Epiphytes grow in the canopy of trees, deriving support from their hosts, but getting water and nutrients from rain and mist. They enhance nutrient and water cycles and provide resources to arboreal animals in forests, but their functions in human-altered habitats remain unknown. As conversion of forest to agricultural land in the tropics is increasing, I wish to examine the effects that pastures have on epiphyte population variability in the tropical landscapes of Costa Rica.