Systematics and phylogeny of the Andean genera Konradus Chani-Posse & Ramírez-Salamanca and Yuracarus gen. nov. (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

The discovery of three new species of Enyalioides from the tropical Andes in Ecuador and northern Peru is reported. Enyalioides altotambo sp. n. occurs in northwestern Ecuador and differs from other species of Enyalioides in having dorsal scales that are both smooth and homogeneous in size, a brown iris, and in lacking enlarged, circular and keeled scales on the flanks. Enyalioides anisolepis sp. n. occurs on the Amazonian slopes of the Andes in southern Ecuador and northern Peru and can be distinguished from other species of Enyalioides by its scattered, projecting large scales on the dorsum, flanks, and hind limbs, as well as a well-developed vertebral crest, with the vertebrals on the neck at least three times higher than those between the hind limbs. Enyalioides sophiarothschildae sp. n. is from the Amazonian slopes of the Cordillera Central in northeastern Peru; it differs from other species of Enyalioides in having caudal scales that are relatively homogeneous in size on each caudal segment, a white gular region with a black medial patch and several turquoise scales in males, as well as immaculate white labials and chin. A molecular phylogenetic tree of 18 species of hoplocercines is presented, including the three species described in this paper and Enyalioides cofanorum, as well as an updated identification key for species of Hoplocercinae.

Insects are a dominant part of the megadiversity of the Tropical Andes but monitoring and studying them has been challenging. Here we employ colored pan trap method for collecting insects (Diptera and Hymenoptera) in the Andes of Ecuador in order to explore the use of the colored pan traps method. Sixty white, yellow, and blue colored pan traps were used twice every month for 24 months. A total of 17,661 insects were collected, of which 12,872 belong to Diptera (72.9%) and 4789 to Hymenoptera (27.1%).The sampled individuals belonged to a total of 90 families, of which 55 belonged to Diptera and 35 to Hymenoptera. There was not a significant difference between the number of families of each order collected by the differently colored traps. However, some families showed a distinct preference for a certain pan trap color. This study shows, that colored pan traps could be a useful method for collecting and monitoring insects (Diptera and Hymenoptera) in the Andes. Our results are of special importance today, as insects have been reported to dramatically declining around the world. Therefore, studies that focus on understanding insect diversity and population dynamics are key for implementing conservation measures in the future to protect this exceptionally diverse and poorly known fauna.

The discovery of three new species of Synophis snakes from the eastern slopes of the tropical Andes in Ecuador and Peru is reported. All previous records of Synophis bicolor from eastern Ecuador correspond to Synophis bogerti sp. n., which occurs between 1000–1750 m along a large part of the Amazonian slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. In contrast, Synophis zamora sp. n. is restricted to southeastern Ecuador, including Cordillera del Cóndor, between 1543–1843 m. Synophis insulomontanus sp. n. is from the eastern slopes of the Andes in central and northern Peru, between 1122–1798 m, and represents the first record of Synophis from this country. All three new species share in common a large lateral spine at the base of the hemipenial body. A molecular phylogenetic tree based on three mitochondrial genes is presented, including samples of Diaphorolepis wagneri. Our tree strongly supports Synophis and Diaphorolepis as sister taxa, as well as monophyly of the three new species described here and Synophis calamitus. Inclusion of Synophis and Diaphorolepis within Dipsadinae as sister to a clade containing Imantodes, Dipsas, Ninia, Hypsiglena and Pseudoleptodeira is also supported.

Many mountain regions around the world are exposed to enhanced warming when compared to their surroundings, threatening key environmental services provided by mountains. Here we investigate this effect, known as elevation-dependent warming (EDW), in the Andes of Ecuador, using observations and simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. EDW is discernible in observations of mean and maximum temperature in the Andes of Ecuador, but large uncertainties remain due to considerable data gaps in both space and time. WRF simulations of present-day (1986–2005) and future climate (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 for 2041–60) reveal a very distinct EDW signal, with different rates of warming on the eastern and western slopes. This EDW effect is the combined result of multiple feedback mechanisms that operate on different spatial scales. Enhanced upper-tropospheric warming projects onto surface temperature on both sides of the Andes. In addition, changes in the zonal mean midtropospheric circulation lead to enhanced subsidence and warming over the western slopes at high elevation. The increased subsidence also induces drying, reduces cloudiness, and results in enhanced net surface radiation receipts, further contributing to stronger warming. Finally, the highest elevations are also affected by the snow-albedo feedback, due to significant reductions in snow cover by the middle of the twenty-first century. While these feedbacks are more pronounced in the high-emission scenario RCP8.5, our results indicate that high elevations in Ecuador will continue to warm at enhanced rates in the twenty-first century, regardless of emission scenario. Significance Statement Mountains are often projected to experience stronger warming than their surrounding lowlands going forward, a phenomenon known as elevation-dependent warming (EDW), which can threaten high-altitude ecosystems and lead to accelerated glacier retreat. We investigate the mechanisms associated with EDW in the Andes of Ecuador using both observations and model simulations for the present and the future. A combination of factors amplify warming at mountain tops, including a stronger warming high in the atmosphere, reduced cloudiness, and a reduction of snow and ice at high elevations. The latter two factors also favor enhanced absorption of sunlight, which promotes warming. The degree to which this warming is enhanced at high elevations in the future depends on the greenhouse gas emission pathway.

The South Ecuadorian Andes harbour an outstandingly high species-richness. Many different environmental factors influence one another in a most limited space and create unique and complex ecosystems. This area is highly endangered because of growing human impact through the intensification of land-use and global change. Only little is known about palaeoecological history and landscape dynamics of this area. The information about why and how ecosystems changed in the past is crucial for the development of innovative strategies for conservation and future climate predictions. In this study, we present palynological analyses carried out in the southern Ecuadorian Andes region that help to shed light on patterns and processes in present and past ecosystems. A palaeoecological study of the Quimsacocha volcanic basin on the eastern ridge of the western Andean Cordillera reveals climate, vegetation and fire regime changes since the early Holocene period. The mid-Holocene was a period of severe environmental change due to a drier and supposedly warmer climate in this area. During the late Holocene, several warm and cool phases are indicated in the record. Fire was present in the area since the early Holocene and may be a first sign of human impact. Combined multivariate analysis with other cores in the south Ecuadorian Andes revealed partly contrasting developments, which are supposedly due to the environmental heterogeneity of the different sites. Furthermore, a three year study of the modern pollen rain – vegetation relationship was carried out in the Podocarpus National Park region, in order to understand the pollen dispersal patterns of the different vegetation types of premontane forest, lower montane forest, upper montane forest and páramo to create a better basis for interpretation of fossil pollen data. A comparison of abundance and presence-absence data at family level for pollen and vegetation showed that diversity, distribution and abundance patterns correspond well to one another in both datasets. However, varying amounts of long-distance transported pollen, uneven pollen productivity of different taxa and heterogeneous wind systems impact the patterns. Analyses of pollen accumulation rates indicated low inter-annual but high spatial variation in the pollen data. The assessment of two different pollen trap types frequently used in tropical palynological studies, the modified Oldfield trap and the Behling trap, in comparison with surface soil samples and a reference trap, showed that in soil samples, taxa with a fragile exine are represented to a lesser extent than in the traps. Furthermore, it indicated that whereas in the forest, all trap types provide similar results, the Behling trap should be preferred in the páramo, as it better withstands high radiation and dry periods. All analyses add to a precise and comprehensive understanding of vegetation dynamics of the tropical Andes hotspot in space and time.

The dwarf red brocket, Mazama rufina (Pucheran, 1851) is a small deer with a fragmented distribution in the montane forests of the Andes of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. Little is known about the phylogenetic relationships and the haplotype diversity of its populations, which show distribution gaps. Here we elucidate the phylogenetic relationships of M. rufina and other neotropical deer using mitochondrial data, and analyze genetic geographic variation of this taxon by using haplotype networks of the Cyt-b gene from northern South America. Our analyses recovered M. rufina as independent clade that is not part of Mazama, and sister to a clade composed of Mazama species (except Mazama chunyi) and Odocoileus. The morphometric data of cranial traits confirms that the dwarf red brocket is among the smallest species of deer in South America, only overlapping with small cis-Andean gray brockets (genus Passalites). Based on these results, we provide a new generic classification for this taxon by placing the dwarf red brocket in a new genus found only in the Andes of northern South America. The Cyt-b haplotype network of the dwarf red brocket showed a strong geographic structure caused by the interplay of Cordilleras and lowland river valleys. The genetic distances between the geographic groups were between 1.4 % (Central Cordillera of Colombia vs. Andes of Ecuador) to 2.52 % (Mrida Cordillera vs. Ecuador). The species range using Extent of Occurrence (EOO) and Area of Occupancy (AOO) was 443,764 and 796 km2, respectively, suggesting that the species could be listed as Near Threatened. However, additional information on population changes and susceptibility to habitat transformation is crucial to evaluate whether the dwarf red brocket can be deemed Vulnerable along its distribution. Compared with previous distribution hypotheses, the revised map suggests less extensive distribution gaps in Colombia and highlights priority areas for future sampling in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

Konradus leehermani Chani-Posse Ramírez-Salamanca, a new genus and species of the subtribe Philonthina (tribe Staphylinini) from the Tropical Andes of Ecuador, is described and illustrated. A dataset of 57 morphological characters scored for 23 taxa representing main clades of Philonthina and its putative sister groups was prepared and analysed by maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference. Both analytical methods unambiguously placed Konradus within the Neotropical (NT) lineage of Philonthina. Phylogenetic relationships of Konradus with other Neotropical representatives are proposed and discussed.

Extreme rainfall is characterized by a high spatio-temporal variability. This variability is exacerbated in mountain areas, such as the tropical Andes, where the complex orography and mesoscale atmospheric processes have an enormous influence on the rainfall processes. Particularly the analysis of extreme rainfall events in the Ecuadorian Andes has remained a challenge due the lack of high spatio-temporal resolution operational observing systems. However, the recent availability of rainfall radar data in this area enables an improvement of our knowledge about those extremes. Here, we presented a study that aims to identify specific types of extreme rainfall events based on a clustering approach and to analyze their spatio-temporal characteristics. The study is based on three years of data collected from an X-band scanning weather radar that was located at 4450 m a.s.l in the Tropical Andes of southern Ecuador, delivering high resolution (5min, 500m) data. Several extreme rainfall events were identified, which were selected based on a rainfall accumulation threshold and visual inspection. Then, extreme rainfall events characteristics (e.g., rain rate, duration, rainfall accumulation, hour and month of occurrence) were identified for each event. Then, the k-means clustering was applied to the events using their rainfall characteristics. The main idea of this algorithm is to cluster a set of objects by accounting for their similarities. In our presentation, we will show the three major types of extreme rainfall events resulting from our analysis as well as the marked differences in their rainfall characteristics. The first type of extreme-events showed the highest values of intensity and the lowest values of duration. Also, two extreme-events types showed predominant months and hours of occurrence. In addition, the site of occurrence of the spatial nucleus of maximum intensity of the first type was located at higher elevations. We will show that the typology of extreme rainfall events improves our knowledge about the spatio-temporal characteristics in the tropical Andes. 

The Andes of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia host the majority of the world's tropical glaciers. In the tropical Andes, glaciers accumulate during the wet season (austral summer) and ablate year‐round. Precipitation is delivered mainly by easterlies, and decreases both N–S and E–W. Chronological control for the timing of glacial advances in the tropical Andes varies. In Ecuador, six to seven advances have been identified; dating is based on radiocarbon ages. Timing of the local Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the existence of Younger Dryas advances remain controversial. In Peru, local variability in glaciation patterns is apparent. Surface exposure dating in the Cordillera Blanca and Junin Plain suggests that the local LGM may have been early (∼30 ka), although uncertainties in age calculations remain; the local LGM was followed by a Lateglacial readvance/stillstand and preceded by larger glaciations. In contrast, preliminary data from an intervening massif indicate that the largest moraines are Lateglacial. Chronologies from Bolivia also suggest local variability. In leeward Milluni and San Francisco Valleys, local LGM moraines descend to ∼4300 m above sea level (a.s.l.), whereas in windward Zongo Valley Lateglacial moraines reach ∼3400 m a.s.l. Atlantic and Pacific sea surface temperatures, El Niño–Southern Oscillation and insolation changes all likely play roles in mediating tropical Andean glacial cycles. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

<p>Flood Early Warning Systems have globally become an effective tool to mitigate the adverse effects of this natural hazard on society, economy and environment. A novel approach for such systems is to actually forecast flood events rather than merely monitoring the catchment hydrograph evolution on its way to an inundation site. A wide variety of modelling approaches, from fully-physical to data-driven, have been developed depending on the availability of information describing intrinsic catchment characteristics. However, during last decades, the use of Machine Learning techniques has remarkably gained popularity due to its power to forecast floods at a minimum of demanded data and computational cost. Here, we selected the algorithms most commonly employed for flood prediction (K-nearest Neighbors, Logistic Regression, Random Forest, Naïve Bayes and Neural Networks), and used them in a precipitation-runoff classification problem aimed to forecast the inundation state of a river at a decisive control station. These are “No-alert”, “Pre-alert”, and “Alert” of inundation with varying lead times of 1, 4, 8 and 12 hours. The study site is a 300-km2 catchment in the tropical Andes draining to Cuenca, the third most populated city of Ecuador. Cuenca is susceptible to annual floods, and thus, the generated alerts will be used by local authorities to inform the population on upcoming flood risks. For an integral comparison between forecasting models, we propose a scheme relying on the F1-score, the Geometric mean and the Log-loss score to account for the resulting data imbalance and the multiclass classification problem. Furthermore, we used the Chi-Squared test to ensure that differences in model results were due to the algorithm applied and not due to statistical chance. We reveal that the most effective model according to the F1-score is using the Neural Networks technique (0.78, 0.62, 0.51 and 0.46 for the test subsets of the 1, 4, 8 and 12-hour forecasting scenarios, respectively), followed by the Logistic Regression algorithm. For the remaining algorithms, we found F1-score differences between the best and the worse model inversely proportional to the lead time (i.e., differences between models were more pronounced for shorter lead times). Moreover, the Geometric mean and the Log-log score showed similar patterns of degradation of the forecast ability with lead time for all algorithms. The overall higher scores found for the Neural Networks technique suggest this algorithm as the engine for the best forecasting Early Warning Systems of the city. For future research, we recommend further analyses on the effect of input data composition and on the architecture of the algorithm for full exploitation of its capacity, which would lead to an improvement of model performance and an extension of the lead time. The usability and effectiveness of the developed systems will depend, however, on the speed of communication to the public after an inundation signal is indicated. We suggest to complement our systems with a website and/or mobile application as a tool to boost the preparedness against floods for both decision makers and the public.</p><p>Keywords: Flood; forecasting; Early Warning; Machine Learning; Tropical Andes; Ecuador.</p>

The planning and implementation of restoration in the Tropical Andes have yet to incorporate functional attributes of ecosystems such as pollination. Mutualistic network approaches can be especially useful for this purpose. For example, within networks of hummingbirds and their pollinated plants, most interactions occur on a small number of plant species that are key to conserve and recover pollination functions. To identify such species, centrality metrics derived from network analysis are readily available and can be easily applied. Our study was conducted in the southern Andes of Ecuador in four vegetation types: old‐growth forest, secondary forest, hedgerows, and montane shrub. On each vegetation type, we surveyed hummingbird visitation to plants and constructed plant–hummingbird interaction networks. We calculated a centrality index for each plant species and used this index to describe the individual role of species as either key or peripheral. We also explored how different functional traits of plants, including flower abundance, morphology, and nectar characteristics, were associated with the variation in this index. We found a total of 123 unique pairwise interactions between 44 plant and 15 hummingbird species. Within each vegetation type, we identified 4–11 key plant species. A shrubby life form and abundant flowers were the main traits associated with the key role of species. This study shows a robust protocol to select plant assemblages for the recovery of plant–hummingbird communities.

This article presents an overview of glaciation studies in the northern tropical Andes (Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador) mostly based on glacial geochronological data. The oldest dated evidences of glaciations are recorded in the Colombian Andes at the Bogotá Plain between 3000-3500 m a.s.l., dated between 1-3 Ma. Maximum extent of former glaciers in the northern Andes seems to have occurred prior to the global Last Glacial Maximum (gLGM). In the Venezuelan-Mérida Andes, former glaciers mostly reached the lowest recorded elevations during MIS 5-MIS 4, whereas in the Colombian Andes Andes, the maximum extents are recorded prior to 38 ka. In the Ecuadorian Andes the most extensive glacial cover probably occurred during MIS 8. In the northern tropical Andes, studied glacier advances are mainly related to MIS 2 period between the final gLGM to the Oldest Dryas (~18 ka-15 ka). Glacier advances during the Younger Dryas (~ 12.7 ka-11.7 ka) are not extensively evidenced and mainly restricted to elevations higher than ~ 3500 m a.s.l.

Understanding a species' distributional limits is a necessary step for developing conservation priorities. The olinguito (Procyonidae: Bassaricyon neblina) is a recently described, medium-sized carnivoran found in Northern Andean cloud forests. Here, we provide revised distributional estimates for this species using current ecological niche modeling methods (using Maxent and bioclimatic variables), taking into account sampling bias and using updated locality information including 9 photo-vouchered citizen science records that increased the original data set by 60%. Optimal models were selected via 2 approaches: Akaike's Information Criterion corrected for small sample size (AICc) and performance on withheld data. The AICc-optimal model aligned more closely with current knowledge of the species' elevational limits. This model improves on the previously modeled distribution map for the species, especially in terms of elevational discrimination in the Central Cordillera of Colombia, where high mountain peaks are considered unsuitable. Compared with the original map, the revised map suggests more extensive suitable area in northern Colombia, possibly due to the inclusion of new citizen science records, and highlights 6 priority areas for future sampling that have no olinguito records: the northern portion of the Western Cordillera of Colombia, southern portion of the Western Cordillera of Colombia, western slopes of the Andes in southwestern Colombia, both versants of the middle portion of the Central Cordillera of Colombia, western slopes of the Andes in central and southern Ecuador, and eastern slopes of the Andes in Ecuador. This study improves knowledge of the olinguito's range, increases our understanding of this species' natural and taxonomic history, and provides an example of modeling the distributions of poorly known species with small sample sizes.

Meteorological variables were recorded (14 March 2002 to 14 March 2003) at 4890 m above sea level (asl) on the Antizana Glacier 15 (0.71 km2; 0°28′S, 78°09′W) in the tropical Andes of Ecuador (inner tropics). These variables were used to compute the annual cycle of the local surface energy balance (SEB). The four radiative fluxes were directly measured, and the turbulent fluxes were calculated using the bulk aerodynamic approach, calibrating the roughness length by direct sublimation measurements. The meteorological conditions are relatively homogeneous throughout the year (air temperature and air humidity). There is a slight seasonality in precipitation with a more humid period between February and June. During June‐September, wind velocity shows high values and is responsible for intense turbulent fluxes that cause reduction of melting. Considering the SEB over the whole year, it is dominated by net radiation, and albedo variations govern melting. During the period under consideration the net short‐wave radiation S (123 W m−2) and the sensible turbulent heat flux H (21 W m−2) were energy sources at the glacier surface, whereas the net long‐wave radiation L (−39 W m−2) and the latent turbulent heat flux LE (−27 W m−2) represented heat sinks. Since the O°C isotherm‐glacier intersection always oscillates through the ablation zone and considering that the phase of precipitation depends on temperature, temperature indirectly controls the albedo values and thus the melting rates. This control is of major interest in understanding glacier response to climate change in the Ecuadorian Andes, which is related to global warming and ENSO variability.

The deforestation caused by road construction is one of the main drivers for both biodiversity and function loss in tropical ecosystems. Terricolous cryptogams are pioneers in colonizing roadside and they are limited by environmental and edaphic factors, thus, cryptogams may act as pioneers for ecosystem rehabilitation at roadside. This research was aimed at determining the diversity and composition of terricolous cryptogams, as well as their relationship with elevation and soil properties among roadside of the tropical Andes of Ecuador, in order to establish indicator species of this anthropized ecosystems. Five elevations were selected and in each one 50 grids of 20 cm × 30 cm were sampled (250 in total along the road), where occurrence, cover and identification of every cryptogam species were recorded. To evaluate the effect of elevation and soil properties on cryptogam richness, a linear model was conducted. Species composition among elevations was compared by non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), and their relationship with the environmental variables through a correlation with adjusted axes was performed. A total of 72 species were recorded, those being 44 bryophytes and 28 lichens. Species richness and composition of terricolous cryptogams were influenced by elevation and soil properties, thus the richness is higher at elevations E1, E2 and E3 (2,600, 2200 and 1800 m a.s.l.), differing from low elevations E4 and E5 (1400 and 1000 m a.s.l.). Higher elevations with specific soil conditions (e.g bulk density, nitrogen and silt) harbored different cryptogam communities than those in lower elevations. A combination of both elevation and soil properties are shaping the colonization by terricolous cryptogams commnunities. As such, 18 species were identified as the best indicators for all sets of environmental conditions at the roadside, which can therefore be considered for monitoring ecological processes in tropical areas. Use of biocrusts for restoration is an emerging field. If implemented in the study region, elevation and soil drivers may help to better chose the more suitable cryptogam species to manage and stabilize roadside in tropical roads.