Communities of Functional Groups of Trunk Epiphytes in a Primary Forest, CotoBrus, Costa Rica

The patterns of understory epiphytes within a tropical premontane wet forest were studied in Las Cruces Biological Station, Coto Brus, Costa Rica. Frequencies of functional groups of epiphytes were sampled in half meter increments up to 7 meters to compare host preference and shared habitats among tree ferns, small angiosperm trees, and medium angiosperms trees. Thirty individuals of each type of trunk were sampled in the primary forest at Las Cruces. Epiphyte communities varied between trunk types. Data collected suggest bryophyte presence may exclude other functional groups of epiphytes, however, more study is necessary to verify this observation.