Myxomycetes of Barro Colorado Island and Panama

The myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds) are common and often abundant protist predators of bacteria and other microbes in terrestrial ecosystems, where they play major yet underappreciated roles in the cycling and storage of nutrients. Their predation of microbes aids in the transfer of nutrients immobilized in microbial biomass back to the soil, and then to plants and higher trophic levels, including animals. Despite the importance of protist predators such as myxomycetes on ecosystem function, they have received little attention, particularly in tropical forest ecosystems. Here, we provide a brief introduction to the myxomycetes, an overview of the state of current knowledge relating to the myxomycetes of Barro Colorado Island, Panama, and suggestions for future research. We hope that this chapter can serve as a starting point for future research efforts that focus on microbial groups such as the myxomycetes and their ecological roles in tropical forests.