LIFE ON A LEAF: SPECIES INTERACTIONS AND COMMUNITY DYNAMICS IN EPIPHYLL COMMUNITIES (EPIDYN) 

       Inconspicuous to most passers-by, entire biotic communities can be found on the surface of leaves in most tropical rain forests. These communities are epiphylls. Epiphylls represent lichens, bryophytes (mostly liverworts), algae, fungi, bacteria and cyanobacteria. Taking a closer look, epiphyll communities can be extremely diverse, more than 100 species on a single leaf. As with tropical biotic communities, it is unknown why these epiphyll communities are so diverse or how biodiversity is maintained.

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       EPIDYN aims to test biodiversity theory in an ecological system of fast dynamics and easy replication, while at the same time harbouring similarly high levels of biodiversity as tropical rain forests.