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| Nematodes are known as one of the
most speciose, abundant, and ubiquitious small animals on earth. In many
habitats the species richness of nematodes exceeds that of all other multicellular
animals. Ironically, the tropical rainforest is known as a region of relatively
low nematode biodiversity.
This project attempts to answer the question, "Where is the biodiversity
of nematodes in the tropics?" We hypothesize that most of the nematode
diversity is associated in intricate relationships with arboreal habitats
and invertebrates found in tropical rainforests.
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To test this hypothesis, nematodes
were collected in March 2005 (the early wet seaon) at each of four vertical
positions: soil, litter, subcanopy and arboreal habitats. Sampling was
focused on above ground insects and epiphytes (i.e., algae, moss, vascular
plants and lichens) that are unique habitats to tropical forest ecosystems.
In order to compare this ecosystem with that of temperate grasslands such
as the Konza Prairie,
soil communities were also sampled.
More on Methods:
Specific Sampling
protocols
Amplification of the Barcode
region
Specimen
Identification by molecular metrics
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