We attempted to follow as closely as possible the "miniWinkler" method of Fisher (Fisher, B. L. 1999. Improving inventory efficiency: a case study of leaf litter ant diversity in Madagascar. Ecological Applications 9:714-731). A 250m long straight-line transect was flagged at 5m intervals. The transect was subjectively oriented. After a period of 24hrs with no rain, a sample was taken at each flagged spot on the transect. A one square meter area was delimited, and the litter and dead wood inside was aggressively minced with a machete. Litter was sifted until all the litter in the plot was sifted or 2l of siftate was obtained, whichever came first. When there was more than enough litter to produce 2l of siftate, the different kinds of litter in the plot (e.g. leaves on soil versus litter from a rotten log) were subsampled so that all were represented (a somewhat subjective process that attempted to include the diversity of litter types found in one plot). The plots were delimited by eye, and in practice the actual area sifted varied from 60x60cm to 1x1m. The siftate was returned to the base camp and hung in Winkler bags for three days. Arthropods were collected directly into whirlpac bags of 95% ethanol.

Four transects were completed near the refuge building, yielding 200 individual samples. Samples are listed below.

A fifth transect was taken with a modified protocol. Instead of being along a 250m straight transect, the samples were scattered along the main Barva transect trail from 1750m to 2160m elevation. Sampling was carried out by Ronald Vargas, Danilo Brenes, and John Longino. Sampling commenced mid-morning of 16 April 2002, near ALAS Malaise trap #4. Using a stopwatch, investigators walked down the trail for exactly 5 minutes and took the next sample. Selection of sites to sift was somewhat subjective. Generally shady sites were chosen within a few meters of the stopping point. After taking a sample it was left at the side of the trail in a numbered cloth bag. Samples were sequentially obtained, separated by 5 minutes walking time down the trail. Sample #24 was obtained at 1330hrs. At this point investigators reversed direction, walked back up the trail for 2 minutes 30 seconds and took sample #25. In like manner samples #26-47 were interspersed between the earlier samples, and all sample bags were gathered during the return. Sample #38 was obtained at 1600hrs and sampling stopped for the day. The morning was clear and sunny, it gradually became overcast. At 1540hrs, when picking up #13, between samples #35 and #36, a dense fog arrrived. Soon it started to drizzle and the vegetation became wet. Samples 1-38 were hung in Winkler bags that evening. The following morning samples 39-47 were taken, starting with #39 and working up the trail to near the previous day's starting point. #39 was taken at 0900hrs, #47 shortly after 1100hrs. The morning was windy, with patchy clouds and occasional fog. Samples 48-51 were taken above the refuge building, around noon, starting just below Malaise trap #19 and ending near Malaise trap #20. The weather was clear and sunny. Samples 48-51 were hung in Winkler bags that afternoon.

GPS readings were taken where possible (treefall gaps) along the trail and used to obtain estimated locations for the samples (Figure, elevation profile diagram). These were plotted, overlain on a topographic map, and approximate elevations obtained for each sample. The following data show the collection code, the order in which the samples were taken, the rank order of the samples by elevation (1=lowest, 51=highest), and the estimated elevation.

20/WF/05/01	1	47	2040
20/WF/05/02	2	45	2000
20/WF/05/03	3	43	1970
20/WF/05/04	4	41	1940
20/WF/05/05	5	39	1920
20/WF/05/06	6	37	1900
20/WF/05/07	7	35	1860
20/WF/05/08	8	33	1860
20/WF/05/09	9	31	1860
20/WF/05/10	10	29	1860
20/WF/05/11	11	27	1860
20/WF/05/12	12	25	1860
20/WF/05/13	13	23	1870
20/WF/05/14	14	21	1860
20/WF/05/15	15	19	1850
20/WF/05/16	16	17	1850
20/WF/05/17	17	15	1830
20/WF/05/18	18	13	1820
20/WF/05/19	19	11	1810
20/WF/05/20	20	9	1800
20/WF/05/21	21	7	1790
20/WF/05/22	22	5	1770
20/WF/05/23	23	3	1750
20/WF/05/24	24	1	1750
20/WF/05/25	25	2	1750
20/WF/05/26	26	4	1760
20/WF/05/27	27	6	1780
20/WF/05/28	28	8	1800
20/WF/05/29	29	10	1810
20/WF/05/30	30	12	1810
20/WF/05/31	31	14	1820
20/WF/05/32	32	16	1840
20/WF/05/33	33	18	1850
20/WF/05/34	34	20	1860
20/WF/05/35	35	22	1860
20/WF/05/36	36	24	1870
20/WF/05/37	37	26	1860
20/WF/05/38	38	28	1860
20/WF/05/39	39	30	1860
20/WF/05/40	40	32	1860
20/WF/05/41	41	34	1860
20/WF/05/42	42	36	1880
20/WF/05/43	43	38	1910
20/WF/05/44	44	40	1930
20/WF/05/45	45	42	1960
20/WF/05/46	46	44	1990
20/WF/05/47	47	46	2020
20/WF/05/48	48	48	2080
20/WF/05/49	49	49	2120
20/WF/05/50	50	50	2140
20/WF/05/51	51	51	2160