Data from: Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest

Most eukaryotic organisms are arthropods. Yet, their diversity in rich
terrestrial ecosystems is still unknown. Here we produce tangible
estimates of the total species richness of arthropods in a tropical
rainforest. Using a comprehensive range of structured protocols, we
sampled the phylogenetic breadth of arthropod taxa from the soil to the
forest canopy in the San Lorenzo forest, Panama. We collected 6,144
arthropod species from 0.48 ha and extrapolated total species richness to
larger areas based on competing models. The whole 6,000 ha forest reserve
most likely sustains 25,000 arthropod species. Remarkably, just 1 ha of
rainforest yields > 60% of the arthropod biodiversity held in the
wider landscape. Models based on plant diversity fitted the accumulated
species richness of both herbivore and non-herbivore taxa exceptionally
well. This lends credence to global estimates of arthropod biodiversity
developed from plant models.