RESEARCH REPORTS:

In an effort to figure out how our group should break up monitoring and characterizing the massive amounts of fauna we were each individually assigned to do research in a certain area.  

PRELIMINARY RESEARCH/PLANS:
    In our first attempt to find our focus for our goals, we each decided that we should research the different parts of the Amazon rainforest.  We were all assigned to do find information on a certain part of the rainforest, and I was assigned to look for characteristics of the subterranean part of the rainforest.  One of the early ideas we were looking at to divide up our focus was to divide the different fauna from the different environments they live in.  While looking for information of subterranean life, I have found that many areas of were actually drying out, causing unexpected "natural" fires to occur.  Natural forest fires in the Amazon were never a problem before because the Amazon is very humid and wet, but with the recent drying, fires are becoming more frequent.  When farmers set artificial fires to the forest to clear the land, there were never no worries about it spreading, but the situation is now very different.  Some major recent fires have happened because the fires started

    Amazonian soil is very infertile, but there are certain patches From the web site: http://pbs.org/journeyintoamazonia/sacred.html , it is quoted:

    "In many places of the Brazilian Amazon, special black soil ('terra pert') alternate with the usual poor, reddish clay or white sand that forms much of the ground...  These black soils are usually fertile."

    I found that very interesting, and I hope to share that with the Land Group, to see if this would be of any significance to anything. Also from this PBS website, I have found that the different forms of soil management can a microcosm of the extraordinary wealth for the ecological and medicinal knowledge of the flora and fauna.  Perhaps through further research, and working in collaboration with the Land Group, we can find out what kind specific soil management will help us with our knowledge of the fauna.

THE ECOSYSTEM DIVISION:
    After each one of us in the group presented our research of our different ecosystems, we decided that it wouldn't be the best way to divide our focus.  Too many of the different types of Fauna, especially the particular species that we are seriously considering to use as our "indicator species" are very mobile, and have important associations with more than just one part of the Amazon.  To decide on how to continue we researched specific types of speies in different ecosystems.  I was to briefly look into a couple of low-order species in the Amazon river, to see if we could any species that would be good "indicator species."  Here is what I found:

The Discus (common name)
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Cichildae

Habitat: They live in the Amazon river.  During the Amazon floods, they actually reside amongst the rainforest trees.  
Diet: Small Crustaceans, micro-organisms
Enemies/Predators:  Larger fish
Size: 5-8 inches
Other General Info: When it is time for them to lay eggs, they lay hundreds of them.  They also eat insects such as Dragonfly when they're young.
(Source: http://animalsoftherainforest.org/ )

The Tetra (common name)
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family:Characidae

Habitat: The Amazon river.
Diet: Small Crustaceans, micro-organisms
Enemies: Larger fish
Size: 3.5-9 cm
Other General Info: There are many different species of Tetra.  Travel in schools of about seven fish.  The eggs they lay are scattered amongst the aquatic plants and hatch in 24 hours.  Swim and live in the middle and lower layers of the river.
(Source: http://animalsoftherainforest.org)

Anchovies (common name)
Genus: Anchoa
Order: Clupeiforme
Family: Engraulidae

Habitat: The river.
Diet: Small insects and crustaceans
Size: 1.4-1.8 cm
Other General Information: There are currently 12 different species of anchovy known in the Amazon river.  They are a very small pelagic fish.
(Source: http://amazonian-fish.co.uk
                http://peterah.demon.co.uk/thefish.htm )

From my research of these low-order fish, I have concluded that since most of these small fish eat the smaller crustaceans or insects, perhaps those particular fauna would be a better indicator species to use if we want to monitor low-order river organisms.  I will research the smaller crustaceans and insects into more depth if we do decide to monitor them.  

DECISION FOR INDICATOR SPECIES:
Our group has decided that the type of indicator species we need to find are split into two groups.  Monitoring the first type of indicator species would give us an idea of the general health of the rainforest.  That means that we will look a type of fauna that has large populations, or look into two particular fauna species in which the ratio of the populations effect each other.  From these population numbers, we will try to determine what the status quo for the population number is, and if there are any large changes in these numbers, we would try to determine what is wrong.  To determine the second type of indicator species we will monitor is by first determing a threat.  By determining a threat, such as chemical contaminant, we will try to see if an indicator species is heavily effected by the threat, and how they change.  

GENERAL AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
During my research at the library, I have found some information from the National Research Council that had the five basic criteria that assesses biological value.  According to the National Research Council:

1. Richness - the number of species or habitat in a given area.  A region with more species per unit area is given a higher value.
    Ex.  Tropical forest have higher conservation priority than an adjacent tropical dry forest with less richness of species.

2. Endemism - the narrowness of distribution of species in an area. A region with many endemic species have a higher value than a region with fewer endemic species.  Endemics are the species that are prevalent in or peculiar to an area.
    Ex. Madagascar which has 80% of plant species found nowhere else in the world has high priority.

3. Rarity - the rarity of species in a region. A region with rare species is given a higher value.

4. Ecosystem Services - The importance of the natural habitat or resident single species capable of influencing ecosystem function for various services of importance to humans.     Ex. Forested watershed that is a source of public water has higher conservation value.

5.  Protected Status - The relative protection of species that already exists determines the value of a species or habitat.

All in all, species do not all have equal value when it comes to biodiversity management and conservation, and we must come up with the species that will best represent the health of the Amazon rainforest as a whole.

(Source: National Research Council, et al. Perspectives on Biodiversity: Valuing its Role in an Everchanging World. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1999.)

BATS:
Bats are one of the indicator species we are very seriously considering to monitor.  The reason being is that bats are the most diverse tropical canopy mammal.  The techniques used to monitor bats include intensive roost hunting and acoustic monitoring.  Acoustic monitoring is only in its early stages, but it shows great promise.  In actuality, it almost impossible to observe bats from their roost because they're so small, and thus technological advances such acoustic monitoring, radio telemetry, and night-vision scope will be key.  
Bats play an indispensible role in maintaining forest diversity and promoting the regeneration process.  Bats can be great indicators of kinds of habitat disturbances, but the overall studies of effect of habitat alterations on bats are few, and much more needs to be done.

(Source: Kalko, Elisabeth and Handley, Charles. "Neotropical Bats int he canopy: Diversity, Community Structure, and Implications for Conservation." Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001.)