Napo Province Research Articles

Community mapping of ecosystem services in tropical rainforest of Ecuador

Tropical forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services (ES), and their continuous supply depends on efficient and effective management against deforestation and forest degradation. In Ecuador, indigenous communities are highly dependent on the forest and therefore on forest ES. However, there is a lack of knowledge about their demands concerning ES. In order to better understand how local and indigenous people use the forest and to facilitate its management, this study completed a spatially explicit assessment of ES using participatory mapping in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve (Napo province, Central-Northern Ecuador). The Biosphere Reserve is suitable as a case study because it is a protected area with high land-use and population pressure and therefore requires the development and monitoring of management plans.First, semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts (n=15) in order to identify the most important ES used by the communities in the study area. In a second step, members (n=208) of 24 communities were asked to indicate on a 3-D map where they utilize the different ES (food, wood, water, tourism, hunting). The highlighted localities were digitized and then analyzed with statistical and GIS techniques. The results showed that the ES locations were not randomly distributed, but were most abundant four kilometers or less from roads. Spatial pattern analysis identified hotspots of ES provision, and the evaluation according to administrative units allowed us to identify five municipalities where demand for all assessed ES was high. In conclusion, the combination of participatory mapping of ES and GIS-based analysis can facilitate the identification of priority protection areas, provide guidance for developing specific forest management strategies, and also support monitoring systems to detect forest degradation.

Crude, Cash and Culture Change: The Huaorani of Amazonian Ecuador

In the Ecuadorian Amazon, the Huaorani are the indigenous group most recently assimilated into the country’s social, political, and economic order. With vast reserves of oil located under Huaorani land, this Native Amazonian population has quickly become integrated into national and international markets. The focus of this study is on one Huaorani community, Gareno, which is located along an oil road a few hours from the town of Tena, the capital of Napo Province. Community members were interviewed in order to better understand why they lived along the oil road and how they felt it impacted their daily lives. Responses showed that the residents have chosen to live and stay in Gareno specifically because of the health and education opportunities the road provides. The fact that they have chosen these benefits and economic opportunity over a pristine forest refutes the idea of the “noble savage,” which has been ingrained into Western society ever since Europeans first stepped on New World soil in the 15 th century. The image of the noble savage portrays indigenous people living in a so called “wilderness” as romanticized innocents in ecological harmony, isolated from the outside world, and uncorrupted by civilization. This view is inappropriate for groups like the Huaorani because it places them on an ecological pedestal and distorts their true condition. Rather than perpetuating this romanticized Western view of indigenous peoples, studies need to be conducted to better understand their contemporary challenges, responses, and opinions. As the people of Gareno look to further improve their quality of life through development, it is important to consider sustainable methods by which this can be completed as well as how national and international non-governmental organizations can facilitate such progress.

Know Your People: Social Research and Water Recycling System Design with Communities in the Amazon

This paper sets out to answer the research question: What differences come about when water-recycling strategies are adapted to the local cultural context? It is argued that water management systems should be circular metabolisms, where wastewater is mobilized as a nutrition source. The aim is to propose water-recycling strategies at a micro level that reflect this. However, water-recycling systems are dependent on a complex set of social factors as to their acceptance/refusal and correct/incorrect use by the end users. This is particularly the case in Ecuador, where a plethora of variations in climates and cultures means that each project is different. This study proposes a qualitative methodology for the development of water-recycling strategies, where semi-structured interviews are first carried out to determine the design parameters of the specific social context where the project is to be implemented. Based on this, a water-recycling system can be proposed that is more likely to be readily accepted by the end users. The paper works with four of case studies, where the methodology is applied in three rural communities and an urban suburb in the Napo province of Ecuador, located in the Amazonian region. The results show that there were distinct differences in the water recycling strategies that were considered most appropriate for each case study. As such participatory design approaches can be said to be of great importance in the design of water-recycling strategies, where further work would necessary in working with the community members for the final system design.

Three new species of Drosophila tripunctata group (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in the eastern Andes of Ecuador

Three new species of the Drosophila tripunctata group are described and illustrated. These new species were captured using plastic bottles containing pieces of fermented banana with yeast. The collections were from Napo Province, Ecuador at 2 200 m and 3 362 m above sea level. The new species are: Drosophila napoensis sp. nov., Drosophila cuyuja sp. nov. and Drosophila quijos sp. nov. The first two species belong to subgroup I and the latter species belong to subgroup III of the Drosophila tripunctata group.

Parasitism of the isopod Artystone trysibia in the fish Chaetostoma dermorhynchum from the Tena River (Amazonian region, Ecuador)

The isopod Artystone trysibia Schioedte, 1866 is described by using a collection of specimens that were found parasitizing loricariid fish Chaetostoma dermorhynchum Boulenger, 1887 in the Tena River (Napo province, Ecuador, Amazonian region). Additionally to freshly collected specimens, complementary data of the parasite was obtained from preserved fishes at Ecuadorian museums. This is the first record of A. trysibia in Ecuador, and the most upstream location for the species. The new host fish, Chaetostoma dermorhynchum, is used locally as food.

Description of a second species of Angucephala DeLong & Freytag (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Iassinae: Gyponini)

A second species of Angucephala DeLong & Freytag, 1975 is described and illustrated from Ecuador, A. freytagi sp. nov. (Napo Province). This species can be distinguished from the type species (A. mellana DeLong & Freytag, 1975) mainly by features of the male pygofer and styles. A redescription of the genus and illustrations of the type species are also provided.

Cooperative Breeding at a Nest of Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrushes (Catharus fuscater)

ABSTRACT Our observations on the reproductive habits of the Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrush (Catharus fuscater) were made at a single nest between 2–12 November 2009 at an elevation of 2,050 m, in the vicinity of the Yanyacu Biological Station and Center of Creative Studies (00o 36′ S, 77o 53′ W), 5 km west of Cosanga (Napo Province, northeastern Ecuador). During the first 3 days following hatching, the only adult which provisioned nestlings was a color-banded female. Beginning with day 4, however, we observed five other individuals bringing food to the nest, including three color-banded males, one unmarked male, and one unmarked individual presumed to be female. The last two birds and one of the banded males were sexed using morphological differences, the remaining banded individuals were sexed molecularly. Most (72%) of provisioning visits to 4–9 day old nestlings were made by the color-banded female which also incubated the eggs. Our observations suggest the existence of a potentially complex cooperati...

New substitute name for the genus Napo Shaw, 2012(Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Euphorinae).

The braconid genus Napo was established by Shaw (2012) for a single species Napo townsendi Shaw, 2012from Napo Province, Ecuador. However, the genus name Napo is preoccupied and was initially introduced by Linnavuori & DeLong (1976) for a deltocephalinae leafhopper genus with Napo brazosellus Linnavuori & DeLong, 1976 as the type species (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). Thus, the genus Napo Shaw, 2012 is a junior homonym of the genus Napo Linnavuori & DeLong, 1976. According to Article 60 of the ICZN (2015), we propose the new replacement name Yanayacu nom. nov. for Napo Shaw, 2012. The resulting nomenclatural changes are summarized below.

A new species of Metagovea Rosas Costa, 1950 from Napo Province, Ecuador (Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi, Neogoveidae).

As a result of an expedition to Ecuador in 2014, a new species of mite harvestman was discovered. This new species belonging to the genus Metagovea Rosas Costa, 1950 – Metagovea ligiae sp. n. – is described, based on male and female specimens from Napo Province, Ecuador. This is the fourth species described for the genus and the second from Ecuador. A simple terminology is proposed for the microtrichiae of the spermatopositor and genital characters in the family are discussed. The genus Brasiliogovea Martens, 1969 is consistently misspelled in the literature as Brasilogovea. The description of Metagovea ligiae offered opportunity to discuss some aspects of systematics of the family.

Comphotis apachita Hall & Willmott, 1996 (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae): Distribution extension and first record from Brazil

The occurrence of Comphotis apachita Hall & Willmott, 1996 is reported for the first time in Brazil, extending its distribution about 1,400 kilometers southeast from the Napo Province, Ecuador.

Una nueva especie del grupo Drosophila annulimana (Diptera, Drosophilidae) y un nuevo registro en las Provincias de Pichincha y Napo, Ecuador

En estudios realizados en el bosque nublado Intillacta, provincia de Pichincha, Ecuador, y en la Cordillera de los Guacamayos, provincia de Napo, Ecuador, se encontró una nueva especie de Drosophila. En base a estudios de la morfología de la genitalia masculina, se propone que, Drosophila intillacta sp. nov. pertenece al grupo Drosophila annulimana. Así mismo, se reporta Drosophila tarsata Schiner, 1868, capturada en la Cordillera de los Guacamayos, como un nuevo registro para el país.

New Records ofAmblyomma multipunctumandAmblyomma naponensefrom Ecuador, with Description ofA. multipunctumNymph

We provide new data for the ticks Amblyomma multipunctum and Amblyomma naponense from Ecuador. In addition, we describe the nymph of A. multipunctum for the first time. During December 2012, ticks were collected by dragging in forest trails of 1 locality at Puyo, Pastaza Province (elevation 979 m), and another locality at Papallacta, Napo Province (3,474 m). A total of 10 adults of A. naponense were collected at Puyo, whereas 27 adults and 3 nymphs of A. multipunctum were collected at Papallacta. Compared to sequences of a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rDNA gene of adult and nymphal ticks, the sequence of an Amblyomma nymph was identical to the sequences generated from the A. multipunctum adults. The 3 collected nymphs (including the 1 used for molecular analysis) had the same morphotype, and were used for the first morphological description of the nymphal stage of A. multipunctum. Sequences generated from the A. naponense specimens were closest (97% identity by BLAST) to a corresponding sequence of A. naponense from Brazil, whereas the A. multipunctum sequences were closer to (90-91% identity) several Neotropical Amblyomma species. Herein, we provide just the second record of A. naponense in Ecuador, more than 100 yr after this tick was reported in this country. Adults and nymphs of A. multipunctum were found in highland, humid montane forest areas, in agreement with the only 2 previous reports of A. multipunctum in Ecuador and Colombia. No genetic differences were found among A. multipunctum ticks that presented significant morphological differences, suggesting intraspecific polymorphism in the adult stages of this species.

Four new species of the genus <i>Racinaea</i> (Bromeliaceae) from Ecuador

Four new species belonging to the genus Racinaea (formerly Tillandsia subgenus Pseudo-Catopsis, Bromeliaceae) from Ecuador are described and illustrated here. The new species R. condorensis from the province of Zamora-Chinchipe in the southern region of Ecuador is similar to R. contorta. Racinaea guacamayosensis from the Cordillera de los Guacamayos, an area close to Tena in the province of Napo, has close affinity with R. diffusa and R. penlandii. Racinaea terrestris from the province of Morona-Santiago, southern Ecuador, is also similar to R. diffusa. The new species R. tillii from the cloudy, cool mountain forest on the Amazonian side of the Andes in Napo province, is very alike R. penlandii. Distinguishing characters between these species are provided.

A new genus and new species of the tribe Dinocampini from Napo Province in Ecuador (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Euphorinae)

A new genus and a new species of the parasitoid wasp, Napo townsendi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Euphorinae: Dinocampini), is described from the Yanayacu Biological Station in Napo Province, Ecuador. The new genus and species is diagnosed and compared with the most closely related genus Betelgeuse Shaw and other Dinocampini. While first discovered by yellow bowl and Malaise trapping, it has more recently been discovered that males of N. townsendi can be found preferentially perching on the leaves of seedlings of the asteraceous tree Dendrophorbium lloense (Hieron) C. Jeffrey.

Description of Eggs, Nest, and Parental Care of the Smoky Bush Tyrant (Myiotheretes fumigatus) from Ecuador

We report the first nest of the Smoky Bush Tyrant (Myiotheretes fumigatus) which was found on 11 October 2009 at the Yanayacu Biological Station, Napo Province in Ecuador. The nest was a shallow open cup, 2 m above ground on the side of a dead stump covered in epiphytes. The nest was 12 cm wide by 6.5 cm in height; internally, the cup was 7 cm wide by 4 cm deep and was lined predominantly with scales from the tree-fern (Cyathea spp.), but included a few small sticks and brightly colored feathers. Both eggs were predominantly white with a few small, widely dispersed, dark reddish spots, predominantly around the fattest area. They measured 24.0 × 18 and 23.0 × 17.5 mm, and weighed 3.6 and 3.5 g, respectively. The first fully feathered fledgling left the nest on 2 November and the second on 3 November, for a nestling period of 16–17 days. We noted the presence of a third bird (besides the pair) which remained within the territory through the entire nesting period, at times in close association with the breeding pair.

Ecology, Natural History, and Larval Descriptions of Arctiinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Erebidae) from a Cloud Forest in the Eastern Andes of Ecuador

Abstract Adults and larvae in the subfamily Arctiinae (family Erebidae), along with their host plants and the parasitic wasps and flies that attack them, are important components of most terrestrial food webs, but basic taxonomic and life-history knowledge for the arctiines of the Neotropics is still poorly known. This is true for most groups of Lepidoptera in hyperdiverse countries such as Ecuador. To examine host affiliations and natural enemies in diverse ecosystems, we collected 6,243 arctiine caterpillars (representing 821 larval morphospecies) at elevations ranging from 400 to 3,500 m as part of a larger ecological and taxonomic survey of trophic associations centered at the Yanayacu Biological Station in Napo province, eastern Ecuador. Here, we provide a brief review of the systematics of Neotropical Arctiinae, provide basic information on host affiliations and parasitism rates of arctiines reared from Napo province in Ecuador and describe the immature stages of 16 species encountered in the region.

Diversity of Prominent Moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Notodontidae) in the Cloud Forests of Northeastern Ecuador, with Descriptions of 27 New Species

AbstractThe prominent moth fauna (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) of Yanayacu Biological Station (Napo Province) in northeastern Ecuador was surveyed to assess which species at the site had been previously described and which were new to science. Taxonomic studies based on comparisons with type material revealed that, of the 67 Notodontidae recorded at Yanayacu, 54% were undescribed before 2009. In this article, 27 species belonging to 12 different genera in four subfamilies are newly described. These findings emphasize the remarkable levels of undocumented insect diversity found in Andean cloud forests, adding further strength to the argument that conservation efforts should focus on preserving such habitats.

Descriptions of five new species of the Neotropical Mictopsichia group of genera (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Five new species of the Mictopsichia group of genera are described and illustrated: Mictopsichia misahuallia (type locality: Napo Province, Ecuador), Mictopsichia chirripoana (type locality: San José Province, Costa Rica), Rubropsichia kartaboana (type locality: Bartica District, British Guiana), Chamaepsichia cetonia (type locality: Heredia Province, Costa Rica), and Chamaepsichia chitonregis (type locality: T. F. Amazonas, Venezuela). Although the systematic placement of the group is enigmatic, continued assignment to Archipini is recommended.

Calleida desenderi, new species from Ecuador (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiinae)

Calleida desenderi Casale, sp. n., is described from Ecuador, Napo Province, surroundings of San Rafael. The new taxon is mostly characterized by the head and appendages rufous, the disc of elytra with marked metallic green reflection, the median lobe of aedeagus ring-like, and the endophallus with a long, twisted flagellum. A key for identification of the closer Neotropical species described so far is also provided.

Description of Erwiniinae, new subfamily of Dryinidae from Ecuador (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea)

Erwiniinae, a new subfamily of Dryinidae, based on Erwinius prognatus, new genus and a new species is described from Ecuador, Napo Province. A new key to subfamilies of Dryinidae is presented.