Hanson_ Biodiversity Inventories in Costa Rica and Their Aplication to Conservation

8/12/2019 Hanson_ Biodiversity Inventories in Costa Rica and Their Aplication to Conservation

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CHAPTER 17

BiodiversityInventoriesinCostaRica ndTheirApplicationtoConservation

Paul Hanson

B I O D I V E R S I T Y I N V E N T O R Y I N G and m o n i t o r i n gp r o v i d eessentiali n f o r m a t i o nused bymanybasicscientific disciplines as w e l las manyappl iedsciencessuch as biotechnology, agricult u r e , fisheries, and conservation. Most inventor y i n g and m o n i t o r i n ghave involved organismst h a tare relatively well known taxonomicallyfo r example, vertebrates andvascularplants. Yetthe poorlyk n o w n groups of organisms, such asinvertebrates andf u n g i , constitute the major ityof the species.Conservation decisions basedondata for a l i m i t e drange o f organisms having re l at ivelyfewspecies can be misleading (Prender-gastetaL1993).Moreover,p o o r l yk n o w n groupso f organisms tend to be smaller i nsizeand to

shorter generation times, which meanst h e y respond more rapidly to environmen-changes (Brown1991).Thus, taxonomically

il t organisms are often good indicators ofi n m e n t a lchange and can help us to real-

t h a t a problemexists before the plants and

vertebrates are affected. However, basic taxo-n o m i c research is needed before these poorlyk n o w n groups of organisms can be used inm o n i t o r i n g and other conservation activities.

The problem is that there are too few taxon-omistsw o r k i n gon the most species-rich groupso f organisms (Gaston and May 1992; Hawks-w o r t hand Ritchie 1993; H a m m o n d1995).Worseyet, taxonomists whohavea lifetime s experienceare r e t i r i n g , and the knowledge they possess( m u c h o f i tu n p u b l i sh e d )is not being recoveredt h r o u g h f i r st h a n d transfer toyoungrecrui ts(Cot-t e r i l l1995).In recentyearsdeveloped countrieshavebegun reducing government expenditures,and thus fun ding of national museums hasd i m i n i s h e dmarkedly in real terms. Increasinglysuch i n s t i t u t i o n s are expected to become moreself-sufficient. Thismeansthatt r a d i t i o n a ltaxo-n o m i c research now has to compete w i t h moreattract ive proposals i n evolutionary biology, thela t t er often addressing species/population level


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q u e s t i o n s i n t a xa t h a t ar e a l r e a d yw e ll k n o w n . N o ts u r p r i s i n g l y , j o b o p p o r t u n i t i e sfor t a x o n o m i s t shave f a l l e n d r a s t i c a l l y , andg r a d u a t e s t u d e n t schoose f in a n ci al ly m o r e p r o m i s i n g f ie ld s ofresearch.

Because them a j o r i t yofspecies don o tyethave s c i e n t i f i c names and theprocess of des c r i b i n g n e w speciesisg e n e r a l l y s lo w , a n a t t r a c t i v e a l t e r n a t i veis ar a p i d b i o d i v e r s i t yassessmento f t a xo n o m i c a lf y w e l l - k n o w n g r o u p s ( O l i ve r a n dB e a t t i e 1996). W h e n su c h r a p i dassessments doi n c l u d ep o o r l y k n o w n t ax a, t h e y m u s t r e l y o n t h es e p ar a t i o n o f m o r p h o s p e c i e s. A l t h o u g h t i m eissaved by n o t h a v i n g to o b t a i n names for thespecies, i f t h e s o r t i n g o f m o r p h o s p e c i es is d o n eb y a n o n s pe c i a l i s t , i ti s p r o n e t oseriouse r r o r s ( f o re x a m p l e , m a n y insects c a n b e separated o n l y b yd i s se c t in g m a l e g e n i t a l ia ) . A l t h o u g h r a p i d b i o d i v e r s i t yassessments a r e r e la t i ve ly i n e x p e n s i ve ,t h e y a re n o s u b s t i t u t e f o r t h e m o r e c o s tly s y s t em a t i c i n v e n t o r i e s . M o r e o v e r , species namesarer e q u i r e d f o r d e t e r m i n i n g w h i c hsites h a r b o r p h y -l o g e n e t i c a l l y i s o l a t e d species a n d fors e r v i n g aw i d er c o m m u n i t yo fusers i n t e r e s t e d i n e n v i r o n m e n t a l e d u c a t i o n , b i o p r o s p e c t i n g , a n d t h e l i k e .

I n r e c e n tyearsac o n s id e r a bl e a m o u n t o f tax-o n o m i c in v e n t o r y w o r k h a s b e en c a r r i e d o u t i nCosta Rica i n g e n e r a l a n d i n d r y f o r e s t s i n p a r t i c u l a r .Because t h e w o r k d o n e i n t h e d r y f o r es t sh a s o c c u r r e d i na n a t i o n a l co n t e x t , a n d becauset h e p r o b l e m s f a c i n g i n v e n t o r i e s do notd i f f e rf u n d a m e n t a l l y b e t w e e n t e r r e s t r i a l ecosystems,t h i s c h a p t e r t re a t s t h e b r o a d e r n a t i o n a lprocess.I t t h u s d i f f e r s f r o m o t h e r c h a p te r s i n t h i s b o o kb y n o t f o c u s i n g s pe c i f ic a l l y o n d r y f o r e s t s . T h i sc h a pt e r b r i e f l yevaluatesi n v e n t o r y w o r k i nCostaRica b y c o n s i d e r i n g w h a tsome o f t h e p r o b l e m shave b e e n a n d h o w f u t u r e i n v e n t o r i e s m i g h t b ei m p r o v e d . T h r e e aspects oft h e i n v e n t o r y p r o cessa rediscussedh e r e : (1)t h e field o p e r a t i o n o fc o l l e c t i n g specimens, (2)t h e resourcebaseforb i o d i v e r s i t y assessment, es pe c ia l l y t h e b i o lo g i c al co l l ec t io n s a n d h u m a n resources a va i l a b lei n t h e c o u n t r y , a n d ( 3) t h e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a tisd erived f r o m t h e i n ve n t o r y , e s pe c i a l l y as i t appl iest o c o n s e r v a t i o n .

3 H N S O N ^ ^

COSTA RICAN INVENTORIESTHE FIELD OPERATIONA s i nm o s t c o u n t r i e s, thee a r l y i n v e n t o r i e si nCosta Rica w e r e q u i t e s p o r a d i c (seeGomez a n dSavage 1983 for a b r i e f h i s t o r y ) . Subsequenti n v e n t o r i e s , p r i m a r i l yby s t a f f oft h e N a t i o n a lM u s e u m a n d t h e U n i v e r si t y o fCostaRica,haveb e e n p r i m a r i l y m u s e u m - b a s e d a n d d r i v e n byt h e m o t i v a t i o no f a few in d i v i d u a l s . W i t hthec r e a t i o n oft h e N a t i o n a l B i o d i v e r si t y I n s t i t u t e( I N B i o ) i n1989t h e r e w a s f o r t h e first t i m eac o o r d i n a t e d a n d i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d e f f o r t t o surveyt h especiesp r e s en t i n t h e c o u n t r y . I N B i o i sap r i v a te , n o n p r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o nwhose m i s s i o n i s t op r o m o t eag r e a t e r consciousness o f t h e v a l u e o fb i o d i v e r s i t y i no r d e r toconserve i ta n d hencei m p r o v e t h e q u a l i t y o f h u m a n l i f e . I N B i oisn o ti n t e n d e d t o b e a n i n s t i t u t i o n d e d i c a te d t o t a x o n o m y as a n e n d i n i t se l f, a n d t h e t e r m museum hasb e e n c a r ef u l ly s h u n n e d . F r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g i tw a s f e l t t h a t n e i t h e r t h e t i m e n o r t h e e c o n o m i cresourcesw e r e a va i l a b le t ot r a i nCosta R i c a n t a xo n o m i s t s i n f o r e i g n u n i v e r s i t i e s (Gamez 1999).I n s t e a d , f o r e i g n t a x o n o m i s t s have b e e n e n c o u r aged t o v i s i t I N B i o i n o r d e r t o h e l p i d e n t i f yspeci m e n s c o l l e c t e d a n d c u r a t e dbyI N B i o s t a f f a n dt o t r a i n t h e c o l l e c t o r s a n d c u r a t o r s . T h e p r i m a r yemphasis hasb e e n onvascular p l a n t s a n d i n sects,a l t h o u g h f u n g i , m o l l u s k s , a n d n e m a t o d e shave b e e n a d d e d .

A t t h e f r o n t e n d o f I NBio's i n v e n t o r y a r e t h ep a r a t a x o n o m i s t s r u r a l p e o p le w h o g r e wu p

i n areas s u r r o u n d i n g p r o t e c t e d w i l d l a n d sanda r e t r a i n e d to c o l le c t andm o u n t specimens.A f t e r b e i n g m o u n t e d a t t h e field s t a t i o n s , speci m e n s areb r o u g h t t o I N B i o , w h e r e t h e yarela b e le d , b a r - c o d e d , and c lass i f ied by t e c h n i c i a n sa n d c u r a t o r s (Janzen et a l .1993). H o w w e l lhavet h e p a r a t a xo n o m i s t s p e r f o r m e d w i t h respect t ot h e b i o d i v e r s i t y i n v e n t o r y ? O n t h e p o s i t i v e sidet h e y have amassed t h e la r g e s t c o l l e c t i o nof i n sects i n C e n t r a l A m e r i c a i na v e r y s h o r t p e r i o do f t i m e . Because insects w e r e c o l l e c t e d p r i m a r i l y b y h a n d - n e t t i n g a n datl i g h t s , t h e i n v e n t o r yh a s b e e n m o s t successful i n t h o s e t a x a t h a tare


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re a di l y c o l l e c t e dbythese m e t h o d s . M a n y species a re r e p r e se n t e d b y l o n gseries f r o m v a r i o u sl o ca l it ie s, t h u s p r o v i d i n g i n f o r m a t i o nongeog r a p h i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n a n d i n t r a s p e c i f i c v a r i a t i o nw i t h i n t h e c o u n t r y . Ing e n e r a l t h e p a r a t a x o n o -m i s t s w h ohaveb e e n m o s t m o t i v a t e dhave b e e nt h e m o s t successful. For e x a m p l e , t h e t e a mofp a r a t a x o n o m i s t s intheGuanacaste Conservat i o n A r e a have p r o d u c e d m o r e specimen-basedi n f o r m a t i o n o n h o s t ranges o f p a r a s i t o i d s t h a nw a s p r e v i o u s l y k n o w n f r o m a l lo f t r o p i c a l A m e r ica I . G a u l d p e r s . c o m m . ) .

A l t h o u g h theuse ofp a r a t a x o n o m i s ts hasp ro v e d t o b eavery effect ive means t o j u m p - s t a r ta c o l l e c t i o n ,i nt h e l o n g r u n itbecomes everm o r e c h a l l e n g i n g to e m p l o y t h e m e f fi c ie n t ly .W i t h o u t s u f f i c i e n t feedback f r o m c u r a t o r sort a x o n o m i s t s , overzealous c o l l e c t i n g e v e n t u a l l yy ie l ds vast q u a n t i ti e s o f t h e c o m m o n species,ap r o b l e m t h a t I N B i o is n o w b e g i n n i n g t oaddress.M e a n w h i l e , them i n u t e insects are g e n e ra l l ym i s s e d b y h a n d - c o l l e c t i n g , a n d t h e f e w t h a t a r ee n c o u n t e r e d areo f t en p o o r l y m o u n t e d , sincet h e m o u n t i n gisd o n e i n th e field. To be fa ir ,noh u m a n b e i n g c o u l d p o s s i bl y d oa first-ratejobo f c o l l ec t i n g a n d m o u n t i n g a l ltypes o f in s e c t s ;t h a t isoneoft h e reasons t h a t e n t o m o l o g i s t sspecialize i n p a r t i c u l a r t a xa . R e c en t l y I N B i o h a st r a i n e d p a r a t a x o n o m i s t s w h o specialize i nj u s to n e o r d e r ofi n s e c t s, b u t t h e r eares t i l l c e r t a i nt a z a t ha t a re m o s t e f f i c ie n t l y c o l l e c t e d b y t he t a x o n o m i s t s t h e m s e l v e s .

I n o r d e r t o i m p r o v e th e c o l l ec t i o no f s m a l l e r -s iz e d t a x a , I NBiohasb e g u n p l a c in g m o r e e m phasis o n t r a p p i n g m e t h o d s . H o w e v er , t h e r e a r es t i l l n o t e n o u g h l a b o r a t o r y t e c h n i c i a n s t o h a n d l ethese mass samples, perhaps because of t h ei n s t i t u t e ' s legacy o f b e in g p r e d o m i n a n t l y field-o r i e n t e d . F o r e x a m p l e , ap a r a t a x o n o m i s t needso n l y a b o u t anh o u rperm o n t h tom a i n t a inaM a l a i se t r a p , b u tal a b o r a t o r y t e c h n i c i a n w i l l req u i r eam i n i m u m o f 2 0 t o30h o u r s t oseparatet h e focal taxa f r o m t h i ssames a m p l e . T h u s , w h e ni tcomes t o pr o c e s si n g b u l k t r a psamples, I N B i oc o n t i n u e s toi n v e s ta d i s p r o p o r t io n a t e a m o u n to f h u m a n resources i nat a s k t h a t r e q u i r e s o n l y

a s m a l l f r a c t i o n o ft h et o t a lt i m e . P a ra t a x o n o m is t sc a n , ofc o u rs e , ber e f o c u s ed i n t h e i r c o l l e c t i n gm e t h o d s f o r e xa m p l e, t o o b t a i n m o r e b i o l o g i c al i n f o r m a t i o n (w h i c hisb e i n g d o n e ) , b u t t h i ss t i l l does n o t address t h e s h o r t a g e ofh u m a nresources f o r s ep a r a t i n g b u l ksamples.

To de c ide o naset o f m e t h o d s f o r a p a r t i c u l a rt a x o n , w e n e e d t o es t a b l is h c r i t e r i a fo r measuri n g t h e p e r f o r m a n c e o f d i f f e r e n t c o l l e c t in g st ra te gies. Th en u m b e r ofspecimens c o l l e c t e dandprocessed, a l t h o u g h w i d e l y c i t e d i na n n u a lrep o r t s ,is ap o o r i n d i c a t o ro f p e r fo r m a n c e becausei treveals n o t h i n g a b ou t h o w m a n y species w e rec o l l e c t e dort h e q u a l i t yoft h e processed specim e n s . I ncases i n w h i c ha specia l is t is act ive lyw o r k i n g w i t h t h e c o l l e c t i o n ,a m u c h b e t te r i n d i c a t o r ofp e r f o r m a n c e is t h e n u m b e r of n e wspecies co l le c te d a n d h o w m u c h i tcostt o o b t a i nt h e m .

THERESOURCE B SE FORBIODIVERSITYASSESSMENTM o s t i n v e n t o r i e s r e s u l t i nac o l l e c t io n o f s p ec i m e n s , w h i c h u s u a l l y c o n s i st o f b o t h i d e n t i f i e d( v o u c he r)specimensa n du n i d e n t i f i e d specimenso f taxa forw h i c hnospecialists arec u r r e n t l ya v a i l a b l e . V o u c he r c o l l e c t io n s aree s s e n t ia lfort h ev e r i f i c a t i o nof field d a t a a n d t o p r o v i d eaperm a n e n t h i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d . B i o l o g i c a l referencec o l l e c t i o n s ing e n e r a l , w i t h t h e i r associatedl i brar ies and s ta f f , area v i t a l source o f baselined a t a f o r f u t u r ei n v e n t o r y i n g a n dm o n i t o r in g (Cot-t e r i l l 1995).

B i o l o g i c a l c o l l e c t i o n s aren otm e r e w a r e houses forspecimens.At t h e v e r y m i n i m u mt h e y r e q u i r e c o n s t a n t v i g i l a n c e top r e v e n ttheravages off u n g a l a n d a r t h r o p o d pests, w h i c hc a n r a p i d l y d e s t r o y specimens. H o w e v e r , ac o l l e c t i o n whose s t a f f does n o t h i n g m o r e t h a nensure its p h y s i c a l w e l l - b e i n g is effect ively ad e a d c o l l e c t i o n . A n a c t iv e a n d u s e f u l c o l l e c t i o nr e q u i r e s a c o n s t a n t i n p u t ofl a b o r for s e n d i n ga n d r e c e i v i n g l o a n s ofspecimens, o r g a n i z i n g( c u r a t i n g ) specimenssot h a t i n d i v i d u a l t a xa a r er e a d i l y accessible tot a x o n o m i s t s, a n d s i m i l a r


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tasks. Because t h e c o n t i n u i n gcost o f m a i n t a i n i n g s u c h c o l l e c t io n s i s f r e q u e n t l y v i e w e d w i t hs u s p i c i o n b y a u d i t o r s , i t i s e s s en t i a l t o p u b l i c i z et h e i m p o r t a n c e o f b i o l o g i c a l c o l l ec t i o n s a s r e search f a c i l i t i e s , every b i t a s v a l u a b l e a s t he i rm o r e d a z z l i n g c o u n t e r p ar t s i n n u c le a r physicsfac i l i t ies .I n CostaRica t h e o l d e s t b i o l o g i c a l c o l l e c t i o ni s t h a t o f t h e N a t i o n a l M u s e u m . T h i s c o l l e ct i o nw a s m i s m a n a g e d i n t h e l at e 1940s a n d d i d n o trecover u n t i l t h e 1970s. D e s p i t e some u n e x p l a i n e ddisappearances o f t y p especimens i n th epast, t h e N a t i o n a l M u s e u m c u r r e n t l y houseso n e o f t h ebest vascular p l a n t c o l le c t i o n s i n C e n t r a l A m e r i c a . I t s i n s ec t c o l l e c t i o n i s p r i m a r i l yr e s t r i c t e d t o t h e b u t t e r f l i e s . A t t h e U n i v e r s i t yo fCosta Ricat h e H e r b a r i u m w as i n i t i a t e d i n t h e1940s a n d t h e Z o o l o g y M u s e u m a n d I n s ec t M u s e u m i n th e 1960s. U n l i k e o t h e r l a r g e h e r b a r i ai n C e n t r a l A m e r i c a , t h a t o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y i n c l u d e s a c o n s i d e r a b l e n u m b e r o f n o n v a s c u l a rp l a n t s a n d f u n g i . T h e Z o o l o g y M u s e u m h a ss u b s t a n t i a l c o l le c t io n s o f m a r i n e i n v e r t eb r a t e s,a ra c hn ids , a qu a t ic in s e c t s , a n d e s p e c ia ll y v e r t e b r a t e s . T h e I n s e c t M u s e u m h a s f o c u s e d o n bees,c e r t a i n f a m i l i e s o fbeetles, a n d p a r a s i t i c wasps.T h e u n i v e r s i t y ' s b i o l o g i c a l c o l l e c t i o n s w o u l d b ei m p r e s s i v e i f t h e i r c o n t e n t s w e r e b e t t e r d o c u m e n t e d . T h e p r e se r v a ti o n a n d g r o w t h o fthese b i o l o g i c a l c o l l e c t i o n shave b e e n assuredp r i m a r i l yb y m o t i v a t e d i n d i v i d u a l s w o r k i n g f r o m shoes t r i n g b u d g e t s , a l t h o u g h r e c en t l y t h e u n i v e r s i t yh a s t a k e n a g r ea t er i n t e r e s t i n t h e m .

T h e c o l l e c t i o n s a t I N B i ohave b e e n a n i n s t i t u t i o n a l p r i o r i t y since t h e i n c e p t i o n o f t h e i n s t i t u t e . T h e co m b i n a t i o no f a l a r g e , w e l l - c u r a t e dc o l l e c t i o n a n d e n t hu s ia s t ic s t a f f ha s a c t e d a s am a g n e t f o r m a n y fo r e i g n t a x o n o m i s ts . Perhapsf o r t h e f i r s t t i m e i n t h e h i s t o r y o fCosta Rica, atleast some i n s e ct t a x o n o m i s t s a re c o m i n g n o tp r i m a r i l y t o c o l l e c t b u t r a t h e r t o w o r k w i t h t h ee x i s t i n g c o l l e c t i o n i n I N B i o . A s w i t h t h e o t h e rc o l l ec t i o n s i n th e c o u n t r y , t h e s t a f f o f I N B i o h a sb e e n q u i t e e n l i g h t e n e d a b o u t l o a n i n gspecimenst o t h e in t e r n a t i o n a l ta x o n o m i c c o m m u n i t y .

Besides c o l l e c t io n s , t w o o t h e r v i t a lresourcesfo r c a r r y i n g o u t b i o d i v e r s i t yassessment are ac

cess t o s c i e n t i f i c l i t e r a t u r e a n d p e o p l e w i t h exp e r i en c e i n i d e n t i f y i n g p a r t i c u l a r t ax a . L i b r a r i e si n Costa Rica c a n n o t a f f o r d s u b s c r i p t i o n s t om o s t o f t h enecessary s c i e n t i f i c j o u r n a l s , w h i c hi s n o t s u r p r i s i n g because even l i b r a r i e s i n d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r i e s a r e r e d u c i n g t h e i r s u b s c r i p t i o n s t othese j o u r n a l s . M o r e o v er , d es p it e m u c hr e c e n t p o n t i f i c a t i n g , t h e n u t s a n d b o l t s o f ta xo n o m i c l i t e r a t u r e a r e s t i l l u n a v a i l a b l e o n t h e I n t e r n e t a n d s h o w n o s i g n o f b e c o m i n g a v a il a bl ea n y t i m e s o o n . T h u s , b u d d i n g t a x o n o m i s ts i nCosta Rica, l i k e t h o s e i n o t h e r d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s , have t o o b t a i n t h e necessary l i t e r a t u r et h r o u g h t h e i r o w n e ff o r ts a n d t h o s e o f f o r e i g nc o l l a b o r a t o r s .

W i t h respect t o h u m a n resources, m o s t o ft h e c u r a t o r s a t I N B i o have rece i ved f irs thandt r a i n i n g u n d e r t h e g u i d a n c e o f f o r e i g n t a x o n o m i s t s , a n d some a re u t i l i z i n g t h i s t r a i n i n g t op u b l i s h d e s c r i p t i o n s o fn e w species.O n t h e o t h e rh a n d , o n l y a f e w o f t h e cu r a t o r s have h a d g r a d uate- leve l courses i n s y s t em a t i c s , g e n e t i c s , o re v o l u t i o n , w h i c h w o u l d g r e a t ly f a c i li t a te separ a t i n g t h especies, u n d e r s t a n d i n gspecies d i s t r i b u t i o n s , a n d p r o v i d i n gadvice o n c o n s e r va t i o n -re l a t e dissues. Th is de f ic ien c y i s e s p ec ia ll y i ro n icbecausecourses i nthese subjects a r e t a u g h t a tt h e U n i v e r s i t y o fCosta Rica.

DATA ND INFORMATIONMANAGEMENTND COMMUNICATION

A g e n er a l p r o b l e m a m o n g m a n y i n s t i t u t i o n sw o r l d w i d e i s l a u n c h i n g adatabasew i t h o u t c lear lyd e f i n i n g i t s i n t e n d e d u s e, t h u s f o r g e t t i n g t h a td a ta m a n a g e m e n t i s a t o o l r a t h e r t h a n a n e n di n i t se l f. A l t h o u g h d e v e l o p i n g one's o w n s o f t w a r e f o r d a ta m a n a g e m e n t m a y be s u p e r f i c i a ll ya t t ra c t iv e , i t i s u s u a l l y d i f f i c u l t f o r a l o c a l i n s t i t u t i o n do t h i s i n a c o s t -e f fe c t iv e w a y ( O l i v i e r i eta l . 1995). I N B i o h a s i n v e s t e d h e a v i l y i n d e v el o p i n g i t s o w n s o f tw a r e , a n d i t w o u l d b e i n t e r e s t i n gt o analyze w h e t h e r t h i s e f f o r t h a s b e e n c o s t-e f fe c tiv e . No n e t he l e s s , t he r e ha s b e e n a n i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o m m i t m e n t t o d a ta m a n a g e m e n t (seeZ e l e d n 2 0 0 0 : 1 0 0) , w h i c h a l lo w s u p g r a d i n ga s n e w t e c h n o l o g y a r r i v e s . I n c o n t r a s t , d a t a


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management i n o t h e r c o l l e c t i o n s i n Costa Ricah a s g e n e ra ll y r e l i ed o n i n d i v i d u a l c o m m i t m e n t ,w h i c h o f t e n r e su l t s i n d i s c o n n e c t e d a n d p o t e n tially i n c o m p a t i b l e databases.

V e r y l i t t l e o f t h e i n v e n t o r y ef f o r t i nCosta Ricah a s e n t a i l e d q u a n t i t a t i v e s a m p l i n g , w h i c hcanp r o v i d evaluable da t a o n t he re l a t iv e abundanceo f d i f f e r e n t species a n d w h a t p r o p o r t i o n o f t h eb io t a re m a in s t o b e c o l l e c te d . Th e n o t a b l e except i o n ist h e A r t h r o p o d s ofLa Selva p r o j e c t ( L o n -g i n o a n d C o l w e l l 1997). Yet i tisd i f f i c u l t t o f a u l tt h e rest oft h e i n v e n t o r y w o r k forb e i n g n o n -q u a n t i t a t i v ebecausem o s t t r o p i c a lorganisms d on o tevenhave names a n d m e r e ly addressing t h i sessential first stepis ane n o r m o u s task. D i f f e r e n t taxa r e q u i r e d i f f e r en t s a m p l i n g m e t h o d s( Ne w 1998), a n d for a p a r t ic u l a r t a x o n t h e r e iso f t e n u n c e r t a i n t y as t o h o w e f f ic i en t o n e m e t h o di s i n c o m p a r i s o n w i t h o th er s ( H a m m o n d1994;Samways 1994). N o t s u r p r i s i n g l y , w e m u s t o f t e nr e l y o n t h e t a x o n o m i s t s' i n t u i t i o n .

A l t h o u g h f u r t h e r b i o l o g i c a l d a t a are u s u a l l yb e y o n d t h e scope o f m o s t i n v e n t o r i e s , v a r i o u sf ie l d b io l o g i s t s havebeen c a r r y i n g o u tresearchi nCosta Rica f or m a n y years, a n d t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n is b e i n g c o m p i l e d byt h e O r g a n i z a t i o nforT r o p i c a lStudies (B I N A B I T R O P , o r N a t i o n a l Bi bl i o g r a p h y onT r o p i c a l B io l o g y , c u r r e n t l y c o m p r i s i n g 12,000 references). I n t h e f u t u r e m o r eemphasis needs t obeplaced o n g a t h e r i n g ecol o g i ca l i n f o r m a t i o n d u r i n g t h e i n v en t o r y ,as isc u r r e n t l y b e i n g d o n e w i t h m a c r o l e p i d o p t e r a nc a t e rp i l l a r s i n t he Guanacaste C o n s e r v a t i o n Area(ht t p : / / J a n z e n . s a s . u p e rm . e du : 5 9 i / re a r in g db . ht m )a n d t h e ants ofCosta Rica p r o j e c t (w w w . e v e r-g r e e n . e d u / a n t s ).

T h e i n f o r m a t i o n o b t a i n e d f r o m i n v e n t o r ie sh a s to bemade available for a v a r i e t y ofuses,n o t a b l y s c i e n t i f i c advancement, e n v i r o n m e n t a le d u c a t i o n , a n d c o n s e r v a t i o n management.Tow a r dthese ends t h e N a t i o n a l M u s e u m , t h e p u b l i c u n i v e r s i t i e s, a n d I N B i ohave a l lbeen act ive lyp r o d u c i n g av a r i et y o f p u b l i c a t i o n s ( b o t hscient i f i c a n d p o p u l a r ) , a l t h o u g hap e r e n n i a l p r o b l e mi n L a t i n A m e r i c a i ngeneral i s t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o fthese p u b l i c a t i o n s . B o t h I N B i o a n d t h e A r t h r o pods ofLa Selva p r o j e c t area c ti ve ly p r o d u c i n g

species W e b pages, w h i c h has t h e p o t e n t i a ltodisseminate n a t u r a l h i s t o r y i n f o r m a t i o n m u c hm o r e w i d e l y t h a n t r a d i t i o n a l p u b l i ca t i o n s .

F i n a l l y , h o w ist h e i n v e n t o r y i n f o r m a t i o n b ei n g used i n m a k i n g decisions a b o u t c o n s e r v i n gb i o d i v e r s i t y ? In general t h e s t a f f o f t h e conserv a t i o n areas hasbeen c o n c e r n e d w i t h h o wtop r o t e c t r a t h e r t h a n h o w tomanage. T h e m o s tf r e q u e n t requests c o m i n g f r o m b o t h t h e conserv a t i o nareas a n d t h e p r i v a t e reserves are for l is t so fspecies and field guides, w h i c h ar e u s e f u l f o re n v i r o n m e n t a l e d u c a t i o n andec o t o u r i s m ,bu tlessso formanagement a n d d e c is i o n m a k i n g .I n f o r m a t i o n o n rare a n d endangered p l a n tspecies wasused i np l a n n i n g t h e Osaa n d Pasode laD a n t a c o r r i d o r s a n d i n p l a n n i n ga n a t u r et r a i l i nCorcovado N a t i o n a l Park, b u t suchexamples arerare (R.Garcia pers. c o m m . ) . Co n s e r v a t i o n decisions o f t e n r e l y m o r e o n e c o l o g i c al i n f o r m a t i o n ( e. g., m a m m a l m i g r a t i o n s ) t h a no n rawt a xo n o m i c i n f o r m a t i o n ,yet thel a t t e rp r o v i d es t h e f o u n d a t i o n fort h e f o r m e r . T h e r e f o r e , t h e sequence o f i n f o r m a t i o n t r a n sf er t h a tneeds t o o c c u r issystematics >ecologyc o n s e r v a t i o n , a l t h o u g hsystematics c a n occasionallyp r o v i d e i n f o r m a t i o n d i r e ct l yt ocon servat ion (e .g . ,p hy l o g e n e t ic a l l y i s o l a t e d t a x a ) .

CONCLUSIONSW e o b v i o u s l y c a n n o t a f f o r d todelay conservat i o n e f fo r t s u n t i l a l ltaxahavebeen f u l l y i n v e n t o r i e d . T h e u r g e n c y o f t h e c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n re q u i r e s us toselect areas t h a t need p r o t e c t i o no n t h e basis ofe x is t in g i n f o r m a t i o n a n d r a p i db i o d i v e r s i t yassessments o f t a x o n o m i c a l l y w e l l -k n o w n organisms.A t t h esamet i m e ,however,i ti s p r u d e n t to c o n t i n u e t h e i n v e n t o r i e s o flesser-k n o w ntaxa suchasm i c r o o r g a n i s m s , f u n g i , a n di n v e r t e b r a t e s . Thesetaxa c o n s t i t u t e t h e m a j o r i t yo ft h e w o r l d ' s species,a n d m a n y o f t h e m a re c r i t i c a l t oecosystem f u n c t i o n i n g . M o r e o v er , c e r t a i nspecies-richareasw o u l d p r o b a b l y b e o v e r l o o k e di n co n s e rv a ti o n p l a n n i n g i fw e t o t a l l y i g n o r e dt h especies-rich taxa.

I n v e n t o r i e s i nCosta Rica have been v e ryp a t c h y i n t h e i rcoverageo f t h e c o u n t r y . I n v e n t o r y
http://www.ever-/http://green.edu/antshttp://green.edu/antshttp://www.ever-/


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w o r k b y t h e u n i v e r s i t i e s h a s been d o n e p r i m a r i l y o u t s i d e t h e n a t i o n a l p a r k s , whereas I N B i o ' si n v e n t o r y h a s been r e s t r i c t e d t o p r o t e c t e dareas.Someareas(e .g . ,Guanacastea n d t h e O sa P e n i n sula)have r e c e iv e d m o r e emphasis t h a n o t h e r s( e . g . , B r a u l i o C a r i l l o N a t i o n a l P a r k ) . V e r y l i t t l ei n v e n t o r y w o r k h a s been c a r r i e d o u t i n t h e p r i vatereserves,w h i c h a re p o t e n t i a l l y q u i t e i m p o r t a n t i n co n s e r va t i o n ( H e r z o g a n d V a u g h a n 1998).A n a t i o n a l i n v e n t o r y t h a t i n c l u d e s b o t h p r o t e c t eda n d n o n p r o t e c t e dareas w o u l d pr o v id e i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e i d e n t i t y a n d g e o g r a p h i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h especies o c c u r r i n g w i t h i n t h e c o u n t r ya s a w h o l e . Th is i sessential f or d e t e r m i n i n g w h a tp r o p o r t i o n o f t h especies a r e n o t i n p r o t e c t e d a r ea s a n d c o n s e q u e n t l y w h i c h n o n p r o t e c t e dareasa r e i ngreatestneed o f p r o t e c t i o n .

I n v e n t o r i e s a r e alsoneeded a f t e r l a n ds havebeena c q u i r e d f o r c o n s e r v a t i o n . Thesel a n d s needt o bemanaged a n d m o n i t o r e d , b u t t y p ic a l ly o n l yvascular p l a n t s a n d v e r t e b ra t e s have been i n v e n t o r i e d . I n f a c t , Costa R i c a n l a w r e q u i r e s o n l yt h a t trees a n d v e r te b r a t es b e i n c l u d e d i n e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t s tu d i es . Y et i n v e n t o r y w o r k i nt h e c o u n t r y h a s advanced t o t h e p o i n t w h e r eo t h e r taxa c o u l d a n d s h o u l d b e i n c l u d e d . T h elaws are especially o u t d a t e d i n t h ecase o f f r e s h w a t e recosystems,w h e r e e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c ts t u dies a re re q u i r e d o n l y t omeasurep hy s ic a l a n dc h e m i c a lparameters ( M . S p r i n g e r pers. c o m m . ) ,w h i c h recover f r o m d u m p i n g events ( e . g . , p u l pf r o m coffee b e r r ie s ) m o r e q u i c k l y t h a n d o p o p u l a t i o n s o f a qu a t ic in v e r t e b ra t e s .

N a t i o n a l b i o d i v e r s i t y i n v e n t o r i e s haveseveralf u n c t i o n s , t h r e e o f w h i c hhavebeenh i g h l i g h t e dh e r e : (1) b u i l d i n g l o c a l t a x o n o m i c expertise a n db i o l o g i c a l c o l l ec t i o n s , w h i c h a re t h ebasis f o r f u t u r e s c ie n t i f i c st u die s a n d c o n s e rv a t io n e f fo r t s ,( 2 ) p r o v i d i n gbasic i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t c a n beusedi n e n v i r o n m e n t a l e d u c a t i o n , a n d ( 3 ) s u p p l y i n gt h e i n f o r m a t i o n needed i n d e v e l o p i n g managem e n t p l a n s f o r c o n s e r v a t io n . I n g e n e r a l , i n v e n t o r i e s i nCosta Rica have succeeded m u c h b e t te ri n t h e f ir st t w o t h a n i n t h et h i r d . T h e r e a re m a n yg o o d references t r e a t i n g th e types o f i n f o r m a t i o nneededi n c o n s e rv a t io n ( e. g .,Nossa n d C o o p -e r r i d e r 1994), a n d so t h e p r o b l e m i s n o t i n d e

c i d i n g w h a t t y pe o f i n f o r m a t i o n is needed b u tr a t h e r i n p r o v i d i n g i t i n a n accessible f o r m a t ,d i s s e m i n a t i n g i t , a n d u t i l i z i n g i t . A great d e a l o ft h e i n f o r m a t i o n a lr ea d y exists,some o f i t re a di l yavailable b u t m u c h o f i t r e q u i r i n gsynthesis a n dd i s s e m i n a t i o n . Perhaps t h e m o s t serious p r o b l e m i s t h e f in al s t e p a p p l y i n g t h e i n f o r m a t i o n .T o o o f te n i n v e n t o r y i n f o r m a t i o n i s v i e w e d a s a ne n d i n i t s el f , a n d even w h e n t h e i n f o r m a t i o nreaches t h e d e c i s io n m a k e r s , i t i s o f t e n e x i le d t othe f i le cabinet .

Basedo n t h e b i o d i v e r s i ty i n v e n t o r y w o r k th a th a s been d o n e i nCostaRica,w e c a n d r a w o ncert a i nfacts t o m a k e suggestions f o r f u t u r e b i o l o g i c a l i n v e n t o r i e s : Fact: A l t h o u g h c o l l e c t i n g i s o b v i o u s l y a n es

sent ia l f i rs t step i n t h e t a x o n o m i c processa n d p a r a t a x o n m i s t s havebeen u s e f u l i n t h i sprocess, t h e r a t e - l i m i t i n g step i n i n v e n t o r yw o r k i s t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f n e w species. T h i sc a n be d o n e o n l y b y t a x o n o m i c e x p er t s , b u tt h e y s h o u l d n o thave t o u n d e r t a k e a l l t h etasksthemselves as theyhavet r a d i t i o n a l l yd o n e . Suggestion: D e v e lo p m o r e a n d v a r i e dh u m a nresources t o s u p p o r t m o n o g r a p h i ct a x o n o m y . F o r e xa m p l e , t h e c o n c e p t o f ap a r a t a x o n o m i s t c o u l d b e b r o a d e n e d t o i n c l u d e p e o p l e w h oassist t a x o n o m i s t s i n de s c r i b i n g n e w species. A f t e r t h e t a x o n o m i s th a s separated t h especies a n d w r i t t e n a p re l i m i n a r y key,these i n d i v i d u a l s c o u l d d osome o f t h e m o r e r o u t i n etasks ( e . g . , re c o rdi n g l o c a l i t y d a t a f r o mlabels a n d m e a s u r i n gs p e ci m e n s ) . Q u a l i t y c o n t r o l s h o u l d b e m a i n t a i n e d b y t h e t a x o n o m i s t , a n d t h e u s u a l peerre v ie w processes s h o u l d b e c o n t i n u e d .

Fact: T h e r e a re n o t e n o u g h i n t e r n a t i o n a l t ax o n o m i c resources t o s u p p o r t a n I N B i o c lo n ei n t h e m a j o r i t y o f t r o p i c a l c o u n t r i e s . I N B i oh a s b e n e f it e d g r e a t ly f r o m b e i n g o n e o f t hef ir st s u c h i n s t i t u t i o n s t oappear. F o r e x a m p l e ,B r i t i s h taxpayershave i n v e s t e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y a m i l l io n d o l l a r s i n t h eCosta R i c a ni n v en t o r y t h r o u g hsalaries p a i d t o st a f f o f t h eN a t ur a l H i s t o r y M u s e u m w h ohavep a r t i c i p a t ed i n t h i s i n v e n t o r y I . G a u l dpers. c o m m . ) .


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G l o b a l t a x o n o m i cresources a r e s i m p l y n o tl a r g e e n o u g h t o d u p l i c a t e s u c h s u p p o r t i nm o s t o t h e r t r o p i c a l c o u n t r i e s . Suggestion:P r o m o t e g r e a t e r r e g i o n a l i n t e r i n s t i t u t i o n a lc o l l a b o r a t i o n a n d increase e m p l o y m e n t o pp o r t u n i t i e s f o r t a x o n o m i s t s . I t i s w o r t h r e m e m b e r i n g t h a t n o c o u n t r y w i l l ever b es e l f - s u f f i c i e n t w i t h respect t o t a x o n o m i c exp e r t i s e . Even t h e U n i t e dStates a n d Canadah a d t o i m p o r t t a x o n o m i c e x p e r t i s e i n o r d e rt o p r o d u c ekeyst o t h egenera o f C h a l c i d o i d e ao f N o r t h A m e r i c a ( G i b s o n e t a l .1997).

Fact: G l ob a ll y , t a x o n o m y i s p r i m a r i l y f u n d e dt h r o u g h scienceresearch b u d g e t s a n d i s s u b ject tochanges i nscience p r i o r i t y . T h e userc o m m u n i t y w a n t s t a x o n o m i s t s t o p r o d u c et h e t o o l s b y w h i c h o r g a n i s m s c a n b e i d e n t i f i e d , b u t t h eresearch r e q u i r e d to p r o d u c es u c h t o o l sisn o t c u r r e n t l y v i e w e d b y t h e r e search c o m m u n i t y asap r i o r i t y u n d e r t a k i n g .Suggestion: P o t e n t i a luser c o m m u n i t i e ss h o u l d i d e n t i f y s pe ci fi c t a x o n o m i c needs(e .g . , an i d e n t i f i c a t i o n m a n u a l f o r t h eN e o t r o p i c a lgenera o f C h a l c i d o i d e a ) , a n df u n d i n g agencies s h o u l d i n v i t e t e n d e r s t op r o d u c e these p r o d u c t s r a t h e r t h a n in v e s t i nm o r e n e b u l o u s c a pa c it y b u i l d i n g . F u n d i n go p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r s p e c i f i c p r o d u c t s w o u l ds t i m u l a t e o r g a n i z a t i o n s t o co l l a bo r a t e i n f o r m u l a t i n g c o m p e t i t iv e b i d s , w h i c h i n t u r nw o u l dcreate j o b s f o r y o u n g t a x o n o m i s t s ,p a r t i c u l a r l y i n d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s w i t hc o m p a r a t i v e l y l o w overheads.

Costa Ricahasr ec ei ve d i n t e r n a t i o n a laccolades f o r i t s e f fo r t s i n c o n s e r v a t i o n a n d i n v e n t o r y .H o w w e l li tl i ve s u p t o t h i s r e p u t a t i o n i n t h ef u t u r e depends o naco n t i n u e d c o m m i t m e n t tothese i n t e r r e l a t e d a c t i v i t ie s . T h e o f t e n r e p e a t e dphrase l e a r n i n g o cc u rs t h r o u g h d o i n g is app r o p r i a t e , a n d f o r o t h e r t r o p i c a l c o u n t r i e s t h a thave b a r e l y b e g u n d o i n g i t , t h e Costa R i c a n e xp e r i e n c e c a n p r o v i d eseveralt a k e -h o m e lessons.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

e s p e c i a l l y t h a n k IanG a u l d for n u m e r o u st h o u g h t - p r o v o k i n g discussions t h a t p r o v i d e d

several i m p o r t a n tideas f o r t h i s c h a p t e r . Ialsot h a n k t h e f o l l o w i n gpersons f o r p r o v i d i n gusef u l c o m m e n t s o n p r e v io u s ve r s io n s o f t h e c h apt e r : Z a i d e t t B a r r a n t e s , W i l l s F l o w e r s, G o r d o nF r a n k i e , R a n d a l l G a r c i a , JorgeGomez L a u r i t o ,L u i s D i e g o G o m e z , B a rr y H a m m e l , Jack L o n -g i n o , J u l i a n M o n g e , a n d R o d r i g o Z e l e d o n .

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