Project IBISCA Investigating the biodiversity of soil and canopy arthropods

Project summary Arthropods of tropical forests constitute the dominant component of biodiversity on Earth and are essential for structuring terrestrial ecosystems. This project represents the first attempt to compare arthropod species richness in the soil and understorey vs. canopy habitats of a tropical rainforest, including a wide range of taxa and sufficient spatial and temporal replicates to test the hypothesis that 2/3 of tropical arthropods lives in the canopy. It is one of the first studies of beta diversity at in a lowland tropical forest, encompassing a sample size accounting for arthropod diversity, spatial and seasonal replicates; and one of the first studies of airborne arthropod stratification within the canopy. The amount of data generated on the vertical stratification and beta-diversity of 40-50 focal arthropod taxa phylogenetically distant would be incomparable and likely to have far ranging implications for a better knowledge of the number of species on Earth, dynamics in tropical fore sts and conservation of biodiversity in tropical rainforests. I am invited among 23 highly qualified entomologists to participate in this large-scale project on biodiversity in a tropical lowland forest in Panama, which represent an excellent chance to contribute and play an active role in an unique international collaborative research project.