Rainwater reveals the hidden life of rainforest canopies, study shows

Rainwater reveals the hidden life of rainforest canopies, study shows

In the rainforest, much of life dwells in the tree canopy. But getting up there to study it isn’t easy. By the time a human has clumsily lumbered up from the ground, most of the critters have scattered. So a team of researchers had an idea: Why not collect the rainwater that trickles down through the trees and analyze the water for traces of DNA? Every living thing, from the tiniest moss to the largest monkey, sheds microscopic pieces of itself.…