Bill Severud
Department of Biology, Carleton College, Northfield, MN, USA, 55057
Abstract. Nothing lasts very long on the jungle floor undiscovered. I investigated the difference between day and night for carrion discovery rates by arthropod scavengers in neotropical primary rainforest. I placed pieces of meat along three trails located in primary forest, during the day and then at night. I timed how long it took arthropod scavengers to discover the meat during each treatment and compared the times of discovery. I observed no difference between the day and night trials. Although there was an inconsistent pattern of which time period yielded faster discovery, all times were relatively fast when compared to temperate forests.