Facultad de Ciencias del Medio Ambiente
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Assessing natural heritage in Ecuador: a comprehensive framework for environmental policy

2025 , Zambrano Loor, Holger , Franco Crespo, Christian

Environmental sustainability is essential for mitigating climate change and resource depletion. This study develops a standardized framework to assess Ecuador’s natural heritage, integrating 59 environmental indicators across protected areas, forestry, biodiversity, and genetic resources. The findings highlight 16.45% of national territory under conservation, decreasing deforestation rates, and persistent data gaps in biodiversity management. The study underscores the need for a unified information system to enhance decision-making and policy effectiveness. By aligning national strategies with global frameworks, this research contributes to improved environmental governance and conservation planning in Ecuador.

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Poison frog chemical defences are influenced by environmental availability and dietary selectivity for ants

2025 , Nora A. Martin , Camilo Rodríguez , Aurora Alvarez‐Buylla , Katherine Fiocca , Colin R. Morrison , Adolfo Chamba‐Carrillo , Ana B. García‐Ruilova , Janet Rentería , Elicio E. Tapia , Luis A. Coloma , David A. Donoso , Lauren A. O'Connell

The ability to use small molecule alkaloids as defensive chemicals, often acquired via trophic interactions, has evolved in many organisms. Animals with diet-derived defences must balance food choices to maintain their defence reservoirs along with other physiological needs. Poison frogs accumulate skin alkaloids from their arthropod diet, but whether they show selectivity for specific prey remains unexplored. We investigated the role of leaf litter prey availability and dietary selectivity in shaping poison frog chemical defences along a geographic gradient. Specifically, we examined skin alkaloid composition, stomach contents and leaf litter ants in aposematic diablito frogs (Oophaga sylvatica) at five sites in north-western Ecuador and in sympatric, cryptic Chimbo rocket frogs (Hyloxalus infraguttatus) at one site. Our results show that differential availability of leaf litter ants influenced alkaloid profiles across diablito populations, and low levels of alkaloids were observed in the sympatric, ‘undefended’ Chimbo rocket frog. Ants were the primary dietary component of the defended species, while the ‘undefended’ species ate other prey categories including beetles and larvae in addition to ants. A prey selection analysis suggested that defended and ‘undefended' frogs both feed on a high proportion of specific small ant genera that naturally contain alkaloids, suggesting that selectivity for toxic prey is not restricted to classically aposematic and highly toxic species. These findings suggest that poison frogs’ use of feeding resources relative to availability may be an understudied and important selection factor in the evolution of acquired defences

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Hydrocarbon tolerance evaluation of the microbiota associated with the Roystonea oleracea palm from Santay Island (Ecuador)

2024 , Andrade, Jean Carlo , Santiago Mafla , Kelly Riofrío , José Hernández , Tobes, Ibon , Cristian Lara-Basantes

Soil contamination from hydrocarbon spills has resulted in significant environmental repercussions on a global scale. Bioremediation, which involves the use of living organisms such as microbes to remove contaminants from polluted ecosystems, offers a promising solution. In this study, tolerance tests on hydrocarbons present in Jet Fuel A1 were carried out, utilizing microorganisms isolated from four soil samples (M1, M2, M3, and M4) collected at varying distances from the rhizosphere of Roystonea oleracea on Santay Island, a RAMSAR wetland located in the Guayas River estuary on the Pacific coast of Ecuador. Sample M1 was closest to the base of the palm, while M4 was the farthest. Various soil ions, including potassium, phosphates, iron, and total nitrogen, were analyzed, and higher concentrations were found near the base of the palm. Additionally, a metabolic profile analysis of the samples was conducted using Ecoplate® kits, which revealed similar trends, with carbon sources being predominantly consumed near the base. A community-level analysis was performed using Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE), followed by molecular characterization through amplification of the 16S RNA conserved region via the Sanger method. The identified microorganisms included Lysinibacillus fusiformis, Lysinibacillus boronitolerans, Alcaligenes faecalis, and Bacillus soli in the soil samples. Notably, strains isolated from samples near the palm's base were able to grow in media enriched with Jet Fuel A1 and demonstrated the ability to produce biosurfactants, as determined by the drop-collapsing method. The results obtained present opportunities for future research in the exploration of novel green remediation technologies.

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Conspicuous and cryptic poison frogs are picky and prefer different meals in syntopy

2024 , Sánchez Loja, Santiago , David A. Donoso , Paéz Vacas, Mónica

The poison frog family (Anura: Dendrobatidae) consists of species with conspicuous (e.g., warning coloration and toxicity or low palatability) and cryptic (e.g., palatable, and inconspicuous coloration) traits. Previous literature suggests that conspicuous, but not cryptic, species require diet specialization in prey high in alkaloids. To test for dietary preferences of poison frog species, we identified, to the lowest possible taxonomic rank, the diets of 21 Epipedobates darwinwallacei (conspicuous) and 22 Hyloxalus awa (cryptic) frogs living in syntopy in the Otongachi Forest in northwestern Ecuador. We then tested for differences in diet assemblage composition, and diet specialization, in these putatively conspicuous and cryptic frogs. Our analyses showed significant differences in the composition of arthropod assemblages consumed by both frog species, which translated into a narrow niche breadth and nine arthropod taxa (out of a total of 18) consumed by both species. Moreover, the index of relative importance, which measures frog’s diet specialization, suggested that E. darwinwallacei, and H. awa prefer specific arthropod taxa, where the former consumes preferentially springtails and mites, while the latter consumes mostly ants and Coleoptera larvae. Thus, contrary to expectations, diet specialization is not a unique characteristic of the species with conspicuous traits when living in syntopy

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Characterization of Microbial Communities from the Rhizosphere of the Royal Palm (Roystonea oleracea) in a RAMSAR Wetland in Ecuador

2024 , Andrade, Jean Carlo , Santiago Mafla , Emily Avila , José Herándes

The interaction between the rhizosphere and the microbial communities that develop in this area is essential to understanding plant-microorganism processes such as nutrient availability or the development and suppression of plant diseases. Sequencing approaches have provided relevant insights into the microbiomes of plant rhizospheres such as the ecological interactions that are essential for the regulation of biogeochemical cycles inside wetlands. This research characterized some microbial communities present around an area close to the rhizosphere of the Roystonea oleracea palm. In this sense, ions present in four soil samples (M1, M2, M3 & M4) were quantified by spectrophotometry techniques to get an approximation of soil nutrients variation in this area. Later, the metabolic diversity of the bacterial communities cultivated from the samples was carried out using the BIOLOG EcoPlate™ kit. In addition, some isolated strains were analyzed through DGGE analysis of the 16 s rDNA gene amplified by PCR, founding that the most representative genera of the microorganisms obtained were Bacillus and Bovista. The results of a multidimensional scaling analysis of the banding pattern showed that M1 and M4 are 80% similar to each other. Finally, an antagonism test was performed between the microbial communities resulting in no antagonistic relationships observed.

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