Comparing Tropical Forests using Dohrniphora
Dr. Brian Brown checks a Malaise trap in Amacayacu
Species richness varies among sites. Obviously, an insect trap in the arctic would catch many fewer species than one in a tropical rain forest, but comparisons among different rain forests are few, especially for insects. In 1990, a book edited by Alwyn Gentry entitled "Four Neotropical Rainforests" attempted to compare La Selva in Costa Rica, Barro Colorado Island (BCI) in Panama, Manaus in Brazil, and Cocha Cashu in Peru. Their comparisons were based on plants, birds, mammals, reptiles & amphibians, and forest dynamics.
view of forest at La Selva
Playing off the central idea of this book, Brown presented a paper at the 2004 Entomological Society of America in which he compared the Dohrniphora fauna of three tropical forests, including La Selva and BCI, but substituting Amacayacu National Park in Colombia for the two South American sites. The conclusion was that Amacayacu was much richer in species than the two Central American sites (see chart), but more data was needed for La Selva.
Currently, we are preparing a revision of these data for publication, including more specimens from all sites and inclusion of more South American localities. Eventually, easily-sampled groups like Dohrniphora will help us learn more about diversification within tropical forests, and hopefully how best to conserve this diversity.
