Category: Ecuador

The World’s Great Forests You’ve Never Heard Of

February 4, 2020 erinwilligan

February 5, 2020

Andrew Schiffer takes a global tour of the world’s greatest forests and makes the case for taking “remote ownership” of their protection. His call to action encourages people to learn more about the world around us and get involved in saving these special places.

The World's Great Forests You've Never Heard Of

by Andrew Schiffer

With limited funding and climate change upon us, conservationists must decide which forests to focus on and preserve. Although every forest possesses its own value, in order to prioritize funding, it is critical for our humanity to identify ‘biodiversity hotspots’ where the highest concentrations of endemic species are facing the largest loss of habitat.

I have narrowed down the candidates to five particularly vital hotspots: Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, Choc/Darien/Western Ecuador, Western Ghats/Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma, and the Tropical Andes.

These hot spots all contain a treasure trove of critical, different wildlife and plant species. In addition, many of them are brimming with life endemic only to the area. In learning more about these crucial hotspots, specifically about the statistical number of species that inhabits each area, we will learn some important facts that are compelling for each of us to take “remote ownership” and learn more.

These numbers are more shocking when “In contrast, the United States and Canada, with an expanse 8.8 times larger than the 25 hotspots combined, have only two endemic families of plants.” Although we are providing a brief overview of the importance of conserving each forest, there is still a lot to learn and we encourage you to explore the Saving Nature website to learn more and hopefully be inspired to carry out some research on your own!

South America

First off, Brazil’s Atlantic Forest makes up such a huge amount of the Earth’s surface that it contains two of the world’s largest cities: Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The forest spans over 3,000 km along the coast of Brazil and into Paraguay and Argentina. The forest is home to the biggest big cat in South America, the jaguar, as well as two indigenous tribes: The Tupi and the Guarani. In 1832, Charles Darwin explored the forest during his expedition on the Beagle. The forest is also home to over 2% of both the world’s endemic plants and vertebrates. It boasts the third largest number of endemic plants in the world, topping 8,000. However, in the face of growing threats, the forest has recently lost all, but 7.5% of its original primary vegetation and species, threatening the very existence of the native Jaguar.

The Tropical Andes, also located in South America, stands as an equally special woodland. Holding over 20,000 endemic plants as of yet discovered; the forest has long fascinated scientists. 1,666 bird species call it their home, a number that far exceeds any other hotspot in the world. Furthermore, the Tropical Andes contains at least 2% of the total endemic plants and vertebrates worldwide. With jaw-dropping statistics such as this, as well as 6.7% of all plant species extinct, we must give it our utmost attention.

Rounding out the South America candidates, the Choco/Darien/Western Ecuador forest presents its own case for being saved, struggling to maintain the mere 4.9% of its primary vegetation that remains. Due to its isolation, the forest is particularly attractive to endemic life. This stems from the forests on the western side of the Andes having evolved entirely differently from their counterparts on the eastern side.

The numbers are quite staggering: 830 birds (85 endemic), 235 mammals (60 endemic), 210 reptiles (63 endemic), and 350 amphibian species (210 endemic). Without question, the forests are one of the primary sources of endemic life. They also contain 0.8% of the global total of endemic plants and 1.5% of the world total endemic vertebrates.

They run along the entire Columbian coast and are made up of mountains, rain forests, and coastal areas. Species include jaguars, ocelots, giant anteaters, tapirs, and tamarins. The adorable cotton-top tamarin can only be found there and could risk extinction without our immediate intervention. Such profound data compel us to consider the Choco/Darien/Western Ecuador Forest’s significance.

Tropical Asia

As we travel to the 2 million km of tropical Asia and the lowlands of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, we find the Indo-Burma forests. With 1,170 bird species, 329 mammal species, 202 amphibian species, and 484 reptile species, these forests contain many of the world’s great animals: leaf deer, kouprey, white-eared night-herons, Mekong giant catfish, and Jullien’s golden carps to name but a few.

However, with only 4.9% of its primary vegetation remaining, these species and more remain under threat. Indo-Burma is home to 2.3% of global endemic plants and 1.9% of global endemic vertebrates. 140 endemic bird species, 73 endemic mammal species, 201 endemic reptile species, 202 endemic amphibian species, not to mention 7.0 species per area of 100 km² of endemic plants and 0.5 species per area of endemic vertebrates…the sheer immensity of life in danger demands our immediate action.

Nearby stretches the last of the five highlighted forests: the Western Ghats/Sri Lanka forests. The Western Ghats region of India contains more than 30% of all plant, fish, herpetofauna, bird and mammal species found in the country, yet account for less than 6% of the national land area. Once again the numbers are staggering: 528 bird species (40 endemic), 140 mammal species (38 endemic), 259 reptile species (161 endemic), 146 amphibian species (116 endemic). Species include the mountain shrew, the slender loris, the grizzled squirrel, Layard’s striped squirrel, 144 aquatic birds, the black-spined toad, the skittering frog, the Indian bullfrog, and the Malabar torrent toad.

Furthermore, these forests are home to 0.7% of the world’s endemic plant species. In 200 square kilometers, you’ll find an average of 35 species of plants found nowhere else on earth. You’ll also find 1.3% of the world’s endemic vertebrates – that’s an average of almost 6 species found only here. With only 6.8% of its primary vegetation remaining, the Western Ghats/Sri Lanka forests call out for our help.

Caring for Our Great Forests

If we do not help save these one of a kind, crucial, magical places, the world will face mass extinction, causing millions of species to die out. This will cause an alarming imbalance in our ecosystem and cause unforeseen damage to our ecosystem and our daily life as humans. While we may feel comfortably safe here now, and these magical forests may feel far away, still there is a crucial role each of us can play in saving our magical, treasured species, and in saving nature. Feel proud and be a part of this vanishing opportunity—do not stand idly by! Thankfully, and excitedly, together we can all play a critical role in saving nature. YOU HAVE MADE A GREAT FIRST START IN LEARNING MORE.

Although they are far away for many of us, these forests contain some of the most important endemic species and vegetation in the world. We need to answer the call! It is time to come together as one and explore ways to support conservation efforts. It is daunting to take on the task of conserving the world. Common questions are likely to come up: How do we get started? What are the most important places? How could my effort even make a difference? Very little information is provided to us directly about actual concrete ways to make real, effective change. It can be difficult to know how to make a real difference and ensure that your hard work will be effective. Well, not only can you make a difference, but we can help you get started today.

There are many great organizations out there. One that is particularly relevant is Saving Nature because, coincidentally, it is focused on saving the very same forests we just talked about. Go for a life-saving adventure and explore their projects. Together, we can save our planet, one forest at a time. Together, we can help zero in on helping save the most important hotspots in the world and make real, lasting beautiful change. Do not stand idly by—you can make yourself and our planet earth proud! Along with your other great qualities, you are now a proud nature-saver! If we do not act now, there will not be enough time to save these magical, critical species and our planet. Please kindly act now and help Saving Nature. Grateful for you, nature-saver!

help save the world's great forests

Saving Nature works in biodiversity hotspots around the world to prevent extinctions and fight climate change. Guided by science, using annual surveys with drones and camera traps, we show donors where the forests and species are returning.

Categories: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Saving Nature Collection, Science Corner, Sumatra

Horned Marsupial Frog Rediscovered in Ecuador

December 4, 2018 erinwilligan

Marsupial Horned Frog, recently rediscovered in Ecuador's Tumbes-Choco biodiversity hotspot

December 4, 2018

HORNED MARSUPIAL FROG REDISCOVERED IN ECUADOR

There is nothing more rewarding than learning that a species thought to be extinct has managed to somehow survive against formidable odds. The horned marsupial frog (Gastrotheca cornuta) is one such species.

Horned marsupial frogs are unique among amphibians. Named for the leaf-like horns on the top of their head and for the pouch on the female’s back to gestate tadpoles, they live in the rainforest canopy. The male’s call, like the pop of a champagne cork, celebrates the mating season. Males fertilize eggs externally and place them in the female’s pouch. Here the developing tadpoles, with umbrella-like gills, eventually emerge as tiny frogs, without a having free-swimming phase.

Once having ranged from Costa Rica to Ecuador, their numbers have steadily dwindled as their habitat has been polluted and destroyed by commercial interests. Finally disappearing from sight in Ecuador in 2005, this reclusive amphibian was presumed to have succumbed to deforestation, the lethal chytrid fungus, agricultural pesticides, and crop fumigation.

It turns out that we haven’t lost them yet. A small population of horned marsupial frogs was able to survive in a remote area of the Choco rainforest. A team of scientists recently discovered six individuals and heard more vocalizing on a parcel of land our local partner acquire earlier this year. As the research continues, we hope to learn more about these survivors, as well as other isolated species taking refuge here.

The property is now protected as part of our broader vision to prevent large-scale commercial logging and oil palm plantations from intruding farther into what remains of this richly diverse tropical forest.

Western Ecuador ranks among the most threatened biodiversity hotspots in the world. The most threatened habitat is the lowland Chocó rainforest, which almost rivals the Amazon in terms of biodiversity but far surpasses it in terms of endemism and of course deforestation. The Chocó has more endemic birds than any other region in the world; it also harbors >2,250 endemic species of plants.

Having already lost nearly 98 percent of the original forest, the Ecuadorian Choco is facing the highest rate of deforestation in the country. We are currently developing an ambitious strategy to establish a mosaic of strictly protected reserves by building wildlife corridors that connect, protect, and restore disjointed forests.

Help us save the last 2% of the Ecuadorian Choco for the horned marsupial frog and thousands of other endemic species.

Categories: Amphibians, Ecuador, News, Saving Nature Collection

Lessons in Camera Trapping

October 26, 2018 erinwilligan

October 26, 2018

by Bridgette Keane

LESSONS IN CAMERA TRAPPING

As a student at Duke University, I worked with Dr. Stuart Pimm during the spring to plan a trip to monitor protected areas in Ecuador and Colombia that his organization is working to connect and restore. As part of the “camera trap team,” I spent a semester familiarizing myself with the use of camera traps for conservation work. This involved skimming dozens of scientific articles and reviewing different camera trap models from outdoor retail websites.

Once I arrived in the field, I realized that you can only learn so much from websites and articles. I was lucky to have received advice from Dr. Jim Sanderson about how to set-up camera traps. His guidance helped reduce the amount of troubleshooting we needed to conduct in the field.

We visited two project locations, starting with the Jama Coaque Reserve, run by the Third Millennium Alliance. We then travelled to La Mesenia in the Colombian Western Andes, run the The Hummingbird Conservancy for our second installation.

Navigating the Owner’s Manual

We spent the first few days at Jama Coaque placing traps on nearby trails to evaluate various camera settings. Basic recording options included pictures, videos, or both – but there was so much more to consider.

Other settings included image/video format and size, LED control (how many LEDs you want to go o for night images), motion sensor level (how sensitive you want the sensor to be set to), and the time interval between pictures (how long you want the camera to wait before it takes another picture/video if it is being triggered many times in a row).

Setting Our Traps

Once we actually started positioning cameras in the field, I quickly discovered that there was much more to think about than just the camera settings, as Jim Sanderson had warned me. First of all, I was not familiar with the reserve. I came in with an idea of a placement pattern for monitoring the corridor. Once there, I realized that placing the traps depended much more on the trails and in some cases, security issues.

I had to do my best to crawl my way through game trails, scouting locations in the path of animals, but away from people. I carried a machete to clear any vines or branches along the trails near the camera. Anything moving in the wind in front of the camera may inadvertently trigger it.

Finding the right spot was just one of the many challenges to placing camera traps. My days in the field usually involved hiking for hours up steep hillsides to a predetermined GPS location. Once there, I spent another hour finding the right tree, clearing the area, and positioning the camera. (Picture me jamming sticks behind it to get the perfect angle and checking the line of sight by squatting in front of it, resulting in some wonderful photos).

Unexpected Discoveries

As we learned the in’s and out’s of camera trapping, we start rethinking the technology’s possibilities. In the short-term we simply wanted to understand what species are using wildlife corridors in various stages of renewal. For the Jama Coaque Reserve, it was especially important to monitor areas of forest that were newly restored.

We were beyond thrilled to find ample movement of various species through very young forest in just the two weeks that we spent at the site. The most surprising and exciting discovery was a video of an ocelot moving through forest that was open cattle pasture just a few years ago.

Our two week stay at the reserve at La Mesenia, Colombia was even more challenging from a terrain perspective. The hikes were steeper, longer, and much more treacherous. They often took an entire day and needed to be planned out with and led by one of the reserve’s local rangers. In the short time we had at the reserve, it was simply too difficult to check them. However, our partners will be checking the cameras regularly to make sure they are running properly and will hopefully find some quality videos!

A View From the Canopy

For long-term research, the camera trapping project in Jama Coaque will next extend into the canopy. The idea is to record pictures and videos of animals that rarely come down to the ground. The research team will also pair each canopy trap with one on the ground. This protocol for corridor monitoring transcends the typical limits of camera traps by expanding camera placement to include a vertical dimension. As a result, we’ll have a more complete picture of how the entire forest is being used.

Ongoing Research

The team in La Mesenia is also shaping a long-term plan to monitor species moving through the corridor. As we collect date over the long-term, we will better understand what species use the corridors as they mature. These insights will help conservation scientists understand how to best reverse the dynamics of forest fragmentation and help species have access to the resources they need.

Please support our research into the science of wildlife corridors and species recovery. Your support helps mentor young scientists.

Categories: Camera Trapping, Ecuador, Research, Saving Nature Collection

Protecting 20% of Land to Save Two-Thirds of Plant Species

September 5, 2013 erinwilligan

September 5, 2013

You’ve heard the adage, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” But new research by Saving Nature scientists offers an amazing conservation ‘deal’. Backed up by top-flight science and data, it’s too good to pass up. So what is the deal? The new paper, published today in Science, was co-authored by Saving Nature founder Stuart Pimm and Vice President Clinton Jenkins, and by Lucas Joppa of Microsoft Research, who completed his Ph.D. with Pimm.

PROTECTING A FIFTH OF THE WORLD'S LAND TO SAVE TWO-THIRDS OF ALL PLANT SPECIES

The key finding of the paper is that protecting a fifth of the world’s land area will save two-thirds of the world’s endemic plant species. Using the Kew Gardens plant database, the authors looked at the geographical distributions of 110,000 plant species. From this analysis, the researchers identified the smallest set of regions that contain the largest number of plant species.

They discovered that nearly two-thirds of the world’s plants occur in just 17 percent of the world’s land. The bad news is that less than a sixth of that 17 percent is currently protected. “Our study identifies regions of importance. The logical – and very challenging – next step will be to make tactical local decisions within those regions to secure the most critical land for conservation.” Pimm said.

Incorporating years of data, Jenkins created a detailed, color-coded map of Earth. The map illustrates where endemic plants are concentrated. This information helps conservation ecologists, policy makers, and economists to prioritize locations for conservation eorts. Because of ecological food webs, protecting endemic plants not only helps save rare plant species—it helps save dependent species, such as specialist herbivores, epiphytes and so on. “We also mapped small-ranged birds, mammals and amphibians, and found that they are broadly in the same places we show to be priorities for plants,” said Jenkins. “So preserving these lands for plants will benefit many animals, too,” he said.

According to Pimm, to achieve biodiversity conservation goals, the world needs to protect more land than we currently do and much more in key places such as Madagascar, Colombia, and coastal Brazil. These are all places where Saving Nature works.

Saving Nature relies on cutting-edge science to make its conservation decisions. With the limited amount of conservation funding available, we must use the best science to maximize the number of threatened species of wildlife and plants we can save. The report’s findings truly oer conservationists a great deal.

SCIENTIFIC NOTE: The work in Science focused on endemic species of plants. Endemic species exist only in specific places, such as a particular mountain range or forest. Endemic species are typically very rare, because of their limited geographical distribution. Endemic plants are also crucial to ecosystems that support other endangered species and, more broadly, biodiversity. Because they exist only in one place, endemic plants are often hosts for other endemic species that depend on them—insects, animals, and even other plants such as epiphytes.

Categories: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Research, Saving Nature Collection, Science, Science Corner, Sumatra