Scientists by Environmental Issue: Biodiversity In The Neotropics The greatest biodiversity on Earth is found near the Equator, due to its warm climate and wide variety of habitats. About one quarter of all the plant and animals species in the world occur in the tropics of Central and South America—Peru alone is home to almost as many species of flowering plants as Canada and the United States together! The plants in these tropical rainforests supply us with freshwater, oxygen, and many life-saving medicines. Unfortunately, the New World Tropics and their indigenous cultures are disappearing at an alarming rate due to deforestation, mining, and urban sprawl. Learn how Field Museum zoologists, botanists, and anthropologists explore these regions, studying the people and discovering new species. Our researches have developed many life-changing conservation strategies that have led to the creation of several new national parks and reserves. Select which scientist you’d like to meet first: William Alverson—Neotropical Trees John Bates—Birds of Amazonia Dan Brinkmeier—Rural Communities of South America Ana Carnaval—Frogs of Brazil Michael Dillon—Flowering Plants of South America Eve Emshwiller—Tubers of the Andes Mountains Fernando Fernandez—Microfungi of the Neotropics John Flynn—Mammals of South America Robin Foster—Plants of the Neotropics Paul Goldstein—Birds and Moths of Costa Rica, Panama, and Bolivia Shannon Hackett—Neotropical Birds Sabine Huhndorf—Fungi of Central America, the Caribbean and French Guiana Maria Kawasaki—Flowering Plants of the Neotropics Robert Luecking—Lichens of Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador, and Brazil Thorsten Lumbsch—Fungi of Southern South America Greg Mueller—Fungi of the Americas Alfred Newton—Beetles of Latin America Tom Schulenberg—Birds of Peru Jennifer Shopland—Ecology of the Neotropics Alexey Solodovnikov—Beetles of South America Jose Tello—Neotropical Birds Margaret Thayer—Beetles of Chile and Southern Argentina Corine Vriesendorp—Flowering Plants of Latin America Alaka Wali—Indigenous Peoples of Latin America Patrick Ryan Williams—Human Impact on Biodiversity in the Andes Philip Willink—Fish of Venezuela   back to Scientist by Environmental Issue >>   continue to Living Waters >> Introduction | Investigate Biodiversity | YBC | Meet the Scientist | Explore Global Diversity | Events and Programs | Take Action! | Teaching Biodiversity | Biodiversity Exhibition | Credits There is a lot of human pressure on tropical areas, and a better job needs to be done of managing their biodiversity. —Greg Mueller, Ph.D., Curator of Mycology, Botany The Field Museum