Maurice in Panama - page 2

Why did they chose San Lorenzo in Panama as a study site ?

Situated in the heart of Central America, Panama has a tropical climate and forests which allow biodiversity to develop to a very high level. In this type of forest, biodiversity mainly consists of insects. According to some estimations, there would live as much beetle species in one single hectare of forest in Panama than in the whole of Europe. The key question of this study is : are these insects living at the canopy or ground level ?

Panama is one of the countries where the study of canopy is the most advanced, and this thanks to two Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)’s permanent cranes, dedicated to the forest study. The IBISCA mission’s technical staff and scientists could enjoy the whole station’s equipment and laboratory.

About twelve sampling methods have been used to collect insects (such as fogging, sticky and winkler traps and filtering). In order to study the canopy, the expedition’s membres have used new devices for the first time : a crane, the « SolVin Bretzel », the « IKOS » and the « Canopy Bubble ».

According to Maurice, this expedition is a wonderful experience ; he even becomes lyrical : « From the Canopy Raft, the top of the forest looks like a green and undulating ocean. ».

Quicktime .mov, 3,42 MB,
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A noble project at human level

31 scientists, from 15 different nationalities, took part in this mission. They all worked togheter in a friendly atmosphere. The human aspect of this mission was as tremendous as the scientific one ! And it is only the beginning of the mission...

« I am also a specialist in the scientific data management and analysis. Other scientists are finalizing access to canopy and yet others are developing sorting and identification methods. Several other field studies will have to be carried out before we can interprete the expedition’s results : the sprouting of plants, environmental conditions and the change of season must also be taken into account. Therefore, we’ll need a little more patience before we can know the mission’s results. I think that the collection and interpretation of all the data concerning the expedition’s 40 focal insect groups will take us two more years. »

We'd like to thank Matière Grise (RTBF) and nv Solvay for the pictures (www.Solvay.com > will be open in a new window).