9629751 Miller Despite far reaching implications for rain forest conservation and management, understanding of host specificity of plant-feeding tropical insects remains more a matter of conjecture than hard data. The approach taken here overcomes three major problems associated with previous studies: (1) overlooking the importance of "transient" species that are not actually part of the community under study; (2) inadequate sampling programs without rearing and observation of live insects; and (3) need for "long-term" presence in the tropics with sufficient sampling effort. A previous NSF project proved that a thorough sampling of the leaf-chewing insects associated with 15 tree species was feasible within one year. The field methodology of the present study includes testing live insects to determine the plants on which they will actually feed, which allows exclusion of transient species. The study also builds on the solid infrastructure, technical assistance and relationships developed with local villagers near Madang, Papua New Guinea. The specific study goals are to (1) compare local faunistic composition, species-richness and host specificity of leaf-chewing insects feeding on two unrelated plant families; (2) compare species abundance distribution among the 30 communities of leaf-chewing insects studied; and (3) explore relationships of local insect variables (species richness, host specificity and abundance) to local host variables (abundance, leaf production patterns, other physical and biological characteristics). Formulation of forest management and conservation strategies that maximize maintenance of insect diversity depend greatly on how that diversity is distributed, including how dependent the insects are on specific plants. In other words, how much of the host plant diversity must be preserved in order to maintain the insect community. Besides the obvious conservation importance, the same principles extend to management of forest insect pests and biological control agen ts. This projects represents a significant example of the integration of taxonomic expertise in answering essential questions in community ecology and conservation biology, with links to training and resource management.
