About This Project

Roundworms constitute 4/5 of all individual animals on Earth, and they´re key players in the sustainability of oceans, lakes and forests worldwide. In the forests, roundworms have been studied in the soil, but no one has ever sampled the forests` canopy for them. Science knows virtually nothing about canopy roundworms` abundance, ecology and functional roles in the ecosystem. We´ll climb to the top of Brazil´s Atlantic Forest to reveal these and other aspects of canopy roundworms.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Roundworms make up 4/5 of all individuals animals on Earth. By feeding avidly on bacteria, fungi and other critters roundworms contribute a great deal to the sustainability of ecosystems worldwide, such as oceans and forests. In forests, roundworms have been studied in soil and lakes, where they are as abundant as important to recycle nutrients and energy to sustain the forest. Surprisingly, roundworms have never been looked for in the forests´ canopy.

The forests` canopy hosts key processes for life on Earth e.g., photosynthesis, and an enormous biodiversity, from microorganisms to primates. In the dynamic field of canopy biology there remains a huge gap: how many and how diverse are canopy roundworms? What is their contribution to the sustainability of forests?

What is the significance of this project?

What if the forests` canopy harbors a staggering abundance and diversity of roundworms? The society at large, and ecologists in particular would be short of fathom how forests sustain themselves.

For the first time the canopy will be sampled systematically for roundworms. We`ll reveal the abundance and diversity of roundworms, unveil aspects of their ecology, and attempt to estimate their contribution to the forest´s ecology.

By sampling and comparing the community of canopy nematodes in 3 distinct areas of Brazil`s rain forest we may find patterns associated with altitute, rainfall regime and floristics. In sum, we´ll characterize the diversity and ecology of the Earth`s most abundant metazoans in the least studied ecosystem - the forest canopy.

What are the goals of the project?

We`ll sample 3 parks distinct in size and altitude: the E.E.E. Guaxindiba (8 M acres at 25 masl); the P.E. Pedra Azul (3 M acres at 600-900 masl) and the P.N. Serra do Caparaó (78 M acres at 1,200-1,500 masl). In each park we´ll set 4 125x125m plots with 4 25x25m subplots each. Two trees will be sampled/subplot. Mosses and organic debris will be scraped from 70 cm² sampling points in the trunk and main branch, and 70 cm² of leaves will be collected.

The roundworms will be extracted from the 288 samples and identified to genus level. We´ll calculate the parameters abundance (total, relative, trophic); diversity and dominance (Shannon-Wiener, Pielou, Simpson indexes); and ecological stability (Bongers´ maturity, Ferris` indexes) to understand the ecology of canopy nematodes.