undergraduate and graduate students will stimulate training in the sciences and foster greater scientific exchange among U.S. and Latin American scientific communities.