Scientists who study the tropical rainforests have succeeded in drawing attention to an entirely new ecosystem. It's an ecological niche quite separate from that of the high mountains, meadows and valleys, the plains or deserts, the estuaries or open waters.

In fact, this ecosystem exists within the rainforest. Yet, because human beings walk on two legs, because we're ground-dwelling creatures, we miss it entirely. All one has to do to experience this unique ecosystem is to look up. In the dense, inter-woven, life-filled zone that begins forty or fifty feet in the air there are creatures, connections, and constructions that never set foot on the ground. There are unique little primates, insects the size of your hand, birds, boats, and a tapestry of plant life that our grounded-ness keeps us…