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About us

We are a group of entomologists and forest ecologists interested to understand the main factors that affect the local maintenance of arthropod biodiversity in tropical rainforests. Our research program has several components. We have studied canopy arthropods, insect-plant interactions and herbivore interaction networks in tropical rainforests. However, we are now increasingly focusing on the threats to tropical insects induced by global climate change and climate anomalies. To this end, we built a small network of forest sites recruiting from the ForestGEO network (notably in Panama, Thailand and Papua New Guinea), where we are monitoring in the long-term various insect taxa, from butterflies to termites. We apply new analytical and molecular methods to forecast how climate change may alter key functional groups represented by insect taxa with diverse life-histories.

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Recent selected publications

2023

Basset, Y., Butterill, P.T., , Donoso, D.A., Lamarre, G.P.A., Souto-Vilaros, D.,  Perez, F., Bobadilla, R., Lopez, Y., Ramírez Silva, J.A. & Barrios, H. (2023) Abundance, occurrence and time series: long-term monitoring of social insects in a tropical rainforest. Ecological Indicators, 150, 110243.

2022

Harvey, J.A., Tougeron, K., Gols, R., …, Basset, Y., … & Chown, S.L. 2022. Scientists’ warning on climate change and insects. Ecological Monographs, in press.

Basset, Y., Blažek, P., Souto-Vilarós, D., Vargas, G., Ramírez Silva, J.A., Barrios, H., Perez, F., Bobadilla, R., Lopez, Y., Ctvrtecka, R., Šípek, P., Solís, A., Segar, S.T. & Lamarre, G.P.A. 2022. Towards a functional classification of poorly known tropical insects: The case of rhinoceros beetles (Coleoptera, Dynastinae) in Panama. Insect Conservation and Diversity, in press.

Basset, Y., Hajibabaei, M., Wright, M.T.G., Castillo, A.M., Donoso, D.A., Segar, S.T., Souto‑Vilarós, D. Soliman, D.Y., Roslin, T., Smith, M.A., Lamarre, G.P.A., De León, L.F., Decaëns, T., Palacios‑Vargas, J.G., Castaño‑Meneses, G., Scheffrahn, R.H., Rivera, M., Perez, F., Bobadilla, R., Lopez, Y., Ramirez Silva, J.A., Montejo Cruz, M., Arango Galván, A. & Barrios, H. (2022). Comparison of traditional and DNA metabarcoding samples for monitoring tropical soil arthropods (Formicidae, Collembola and Isoptera). Scientific Reports, 12, 10762. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14915-2

Donoso, D.A., Basset, Y., Shik, J.Z., Forrister, D.L., Uquillas, A., Salazar Méndez , Y., Arizala, S., Polanco, P., Beckett, S., Dominguez G., D. & Barrios, H. 2022. Male ant reproductive investment in a seasonal wet tropical forest: consequences of future climate change. PLOs One, 17, e0266222.

Lamarre, G.P.A., Pardikes, N.A., Segar, S., Hackforth, C.N., Laguerre, M., Vincent, B., Lopez, Y., Perez, F., Bobadilla, R., Ramírez Silva, J.A., Basset, Y. 2022. More winners than losers over 12 years of monitoring tiger moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Biology Letters, 18, 20210519.

2021

Roubik, D.W., Basset, Y., Lopez, Y., Bobadilla, R., Perez, F. & Ramírez Silva, J.A. 2021. Long-term (1979-2019) dynamics of protected orchid bees in Panama. Conservation Science and Practice3, e543.

Novotny, V., Miller, S.E., Hrcek, J., Baje, L., Basset, Y., Lewis, O.T., Stewart, A.J.A. & Weiblen, G.D. 2021. Correction. The American Naturalist, 198, 438-439.

Leponce, M., Corbara, B., Delabie, J.H.C, Orivel, J., Aberlenc, H.-P.,Bail, J., Barrios, H., Campos, R.I., Cardoso do Nascimento, I., Compin, A., Didham, R.K., Floren, A., Medianero, E., Ribeiro, S.P., Roisin, Y., Schmidl, J., Tishechkin, A.K., Winchester, N.N., Basset, Y. & Dejean, A. (2021) Spatial and functional structure of an entire ant assemblage in a lowland Panamanian rainforest. Basic and Applied Ecology, 56, 32-44.

Basset, Y., Jorge, L.R., Butterill, P.T., Lamarre, G.P.A., Dahl, C., Ctvrtecka, R., Gripenberg, S., Lewis, O.T., Barrios, H., Brown, J.W., Bunyavejchewin, S., Butcher, B.A., Cognato; A.I., Davies, S.J., Kaman, O., Klimes, P., Knížek, M., Miller, S.E., Morse, G.E., Novotny, V., Pongpattananurak, N., Pramual, P., Quicke, D.L.J., Sakchoowong, W., Umari, R., Vesterinen, E.J., Weiblen, G., Wright, S.J. & Segar, S.T. 2021. Host specificity and interaction networks of insects feeding on seeds and fruits in tropical rainforests. Oikos, 130, 1462-1476.

2020

Basset, Y., Donoso, D.A., Hajibabaei, M., Wright, M.T.G., Perez, K.H.J., Lamarre, G.P.A., De León, L.F., Palacios-Vargas, J.G., Castaño-Meneses, G., Rivera, R., Perez, F., Bobadilla, R., Lopez, Y., Ramirez, J.A. & Barrios, H. 2020. Methodological considerations for monitoring soil/litter arthropods in tropical rainforests using DNA metabarcoding, with a special emphasis on ants, springtails and termites. Metabarcoding and Metagenomics, 4, 151-163.
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Brown, J. W., Gripenberg, S., Basset, Y., Calderón, O., Simon, I., Fernandey, C., Cedeno, M. & Rivera, M. 2020. Host records for Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) reared from seeds and fruits in Panama. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 122, 12-24.
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Basset, Y., Palacios-Vargas, J.G., Donoso, D.A., Castaño-Meneses, G., Decaëns, T., Lamarre, G.P., De León, L.F., Rivera, M., García-Gómez, A., Perez, F., Bobadilla, R., Lopez, Y., Ramirez, J.A., Cruz, M.M., Galván, A.A., Mejía-Recamier, B.E. & Barrios, H. 2020. Enemy-free space and the distribution of ants, springtails and termites in the soil of one tropical rainforest. European Journal of Soil Biology, 99, 103193.
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Didham, R.K., Basset, Y., Collins, M., Leather, S.R.., Littlewood. N.A., Menz, M.H.M., Müller, J., Packer, L., Saunders, M.E., Schönrogge, K., Stewart, A.J.A., Yanoviak, S.P. & Hassall, C. 2020. Interpreting insect declines: seven challenges and a way forward. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 13, 103-114.
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Lamarre, G.P.A., Fayle T.M., Segar, S.T., Laird-Hopkins, B., Nakamura, A., Souto-Vilarós,D.,  Watanabe, S. & Basset, Y. 2020. Monitoring tropical insects in the 21st century. Advances in Ecological Research, 62, 295-330.
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Harvey, J.A., Heinen , R., Armbrecht , I. Basset, Y., … & de Kroon, H. 2020. International scientists formulate a roadmap for insect conservation and recovery. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 4, 174-176.
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Mottl O., Fibich P., Klimeš P., Volf M., Tropek R., Anderson-Teixeira K., Auga J., Blair T., Butterill P. T., Carscallen G., Gonzalez-Akre E., Goodman A., Kaman O., Lamarre G., Libra M., Losada M.E., Manumbor M., Miller S., Molem K., Nichols G., Plowman N., Redmond C. M., Seifert C. L., Vrána J., Weiblen G., Novotný V. (2020) Spatial covariance of herbivorous and predatory guilds of forest canopy arthropods along a latitudinal gradient. Ecology Letters, 23, 1499–1510.
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Seifert C. L., Lamarre G., Volf M., Ré Jorge L., Miller S., Wagner D.L., Anderson-Teixeira K., Novotný V. (2020) Vertical stratification of a temperate forest caterpillar community in eastern North America. Oecologia 192: 501-514.
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2019

Gripenberg, S., Basset, Y., Lewis, O.T., Terry, J.C.D., Wright, S.J., Simón, I., Fernández, D.C., Cedeño-Sanchez, M., Rivera, M., Barrios, H., Brown, J.W., Calderón, O., Cognato, A.I., Kim, J., Miller, S.E., Morse, G.E., Pinzón-Navarro, S., Quicke, D.L.J., Robbins, R.K., Salminen, J.-P. & Vesterinen, E. 2019. A highly-resolved food web for insect seed predators in a species-rich tropical forest. Ecology Letters, 22, 1638–1649.
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Luk, C.-L., Basset, Y., Kongnoo, P., Hau, B.C.H. & Bonebrake, T.C. 2019. Inter‐annual monitoring improves diversity estimation of tropical butterfly assemblages. Biotropica, 51, 519-528.
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Basset, Y. & Lamarre, G.P.A. 2019. Toward a world that values insects. Science, 364, 1230-1231.
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Solé, R., Gripenberg, S., Lewis, O.T., Markesteijn, L., Barrios, H., Ratz, T. Ctvrtecka, R., Butterill, P.T., Segar, S.T., Metz, M.A., Dahl, C., Rivera, M., Viquez, K., Ferguson, W., Guevara, M. & Basset, Y. 2019. The role of herbivorous insects and pathogens in the regeneration dynamics of Guazuma ulmifolia in Panama. Nature Conservation, 32, 81–101.
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Redmond, C.M., Auga, J., Bradley, G., Segar, S.T., Miller, S.E., Molem, K., Weiblen, G.D., Butterill, P.T., Maiyah, G., Hood, A.S.C., Volf, M., Jorge, L.R., Basset, Y. & Novotný, V. 2019. High specialization and limited structural change in plant-herbivore networks along a successional chronosequence in tropical montane forest. Ecography, 42, 162-172.
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Lopes M.C., Lamarre G., Baraloto C., Fine P., Vincentini A., Baccaro F. (2019) The Amazonas-trap: a new method for sampling plant-inhabiting arthropod communities in tropical forest understory. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 167: 534-543.

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