Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático
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Fish Ecology and Hydrological Responses to a Run-of-River Hydroelectric Project in Ecuador

2025 , Tobes, Ibon , Emily Conrad , Jordi Rivera-Albuja , Blanca Ríos-Touma , Rafael Miranda

Hydropower development is rapidly expanding in biodiversity-rich regions like the Ecuadorian Andes, raising major concerns about its ecological impacts. This study evaluates fish species composition and habitat characteristics in the Cristal and Dulcepamba Rivers, with a particular focus on the effects of the San José del Tambo Hydroelectric Project on the Dulcepamba River. Sampling conducted during the dry season (November–December 2023) at 15 sites incorporated fish surveys, habitat analyses, and environmental quality evaluation. The results showed marked declines in fish abundance, richness, and diversity in sections of the Dulcepamba River directly affected by water diversions, with species richness reduced to only three species at a site most impacted by discharge reduction. Conversely, the Cristal River, with its unaltered hydrology, supported considerably greater diversity, including 12 species at one site. Environmental integrity indices (Andean–Amazon Biotic Index, Biological Monitoring Working Party Index, Andean Riparian Quality Index, and Fluvial Habitat Index) further underscored the Cristal River’s superior conservation status. In the Dulcepamba River, reduced discharge in the environmental flow of the Hydroelectric Project—below mandated environmental discharge levels—led to river drying, disrupted connectivity, and impaired fish migration. This study provides essential insights into these highly biodiverse yet poorly studied ecosystems, which are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic pressures. The findings highlight the critical need to reconcile energy development with conservation efforts in these vulnerable Andean environments.

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Venom versatility: Dynamic anticoagulant and procoagulant variations between and within Bothrocophias (toad-head) and basal Bothrops (lance-head) pit vipers

2025 , Lachlan A. Bourke , Salazar Valenzuela, David , Marco Mancuso , Diego R. Quirola , Amaru Loaiza-Lange , Christina N. Zdenek , Matthew R. Lewin , Ernesto Arbeláez-Ortiz , Bryan G. Fry

Pinpointing the emergence of toxicological evolutionary novelties can be challenging. In American pit vipers, anticoagulant venoms are the paradigm, with a notable exception being the genus Bothrops, which are typically procoagulant. A recent study found that the basal Bothrops (B. pictus) is anticoagulant, raising two competing hypotheses: ancestral Bothrops were anticoagulant with procoagulant venom evolving later, or ancestral Bothrops were procoagulant with anticoagulant venom in B. pictus being a derived trait. To help resolve this, we tested venoms of the sister genus Bothrocophias for pathophysiological actions upon blood clotting. The Ecuadorian Bothrocophias venoms (B. campbelli, B. lojanus, and B. microphthalmus) were compared to Bothrops pictus. Both Bothrocophias lojanus and B. pictus inhibited various blood clotting enzymes, but B. pictus was more potently anticoagulant. Intriguingly, B. campbelli and B. microphthalmus were procoagulant. Both B. microphthalmus populations activated prothrombin, but Zamora Chinchipe locality also activated Factors X and VII. Bothrocophias campbelli showed a novel activity, using Factor Va in a calcium-dependent manner as a cofactor to activate prothrombin, the first time this has been shown for any viperid venom. Organismal phylogenetics failed to resolve the relative positions of B. campbelli and B. lojanus, thus we were unable to ascertain the ancestral trait. To resolve this, more phylogenetic research and venom testing with other Bothrocophias species is needed. Neutralisation tests revealed differential efficacy of PoliVal-ICP (Instituto Clodomiro Picado) and Soro Antibotrópico (Instituto Butantan) antivenoms. Together, these findings aid in designing evidence-based clinical-management strategies and provide foundational data for reconstructing venom evolution

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The role of plant secondary metabolites in shaping regional and local plant community assembly

2022 , Endara M.-J. , Soule A.J. , Forrister D.L. , Dexter K.G. , Pennington R.T , Nicholls J.A. , Loiseau O. , Kursar T.A. , Coley P.D.

The outstanding diversity of Amazonian forests is predicted to be the result of several processes. While tree lineages have dispersed repeatedly across the Amazon, interactions between plants and insects may be the principal mechanism structuring the communities at local scales. Using metabolomic and phylogenetic approaches, we investigated the patterns of historical assembly of plant communities across the Amazon based on the Neotropical genus of trees Inga (Leguminosae) at four, widely separated sites. Our results show a low degree of phylogenetic structure and a mixing of chemotypes across the whole Amazon basin, suggesting that although biogeography may play a role, the metacommunity for any local community in the Amazon is the entire basin. Yet, local communities are assembled by ecological processes, with the suite of Inga at a given site more divergent in chemical defences than expected by chance Synthesis. To our knowledge, this is the first study to present metabolomic data for nearly 100 species in a diverse Neotropical plant clade across the whole Amazonia. Our results demonstrate a role for plant–herbivore interactions in shaping the clade's community assembly at a local scale, and suggest that the high alpha diversity in Amazonian tree communities must be due in part to the interactions of diverse tree lineages with their natural enemies providing a high number of niche dimensions. © 2021 British Ecological Society

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Hummingbird diversity in a fragmented tropical landscape in the Chocó biogeographic zone

2023 , Huh K.M. , Ellis M. , Castillo F. , Carrasco L. , Rivero de Aguilar J. , Bonaccorso, Elisa , Browne L. , Karubian J.

Forest loss and fragmentation drive widespread declines in biodiversity. However, hummingbirds seem to exhibit relative resilience to disturbance, characterized by increasing abundance alongside declining species richness and evenness. Yet, how widespread this pattern may be, and the mechanisms by which it may occur, remain unclear. To fill in this knowledge gap, we investigated habitat- and site-level patterns of diversity, and community composition of hummingbirds between continuous forest (transects n = 16 in ~3500 ha) and more disturbed surrounding fragments (n = 39, 2.5–48.0 ha) in the Chocó rain forest of northwestern Ecuador. Next, we assessed within-patch and patch-matrix characteristics associated with hummingbird diversity and composition. We found higher hummingbird species richness in forest fragments relative to the continuous forest, driven by increased captures of rare species in fragments. Community composition also differed between continuous forest and fragments, with depressed evenness in fragments. Increased canopy openness and density of medium-sized trees correlated with hummingbird diversity in forest fragments, although this relationship became nonsignificant after applying false discovery rate (p <.01). Higher species richness in fragments and higher evenness in the continuous forest highlight the complex trade-offs involved in the conservation of this ecologically important group of birds in changing Neotropical landscapes. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material. © 2023 The Authors. Biotropica published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation.

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Hunting alters viral transmission and evolution in a large carnivore

2022 , Fountain-Jones N.M. , Kraberger S. , Gagne R.B. , Gilbertson M.L.J. , Trumbo D.R. , Charleston M. , Salerno, Patricia E. , Chris Funk W. , Crooks K. , Logan K. , Alldredge M. , Dellicour S. , Baele G. , Didelot X. , VandeWoude S. , Carver S. , Craft M.E.

Hunting can fundamentally alter wildlife population dynamics but the consequences of hunting on pathogen transmission and evolution remain poorly understood. Here, we present a study that leverages a unique landscape-scale quasi-experiment coupled with pathogen-transmission tracing, network simulation and phylodynamics to provide insights into how hunting shapes feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) dynamics in puma (Puma concolor). We show that removing hunting pressure enhances the role of males in transmission, increases the viral population growth rate and increases the role of evolutionary forces on the pathogen compared to when hunting was reinstated. Changes in transmission observed with the removal of hunting could be linked to short-term social changes while the male puma population increased. These findings are supported through comparison with a region with stable hunting management over the same time period. This study shows that routine wildlife management can have impacts on pathogen transmission and evolution not previously considered. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

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Coevolutionary arms race versus host defense chase in a tropical herbivore–plant system

2017 , Endara M.-J. , Coley P.D. , Ghabash G. , Nicholls J.A. , Dexter K.G. , Donoso D.A. , Stone G.N. , Pennington R.T. , Kursar T.A.

Coevolutionary models suggest that herbivores drive diversification and community composition in plants. For herbivores, many questions remain regarding how plant defenses shape host choice and community structure. We addressed these questions using the tree genus Inga and its lepidopteran herbivores in the Amazon. We constructed phylogenies for both plants and insects and quantified host associations and plant defenses. We found that similarity in herbivore assemblages between Inga species was correlated with similarity in defenses. There was no correlation with phylogeny, a result consistent with our observations that the expression of defenses in Inga is independent of phylogeny. Furthermore, host defensive traits explained 40% of herbivore community similarity. Analyses at finer taxonomic scales showed that different lepidopteran clades select hosts based on different defenses, suggesting taxon-specific histories of herbivore–host plant interactions. Finally, we compared the phylogeny and defenses of Inga to phylogenies for the major lepidopteran clades. We found that closely related herbivores fed on Inga with similar defenses rather than on closely related plants. Together, these results suggest that plant defenses might be more evolutionarily labile than the herbivore traits related to host association. Hence, there is an apparent asymmetry in the evolutionary interactions between Inga and its herbivores. Although plants may evolve under selection by herbivores, we hypothesize that herbivores may not show coevolutionary adaptations, but instead “chase” hosts based on the herbivore’s own traits at the time that they encounter a new host, a pattern more consistent with resource tracking than with the arms race model of coevolution. © 2017, National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

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A QR (Quick Response) code application model in environmental management and education activities in a Neotropical botanical garden [Modelo de aplicación del código QR (Quick Response Code) en actividades de gestión y educación ambientales en un jardín botánico del Neotrópico (Ecuador)]

2019 , Alvarez Loaiza P. , Vite Valverde F. , Yánez Moretta P. , Burneo Villegas C. , Jumbo Ramos S.

We describe the generation of QR codes (Quick Response) for plant species and physical sections of the Reinaldo Espinosa Botanical Garden (Loja), the oldest in Ecuador, made with the purpose of providing visitors with a tool that allows them to have a better knowledge on specimens and promote greater interest in biodiversity conservation. The elements included for each species within the code were: floristic characteristics, origin and conservation status, as well as their ethnobotanical uses and image. The application of this new technology in a semi-natural area seeks to generate a more interactive guidance process, with more information. The proposal constitutes a management reference for the botanical gardens of the region. © 2019.

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New records of the genera Leptogorgia, pacifigorgia and Eugorgia (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) from Ecuador, with a description of a new species [Nuevos registros de los géneros Leptogorgia, Pacifigorgia y Eugorgia (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) en Ecuador, con la descripción de una especie nueva]

2016 , Soler-Hurtado M.M. , Machordom A. , Muñoz J. , López-González P.J.

New records of the genera Leptogorgia, Pacifigorgia and Eugorgia (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) on the coast of Ecuador are reported. These new records redefine the current known limit of distribution of these species on the eastern Pacific coast (from southern California to Chile). Some of these species are reported for the first time since their original description. The newly collected specimens allow for the measurement of the variability of several morphological characters, from colonial to sclerite levels. Additionally, Pacifigorgia machalilla n. sp. is described and compared with its closest relatives. Morphological differentiation among related species is supported by genetic divergence estimated from an extended barcode of MutS + Igr + COI. © 2016 CSIC.

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Understanding the evolutionary history of a high Andean endemic: the Ecuadorian hillstar (Oreotrochilus chimborazo) [Comprendiendo la historia evolutiva de un ave endémica de los altos Andes: la Estrellita Ecuatoriana (Oreotrochilus chimborazo)]

2016 , Rodríguez Saltos C.A. , Bonaccorso E.

Geographic isolation has been proposed as the factor driving subspecific diversity of the Ecuadorian hillstar (Oreotrochilus chimborazo), a highland species restricted to the naturally fragmented paramos of Ecuador and southern Colombia. Current taxonomy recognizes three subspecies: O. c. chimborazo (from the Chimborazo volcano), O. c. soderstromi (from the Quilotoa volcano), and O. c. jamesonii (along the paramos of Ecuador and southern Colombia). To understand the origin of this morphological diversity, we explored the genetic variation along the species range based on analyses of two mitochondrial genes (ND2 and ND4), and one nuclear intron (MUSK). Subspecies O. c. soderstromi was not included in the analysis, as it was not registered at or around its type locality, the Quilotoa volcano. Instead, only O. c. jamesonii was encountered in that area. We found no evidence of genetic structure corresponding to subspecies or physiographic units, aside from some inconclusive evidence in putatively isolated populations. Ecological niche modeling predicted continuous and homogeneous environmental space between the two volcanos, and field expeditions showed evidence of a potential contact zone between O. c. jamesonii and O. c. chimborazo. Also, our data suggest that the only specimen described as O. c. soderstromi may have been an intergrade. We discuss our results in the light of possible range shifts in the past, resulting from climatic fluctuations around the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. © 2016, © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis.

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The complex evolutionary history of the tympanic middle ear in frogs and toads (Anura)

2016 , Pereyra M.O. , Womack M.C. , Barrionuevo J.S. , Blotto B.L. , Baldo D. , Targino M. , Ospina-Sarria J.J. , Guayasamin, Juan M. , Coloma L.A. , Hoke K.L. , Grant T. , Faivovich J.

Most anurans possess a tympanic middle ear (TME) that transmits sound waves to the inner ear; however, numerous species lack some or all TME components. To understand the evolution of these structures, we undertook a comprehensive assessment of their occurrence across anurans and performed ancestral character state reconstructions. Our analysis indicates that the TME was completely lost at least 38 independent times in Anura. The inferred evolutionary history of the TME is exceptionally complex in true toads (Bufonidae), where it was lost in the most recent common ancestor, preceding a radiation of >150 earless species. Following that initial loss, independent regains of some or all TME structures were inferred within two minor clades and in a radiation of >400 species. The reappearance of the TME in the latter clade was followed by at least 10 losses of the entire TME. The many losses and gains of the TME in anurans is unparalleled among tetrapods. Our results show that anurans, and especially bufonid toads, are an excellent model to study the behavioural correlates of earlessness, extratympanic sound pathways, and the genetic and developmental mechanisms that underlie the morphogenesis of TME structures. © The Author(s) 2016.

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