A new striking species of Pentacalia (Compositae) from southern Ecuador

HORTICULTURAL POTENTIAL OF ANDEAN FRUIT CROPS EXPLORING THEIR CENTRE OF ORIGIN

Mineralization and alteration events at ten Miocene porphyry Cu and porphyry-related epithermal mineral deposits in southern, central, and northern Ecuador were dated by means of molybdenite Re-Os, biotite and alunite 40Ar/39Ar, and titanite U-Pb geochronology. Most of these hydrothermal events show a spatio-temporal correlation with porphyry intrusion emplacement as constrained by zircon U-Pb ages. The total age range for these events spans the 23.5–6.1 Ma period, without displaying systematic along- or across-arc age distribution trends. While epithermal deposits tend to be spatially associated with volcanic rocks of a similar age, porphyry Cu deposits in Ecuador are frequently spatially associated with deeper-seated basement units and batholith-scale precursor intrusive systems assembled over ≥5 m.y. time periods. In most cases, formation of the porphyry Cu deposits is related to the youngest magmatic (-hydrothermal) event in a given area, postdating batholith construction at a regional scale. The majority of Miocene deposits occurs in southern Ecuador where areally extensive, post-mineralization (late Miocene to recent) volcanic sequences with the potential to conceal mineralization at depth are lacking. Only few Miocene deposits occur in northern-central Ecuador, where they mainly crop out in the Western Cordillera, west of the productive present-day volcanic arc. The surface distribution of post-mineralization arc volcanism reflects along-arc variations in subducting slab geometry. Porphyry Cu and epithermal deposits in Ecuador define a Miocene metallogenic belt broadly continuous with its coeval counterpart in northern-central Peru. Although both belt segments were formed in an overall similar tectonomagmatic and metallogenic setting, their respective metal endowments differ significantly.

Land suitability assessment for cherimoya in southern Ecuador using expert knowledge and GIS

KEATING, PHILIP L. (Department of Geography and Regional Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124-2060). Chronically disturbed paramo vegetation at a site in southern Ecuador. 127:162-171. 2000. The characteristics of paramo (tropical alpine) vegetation were investigated at a chronically disturbed site in Podocarpus National Park, southern Ecuador. Located at 2950 m elevation, this site was most likely covered with forest 500 years ago, but it has experienced frequent anthropogenic disturbances during the past several hundred years. Nine 2 X 2 m plots were inventoried to determine the diversity and floristic composition of this vegetation, and the results are compared to those obtained for other paramo communities examined in southern Ecuador. Approximately 60 vascular plant species occurred, most of which are common in paramo communities located at higher elevations. This community exhibits characteristics of both grass and shrub paramo vegetation, and shrubs are as important as any of the other six life forms present. Finally, I discuss the vegetation of this site in relation to disturbance ecology and other environmental factors.

The high Andean páramos (AnP) are unique ecosystems that harbor high biodiversity and provide important ecosystem services, such as water supply and regulation, as well as carbon sequestration. In southern Ecuador, this ecosystem is threatened by anthropogenic burning activities to create pastures and agricultural land. However, knowledge of the effects of fire on soil properties and nutrient availability is still limited. This study conducted an experimental burn with different ignition patterns on an AnP plateau in southern Ecuador. Fire behavior (flame height, propagation speed, temperature reached on the soil), and fire severity were evaluated. In addition, soil samples were collected at 10 cm depth both 24 h and one year after the burns to measure the effects of fire on the main physico-chemical properties. The results indicate that the low severity of the experimental burns did not affect the physico-chemical properties of the soils, and therefore, soil quality was not altered. These results can help decision makers in the design of policies, regulations, and proposals for the conservation and environmental restoration of AnPs affected by wildfires in southern Ecuador.

KEATING, PHILIP L. (Department of Geography, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124-2060). Changes in paramo vegetation along an elevation gradient in southern Ecuador. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 126:159-175. 1999.The characteristics of shrub and grass paramo communities were examined at a site in Podocarpus National Park, southern Ecuador. Forty-one 3 X 2 m plots were established within these montane communities (32503385 m elevation) to determine how the composition and structure of the vegetation vary along an elevation gradient. Detrended Correspondence Analysis was used to examine plant community patterns and the environmental factors associated with them. Three vegetation communities were recognized in the ordination analyses: grass paramo, shrub paramo, and high-elevation patches of shrubs. Although the majority of herbaceous species occurred in a wide range of habitats, the distribution of woody species varied markedly with elevation. Because this site is located further south than paramo communities described previously, it contains an unusual combination of species. Nearly 120 species of vascular plants occurred, the majority of which are locally rare. Many of the families and genera, however, are common throughout the Neotropical highlands.

Profound knowledge of region-specific human ecological parameters is crucial for the sustainable utilization and conservation of tropical mountain rain forests in southern Ecuador, a region with heterogenic ethnic, socio-cultural and socio-economic structures. In order to satisfy the objectives of forest conservation on the one hand and the utilization claims of the local population on the other, an integrated concept of nature conservation and sustainable land use development is being sought (e.g. Ellenberg 1993). Within the human ecological research project of the German Research Foundation (DFG) presented here, four research topics have been explored in detail in indigenous Shuar and Saraguro as well as local Mestizo communities of southern Ecuador: Research topic 1 is concerned with the use of wild plants and local agrobiodiversity. In the research area land use is focused on cattle ranching, which poses the main threat to forests and to biodiversity. Based on an ethnobotanical survey conducted in Shuar, Saraguro and Mestizo communities, the use of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and the cultivation of plant species in demand in home gardens have been identified as promising options for increasing household incomes. Research topic 2 deals with the local people’s perception and evaluation of the natural environment, environmental stress/risk factors and conservation measures. Although deforestation is an ongoing process within the research area, Saraguro and Mestizo farmers clearly prefer to live in areas with forest and highly value the economic functions of the forests, e.g. as an agricultural reserve which can be inherited by their children. Conservation measures have long since been established in the research area, but local people are not aware and have not been informed about resource use regulations and restrictions. Research topic 3 investigates livelihood strategies of local communities which to varying degrees depend on natural resources. Whereas the Shuar’s livelihood strategies to a large extent depend on subsistence agriculture (shifting cultivation) combined with fishing, hunting, and gathering of wild plants, the Saraguros and Mestizos are mainly engaged in agro-pastural activities that combine market economy (cattle ranching) and subsistence economy (crop production and horticulture). Research topic 4 is concerned with the determination of the political and administrative use agreements including land tenure systems. North of Podocarpus National Park current land use and land tenure conflicts are founded primarily on the colonization process starting in the 1950s, and are severely dependent on state policies on land adjudication, increase of accessibility, and national or international concern for nature conservation and environmental protection. Despite the remoteness of many communities living in the tropical rainforests of southern Ecuador, the local people have never been completely isolated from global processes of ecological, political, cultural and economic changes. Recently, the research area was declared as Biosphere Reserve Podocarpus – El Cóndor. Since biosphere reserves are strongly rooted in cultural contexts, in southern Ecuador it thus can be the vehicle for protecting tropical mountain ecosystems and developing sustainable forms of land use at the same time.

Abstract. Sea salt (NaCl) has recently been proven to be of the utmost importance for ecosystem functioning in Amazon lowland forests because of its impact on herbivory, litter decomposition and, thus, carbon cycling. Sea salt deposition should generally decline as distance from its marine source increases. For the Amazon, a negative east–west gradient of sea salt availability is assumed as a consequence of the barrier effect of the Andes Mountains for Pacific air masses. However, this generalized pattern may not hold for the tropical mountain rainforest in the Andes of southern Ecuador. To analyse sea salt availability, we investigated the deposition of sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl−), which are good proxies of sea spray aerosol. Because of the complexity of the terrain and related cloud and rain formation processes, sea salt deposition was analysed from both, rain and occult precipitation (OP) along an altitudinal gradient over a period between 2004 and 2009. To assess the influence of easterly and westerly air masses on the deposition of sodium and chloride over southern Ecuador, sea salt aerosol concentration data from the Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC) reanalysis data set and back-trajectory statistical methods were combined. Our results, based on deposition time series, show a clear difference in the temporal variation of sodium and chloride concentration and Na+ ∕ Cl− ratio in relation to height and exposure to winds. At higher elevations, sodium and chloride present a higher seasonality and the Na+ ∕ Cl− ratio is closer to that of sea salt. Medium- to long-range sea salt transport exhibited a similar seasonality, which shows the link between our measurements at high elevations and the sea salt synoptic transport. Although the influence of the easterlies was predominant regarding the atmospheric circulation, the statistical analysis of trajectories and hybrid receptor models revealed a stronger impact of the north equatorial Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific sea salt sources on the atmospheric sea salt concentration in southern Ecuador. The highest concentration in rain and cloud water was found between September and February when air masses originated from the north equatorial Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea and the equatorial Pacific. Together, these sources accounted for around 82.4 % of the sea salt budget over southern Ecuador.

Understanding the reproductive biology of birds is crucial for comprehending their natural history and implementing effective conservation practices. However, there is limited information available on the reproductive behavior of many bird species in Southern Ecuador. This manuscript contributes to the knowledge of the reproductive biology of 127 bird species from the region, providing detailed information on five species whose reproductive traits were previously undocumented (Urochroa leucura, Agriornis albicauda, Turdus maranonicus, Spinus olivaceus, and Stilpnia viridicollis), as well as reproductive data on 12 species for which information was scarce (Heliangelus viola, Chalcostigma stanleyi, Eriocnemis luciani, Coeligena iris, Megascops koepckeae, Conopophaga castaneiceps, Sclerurus obscurior, Leptasthenura andicola, Ochthoeca fumicolor, Geospizopsis unicolor, Catamenia inornata, and Sporophila castaneiventris). Furthermore, we include additional information on the reproductive biology of 110 species that have already been documented. This manuscript provides the most up-to-date inventory of the reproductive behavior of bird species in Southern Ecuador, which can aid in the development of better conservation strategies in the region.

Insecticide resistance (IR) can undermine efforts to control vectors of public health importance. Aedes aegypti is the main vector of resurging diseases in the Americas such as yellow fever and dengue, and recently emerging chikungunya and Zika fever, which have caused unprecedented epidemics in the region. Vector control remains the primary intervention to prevent outbreaks of Aedes-transmitted diseases. In many high-risk regions, like southern Ecuador, we have limited information on IR. In this study, Ae. aegypti IR was measured across four cities in southern Ecuador using phenotypic assays and genetic screening for alleles associated with pyrethroid IR. Bottle bioassays showed significant inter-seasonal variation in resistance to deltamethrin, a pyrethroid commonly used by the Ministry of Health, and alpha-cypermethrin, as well as between-city differences in deltamethrin resistance. There was also a significant difference in phenotypic response to the organophosphate, Malathion, between two cities during the second sampling season. Frequencies of the resistant V1016I genotype ranged from 0.13 to 0.68. Frequencies of the resistant F1534C genotype ranged from 0.63 to 1.0, with sampled populations in Machala and Huaquillas at fixation for the resistant genotype in all sampled seasons. In Machala and Portovelo, there were statistically significant inter-seasonal variation in genotype frequencies for V1016I. Resistance levels were highest in Machala, a city with hyperendemic dengue transmission and historically intense insecticide use. Despite evidence that resistance alleles conferred phenotypic resistance to pyrethroids, there was not a precise correspondence between these indicators. For the F1534C gene, 17.6% of homozygous mutant mosquitoes and 70.8% of heterozygotes were susceptible, while for the V1016I gene, 45.6% homozygous mutants and 55.6% of heterozygotes were susceptible. This study shows spatiotemporal variability in IR in Ae. aegypti populations in southern coastal Ecuador, and provides an initial examination of IR in this region, helping to guide vector control efforts for Ae. aegypti.

Simple SummaryThis study analyzed the abundance and diversity of dung beetle communities at several disturbed sites in a tropical dry forest ecosystem in southern Ecuador. Dung beetle community diversity indices with different land uses were related to environmental variables (altitude, temperature), soil physicochemical properties, and food supply (manure). The results indicated that the species Canthon balteatus, Dichotomius problematicus, and Onthophagus confusus are abundant in disturbed sites, where soils are generally more compact and less fertile but contain a greater food supply. These findings can help decision makers to identify disturbed areas and to implement adequate policies for sustainable environmental management.This study evaluated the effects of land-use change (L-UCH) on dung beetle community structure (Scarabaeinae) in a disturbed dry ecosystem in southern Ecuador. Five different L-UCH classes were analyzed by capturing the dung beetle species at each site using 120 pitfall traps in total. To determine dung beetle abundance and diversity at each L-UCH, a general linear model (GLM) and a redundancy analysis (RDA) were applied, which correlated environmental and edaphic conditions to the community structure. Furthermore, changes in dung-producing vertebrate fauna were examined, which varied significantly between the different L-UCH classes due to the specific anthropogenic use or level of ecosystem disturbance. The results indicated that soil organic matter, pH, potassium, and phosphorus (RDA: component 1), as well as temperature and altitude (RDA: component 2) significantly affect the abundance of beetles (GLM: p value < 0.001), besides the food availability (dung). The highest abundance and diversity (Simpson’s index > 0.4, Shannon-Wiener index > 1.10) was found in highly disturbed sites, where soils were generally more compacted, but with a greater food supply due to the introduced farm animals. At highly disturbed sites, the species Canthon balteatus, Dichotomius problematicus, and Onthphagus confuses were found specifically, which makes them useful as bio-indicators for disturbed dry forest ecosystems in southern Ecuador.

This paper examines the traditional use of medicinal plants in Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador, with special focus on the Departments of Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Cajamarca, and San Martin, and in Loja province, with special focus on the development since the early colonial period. Northern Peru represents the locus of the old Central Andean "Health Axis." The roots of traditional healing practices in this region go as far back as the Cupisnique culture early in the first millennium BC.Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador share the same cultural context and flora but show striking differences in plant use and traditional knowledge. Two hundred fifteen plant species used for medicinal purposes in Ecuador and 510 plant species used for medicinal purposes in Peru were collected, identified,. and their vernacular names, traditional uses, and applications recorded. This number of species indicates that the healers, market vendors, and members of the public interviewed in Peru still have a very high knowledge of plants in their surroundings, which can be seen as a reflection of the knowledge of the population in general. In Ecuador much of the original plant knowledge has already been lost.In Peru, 433 (85%) were Dicotyledons, 46 (9%) Monocotyledons, 21 (4%) Pteridophytes, and 5 (1%) Gymnosperms. Three species of Giartina (Algae) and one species of the Lichen genus Siphula were used. The families best represented were Asteraceae with 69 species, Fabaceae (35), Lamiaceae (25), and Solanaceae (21). Euphorbiaceae had 12 species, and Poaceae and Apiaceae each accounted for 11 species. In Ecuador the families best represented were Asteraceae (32 species), Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae, and Solanaceae (11 species each), and Apiaceae, Fabaceae, Lycopodiaceae (9 species each). One hundred eighty-two (85%) of the species used were Dicotyledons, 20 Monocotyledons (9.3%), 12 ferns (5.5%), and one unidentified lichen was used.Most of the plants used (83%) were native to Peru and Ecuador. Fresh plants, often collected wild, were used in two thirds of all cases in Peru, but in almost 95% of the cases in Ecuador. The most common applications included the ingestion of herb decoctions or the application of plant material as poultices.Although about 50% of the plants in use in the colonial period have disappeared from the popular pharmacopoeia, the overall number of plant species used medicinally has increased in Northern Peru, while Southern Ecuador shows a decline of plant knowledge since colonial times.

Two new species of Fuchsia sect.Fuchsia (Onagraceae) from the Andes of southern Ecuador are described and illustrated.Fuchsia campii P. E. Berry is known from mid-

This study documents 354 species of wild edible plants consumed in southern Ecuador, an area with a very high species diversity. Southern Ecuador is inhabited by Mestizo farmers and by small communities of indigenous Shuar and Saraguros. The majority (85%) of the 354 species have edible fruits. Various regional food and drink preparations in which wild plants are used are described. Most (86%), however, are consumed raw. Thirty-eight percent have additional uses, primarily as fuelwood and timber. The fruits or other edible parts of 21 species are sold at local and regional markets. Three new species were discovered during this study.

Anthropogenic climate change together with non-climate drivers (e.g land use change) have affected natural and human systems in the Andean Mountain region. There is more evidence of changes in water systems, with decreasing water availability and increasing frequency and magnitude of extreme events (i.e. flooding and droughts). This region is especially vulnerable to climate change and faces challenges towards adaptation due to limited resources and policies. Therefore, we present an integrated water management (IWM) approach to secure water availability in a middle-size city in Southern Ecuador - Cuenca. The Andean city of Cuenca (~ 600 000 inhabitants, located at 2600 m a.s.l.) depends highly on precipitation and surface water from the highlands to ensure drinking water. Due to its complex orography, climate change projections are not yet available at an adequate resolution for local decision making and limited actions and plans towards adaptation are undertaken. Our IWM approach, then, involves two phases:(1) Quantifying water availability projections. Statistical and dynamical downscaling techniques are used to quantify climate change projections at 1 km resolution for the study area, together with indicators useful for decision-makers. Discharge projections are quantified by using conceptual and distributed hydrological models. In parallel, water consumption is monitored and projected. Finally, we find water availability projections towards 2100.(2) Constructing adaptation strategies. On the provision side, water management improvements are co-constructed with the local drinking water company (ETAPA EP), such as: evaluating old infrastructure (e.g. leaks control), proposing new green-blue and gray infrastructure. On the demand side, strategies to reduce water consumption are co-constructed and implemented within a pilot project that involves citizens from three neighbourhoods in Cuenca.Our study involves a variety of actors and sectors (i.e. Ecuadorian and Belgian Universities, decision- and policy makers and citizens), enhancing capacity building of local governments and transferring knowledge among Universities and institutions, to plan and implement adaptation strategies through bottom-up approaches. We expect that our approach can be used in other middle-size cities, with similar challenges or complex orography conditions.