Abstract
The tropical Andes constitute a natural barrier between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic; in these mountains, are a great variety of Ecosystems, defined by factors such as orography, winds, humidity, temperature, among others. Some of these Ecosystems have different environmental conditions from tropical ones. In them, there is a great Biodiversity, in some cases endemic and associated with relatively small geographic areas. An example of this biodiversity is the orchids of the genus Dracula, about which discussions are currently generated due to the difficulty in classifying their members. The present work shows a study where DNA was isolated and sequenced from plant samples obtained from 52 species of orchids of the genus Dracula, which were analyzed using the MEGA7 software. Phylogenetic analysis of the DNA sequences showed a well-resolved topology that reflects a geographical pattern of several major clades of the Pacific and Atlantic watersheds. Geophysical conditions of the Andes have generated greater biodiversity of the genus Dracula on the side of the Pacific. Although the species Dracula cordobae and alessandroi reported on both sides of the study site belong to the same clade and show limited mobility through the drier area to the South of the mountain range.
Highlights
The tropical Andes top the list of worldwide hotspots about numbers endemics and endemic species/area ratio for plants and vertebrates (Myers et al 2000).This is the result of a variety of processes, mainly geological and climatic
The present work shows a study where DNA was isolated and sequenced from plant samples obtained from 52 species of orchids of the genus Dracula, which were analyzed using the MEGA7 software
Phylogenetic analyses of the genus Dracula showed, in general, a well-resolved topology reflecting a geographical pattern of several major clades of the Pacific and Atlantic watersheds
Summary
The tropical Andes top the list of worldwide hotspots about numbers endemics and endemic species/area ratio for plants and vertebrates (Myers et al 2000). This is the result of a variety of processes, mainly geological and climatic. In Ecuador, the Andes constitute an impressive meridian mountain barrier whose width generally varies between 100 and 150 km from East to West, the central part being the narrowest; while, in the South near the Peruvian border, the Andean mountainous reliefs prolonged by the Amazonian sub-Andean mountain ranges are characterized by lower annual average rainfall (Maldonado & Solano 2013), a general drop in altitudes to constitute a mountain range, certainly less marked but measuring 180 to 200 km wide (Maldonado & Solano 2013, Winckell 1997). The territory does not have a completely tropical climate, presenting a wide variety
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