"What surprised us the most was that more than half of all species could be found in a single hectare of the forest", said Basset. "This is good news, as it means that to determine the species diversity of a tropical rainforest, we need not sample gigantic areas: a total of one hectare may suffice to get an idea of regional arthropod richness provided that this total includes widely spaced plots representative of variation within the forest," said Roslin.
"Another exciting finding was that the diversity of both herbivorous and non-herbivorous arthropods could be accurately predicted from the diversity of plants", says Basset. "By focusing conservation efforts on floristically diverse sites, we may save a large fraction of arthropods under the same umbrella. Further, this strengthens past ideas that we should really be basing estimates of global species richness on the number of plant species," stresses Roslin.
"While we have assigned immense resources to mapping our genes, resolving sub-atomic structures and searching for extra-terrestrial life, we have invested much less in exploring with whom we share the Earth. Why such research should be run on a shoe string budget just escapes me," reflects Basset.
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| Contact: Beth King kingb@si.edu 202-633-4700 x2821 Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Source:Eurekalert |