In a 10,000-hectare expanse of central Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil, hundreds of scientists are attempting something never done at this scale: counting every species of insect, from the forest floor to the treetops.
The megaproject, led by entomologists at Brazil's National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) and the University of São Paulo, uses vertical arrays of five mesh traps — one at ground level, one suspended about 30 metres up, and three in between — that funnel insects into ethanol-filled bottles that preserve their DNA. The traps have run continuously for 14 months, and a collecting 'blitz' last November added roughly 50 extra methods, from rotting meat for carrion flies to light traps for nocturnal insects.
The haul so far: 5.5 million specimens, of which about 600,000 will be DNA-barcoded, making this one of the largest DNA-barcoding efforts in insect science. A network of nearly 400 taxonomists will combine the genetic data with analyses of physical traits to identify — and name — the new species.
Preliminary estimates put the number of species at more than 40,000, almost 0.7% of the roughly 6 million insect species believed to exist worldwide, in a single location. 'If we start sampling other parts of the forest, the number of new species will likely increase almost exponentially,' said José Rafael, an entomologist at INPA and one of the project's leaders. The campaign was presented last week at the annual meeting of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science in Niterói.
