Tropical Andes
Encyclopedia
The Tropical Andes is a subregion of the Andes
spanning all of the Andes except the southern mediterranean and temperate zones. The Tropical Andes is an biodiversity hotspot named the “global epicenter of biodiversity” according to the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.
The Tropical Andes area is an area of rich biodiversity
. This location holds about 45,000 plant species of which 20,000 are endemic. There are over 3,000 vertebrate species with about 1,500 endemic. Besides plants and vertebrates, 1666 bird species, 479 reptile species, and 830 amphibian species reside in the Tropical Andes. All hotspots are important for conservation biology
, especially the tropical Andes with so many endemic species. The biodiversity within the Tropical Andes is dwindling down in numbers due to threats. The Tropical Andes area also spans 1,542,644 km2.
, Chile
, Argentina
, Colombia
, Ecuador
, Peru
, and Bolivia
. The land initially was roughly 1,258,000 km2 but has decreased to 314,500 km2, leaving 25% of the original land. Due to the massive amount of area the landscape is diverse. Diverse landscapes lead to diverse habitats and the ability to provide needed resources for many species. Diverse landscape includes snow topped mountains down to canyons and valleys. The different vegetation as altitude changes includes tropical or wet forests at 500 meters to 1,500 meters, cloud forests ranging from 800 meters to 3,500 meters, and at highest altitudes of 3,000 to 4,800 meters contain grasslands up to snow. The most diverse cloud forests found in Peru and Bolivia covers 500,000 km2. Dry forests and woodlands are also found throughout the Tropical Andes. Tropical Andes also is home to the deepest gorge in Peru at 3,223 meters deep and Lake Titicaca
, the highest navigable water with the height of 3,810 meters.
The diversity between vegetation throughout altitudes was further studied in Colombia. Chengyu Weng studied how pollen diversity is affected by different temperatures due to changing altitudes. The team studied different vegetations, the subandean forest, Andean forest, subparamo and grassparamo located in the Andes. There was more plant diversity as altitude increased throughout the vegetations. Pollen diversity positively correlated with more diversity at lower altitudes (Weng). With these findings, they were able to see changes in plant diversity in the past 430000 years. During hot temperatures, pollen diversity increased at higher altitudes from plant species moving up. While cooler temperatures saw pollen diversity in lower altitudes. The study explains how temperature influences plant diversity.
The ecoregions in the hotspot include:
can be identified as an area with great biological diversity with high endemism. The location must also have lost a significant amount of land and threatened species according to the Essentials of Conservation Biology fourth edition. The term hotspots was used by Norman Myers
written to describe ten tropical forests. The forests contained the characteristics of high levels of plant endemism and loss of habitats. Norman Myers went on to add eight more hotspots by 1990. The Conservation International reassessed Myers definition of a hotspot and by 1999 criteria for a hotspot developed to be used globally. A hotspot needs 1,500 endemic vascular plant species and a loss of at least 70 percent of original land (Conservation International). With these criteria, twenty-five hotspots were identified in 1999 and published in the journal Nature. These twenty-five hotspots contained at least 44 percent of earth’s endemics plants and 35 percent of land vertebrates. The combined area between the twenty-five hotspots used to cover 11.8 percent of land. The total amount of land has reduced from 17 million km2 to 2 million km2 or about 85% of land. Leaving this great biodiversity limited to about 1 percent of Earth’s land surface (Primack).
. Due to a hotspots great diversity and endemic species, conservation biology
and many other sources conduct research in these locations. Research is also needed considering the amount of threatened species in hotspots. Researches have the opportunity to preserve many species along with their habitats within hotspots. Some organizations that use hotspots for research are World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Birdlife International, Conservation International, and World Wildlife Fund. Research is also done on human impacts to the hotspots land and species that reside in them. Hotspots have actually received the most funding in the help save hotspots. Funding has estimated to $750 million accumulated over the past fifteen years. By focusing research on hotspots, many species can be helped at once.
One specific research studies fires impact on vegetation in Northern Ecuador of the Tropical Andes. This locations variety of vegetation includes different forests, land used for agricultural and páramo, or tropical alpine found at 4,500 meters. Páramo, is dominated by grasses but still high in diversity. The article Fire Ecology and Conservation in the High Tropical Andes: Observations from Northern Ecuador, looks at páramo’s ability to withstand disturbances such as fire. The fact that humans have lived in this location for 7,000 years, the páramo has been through fires and grazing. The writer believes policies used to implement fire suppression are not probable or beneficiary to the plants species (Keating). Policies instead should be written up according specific plant species and impact on natives living there. This is a small example of research in the Tropical Andes that could make a big impact to saving diversity.
Further research is also processed on looking into the decrease in avian populations, focusing in hotspots due to its massive diversity. The study focuses in Endemic Bird Areas or EBA in order to understand why they go extinct and possible conservation plans. As of 2003 there was 218 EBA’s with over 30 percent bird species threatened. EBA’s located in hotspots interfere with many human activities leading to habitat loss in 51 percent EBA’s. According to the articles chart, five EBA’s with habitat loss are located in the Tropical Andes. By studying the effect of human activities on EBA’s that are losing avian populations, plans to help the future of other EBA’s is possible. Their results showed if a species has habitat specificity and large in size the chance of extinction increases. Habitat loss will impact those with habitat specificity greatly. Conservation
goals need to look into human activities and the birdj’s habitat specificity in order to make a positive impact.
An example of research on a specific threatened species in the Tropical Andes is the Tremarctos ornatus, or known as Andean (or spectacled) bears. By capturing two male species, radio collars were attached in order to track and study their habits and movement. The two bears portrayed similar patterns compared to many other bear species. These findings contrasted with the belief of spectacled bears being nocturnal and no change in patterns between seasons because only slight change in temperature. The radio collars proved these spectacled bears to be diurnal. The bears were in motion from sunrise to sunset with periods of rest in-between. There was a small change in level of activity between seasons with an increase during the dry season. Due to the technology of radio collars, hypothesis about the rare spectacle bears in the Tropical Andes were tested. By knowing species habitat and lifestyle, we can better understand and help threatened species.
The Tropical Andes is said to be the most diverse hotspots. The journal Nature contained an article by Norman Myers comparing the twenty-five hotspots with land and species in 2000. At the time the Tropical Andes was recorded to have 45,000 plant species with the next closest hotspots recorded to have 25,000 plant species. Actually a sixth of all plant species can reside in the Tropical Andes. Tropical Andes also has the most endemic plant species at 20,000 and the next hotspot contains 15,000. Tropical Andes does have a lot of land compared to other hotspots, but is not the largest. Shows Tropical Andes can provide for biodiversity with diverse landscape.
Many endemic plant and animal species are currently threatened in the Tropical Andes. An example of a threatened plant species is the Andean bromelilad. Andean bromelilad is an endemic plant that takes up to 100 years to mature and a common diet for species that forage. Other plants species include many crops such as tobacco and potatoes. Some endemic animals include the Andean condor
that almost became extinct from hunting. Thanks to a conservation reintroduction program, their numbers are growing. Another threatened endemic bird in the Tropical Andes is the yellow-eared parrot
. One threat this species faces is the loss of the vulnerable wax palm. The yellow-eared parrot uses the wax palm for nesting and roosting. However, humans especially in Colombia are removing the vulnerable wax palm from the wild for Palm Sunday
. Some conservation programs are helping the situation to educate churches to use other resources besides the vulnerable wax palm. The yellow tailed monkey is another endemic animal being endangered. They are one of the rarest mammals with a recorded population of 250 found in cloud forests of Peru. They are threatened by humans causing habitat loss and fragmentation of their habitat. Their slow maturity and low population densities do not help. Programs have tried to relocate to secondary forests, but attempts have failed. Many species reside in the Tropical Andes but threatened severely.
Humans have the ability to cause habitat loss and habitat fragmentation
for species. The forest habitats that are threatened in the Tropical Andes are modified and destroyed 30 percent faster than lower tropical areas (Cuervo). Fragmentation causes a separation within species and decreases the diversity of genes. There is the possibility of inbreeding to increase as well. An article also looked at fragmentation causing certain phenotypes to arise in organisms. By studying feathers of 2,500 individual bird species within nine forests, observation showed asymmetry linked with fragmentation. Asymmetry was lowest if the forest continued and highest with small or medium fragmentation. (Cuervo). They suggest asymmetry of bird feathers influenced by the stress of fragmentation and changing environments. That is one outcome from fragmentation in the Tropical Andes.
A study by Niall O’Dea looks at bird communities in general and how habitat degradation impacts them. He compared the bird communities that reside in primary forests, secondary forests, edge habitat and agricultural land, all modified by humans. Most diversity was found in secondary forests and edge habitats but different species. While the agricultural land and primary forest held lowest diversity (O'Dea). This study suggests within Andean montane forests, preserving secondary forests offers most benefit for these threatened birds.
Another serious threat to the Tropical Andes is global warming
. Global warming is the effect of too many greenhouse gasses trapped in the air that hold in heat. Some locations are increasing in temperature and others decreasing. The change in temperatures has a major effect on the Tropical Andes; some say more negative then deforestation. One serious issue is the melting of the glaciers in the mountains. It is estimated that 80 percent of freshwater comes from mountains and with them melting about half of the Earths population will be affected (Mark). All over the world glaciers are melting, but the mountains in the Tropical Andes are very susceptible. It is said that a quarter of the Tropical Andes glacier has already begun retreating. These glaciers make up many species water supply, and the location could be in crisis if they melt away. Glaciers in the Andes provide two main functions; decrease seasonal discharge variability and provide greater specific discharge (Mark). The article by Bryan Mark, predicts an increase in discharge as glaciers melt with the ability to trace glacier water melting into watersheds using isotopes. (Mark) Global warming can lead to the extinction of many species especially in hotspots. A study done by Jay Malcolm predicts less than 1 percent up to 43 percent of endemic biota will become extinct due to global warming. He also believes the Tropical Andes is in the top six vulnerable hotspots with the possibility of plant extinction exceeding 2000 species (Malcolm).
Global warming is also causing an increase in diseases among amphibians. Considering the Tropical Andes is recorded to have the most amphibians, some restricted to this location, diseases could decrease the diversity greatly. Another other factor, that 400 of the amphibian species are already threatened. These deadly fungi have actually been linked to the extinction of dinosaurs (Associated Press). One chytrid fungus that is infecting amphibians is the batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
. This fungus will impair the amphibian’s skin and reduce its ability to absorb. One example of an amphibian in the Tropical Andes is the genus Atelopus
with 56 of the species Critically Endangered. Due to increase in temperature, the fungus has the ability to spread rapidly and thrive on living amphibians.
A new threat that is becoming researched is the effect from nitrogen deposition. The studies done in Europe have shown diversity among plants decreased due to nitrogen deposition. Current models are estimating what could happen to hotspots across the world if nitrogen deposition keeps increasing. By comparing to past research, nitrogen deposition has already increased 50 percent since the 1990’s. Estimation for the future shows an increase by 100 percent in 2050. Considering the great plant diversity in the Tropical Andes, especially so many endemics, nitrogen deposition could be a sever threat. The decrease in plant diversity could cause a chain reaction on other species that depend on the plants.
These are just few threats the Tropical Andes faces on a daily basis. The impact on the land is shown by a 75 percent decrease from original mass. Species effected are decreasing in numbers and increases the amount of species listed on the Endangered Species Act. It is worse when threatened species are endemic to the Tropical Andes. It is recorded 14 endemic mammals and 110 endemic birds are threatened in the Tropical Andes. Two species from the Tropical Andes have already become extinct.
On a bigger scale, many programs are implemented to help diversity. Organizations are taking advantage of the knowledge and ability to rehabilitate species when needed. The Andean condor was an example of a success story. Corridors are also implemented throughout the Tropical Andes. Corridors
are used to link up protected or secluded areas. This will allow species to increase gene flow and help with migration. The connection will have a larger impact on the survival of certain species. The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund concentrates on the corridor that runs from Peru to Bolivia called the Vilcabamba-Amboró. The location covers 300,000 km² and overflows with biodiversity. Other corridors that reside in Peru are Santiago-Comaina Reserved Zone, Tabaconas-Namballe National Sanctuary and Cordillera Azul National Park. Then there is the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) conservation program developed by Conservation International and BirdLife International. This program is used to focus on certain areas with high numbers of at-risk birds. An article by Niall O’dea questions the positive effects of IBA in the Tropical Andes. The article reports IBA sites actually increases the human population and does not help at-risk birds. Big scale or small scale, changes needed to be made to decrease threats to increase biodiversity in the Tropical Andes.
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
spanning all of the Andes except the southern mediterranean and temperate zones. The Tropical Andes is an biodiversity hotspot named the “global epicenter of biodiversity” according to the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.
The Tropical Andes area is an area of rich biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
. This location holds about 45,000 plant species of which 20,000 are endemic. There are over 3,000 vertebrate species with about 1,500 endemic. Besides plants and vertebrates, 1666 bird species, 479 reptile species, and 830 amphibian species reside in the Tropical Andes. All hotspots are important for conservation biology
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
, especially the tropical Andes with so many endemic species. The biodiversity within the Tropical Andes is dwindling down in numbers due to threats. The Tropical Andes area also spans 1,542,644 km2.
The land
The Tropical Andes is located in South America following the path of the Andes Mountains. Tropical Andes runs through seven countries, VenezuelaVenezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. The land initially was roughly 1,258,000 km2 but has decreased to 314,500 km2, leaving 25% of the original land. Due to the massive amount of area the landscape is diverse. Diverse landscapes lead to diverse habitats and the ability to provide needed resources for many species. Diverse landscape includes snow topped mountains down to canyons and valleys. The different vegetation as altitude changes includes tropical or wet forests at 500 meters to 1,500 meters, cloud forests ranging from 800 meters to 3,500 meters, and at highest altitudes of 3,000 to 4,800 meters contain grasslands up to snow. The most diverse cloud forests found in Peru and Bolivia covers 500,000 km2. Dry forests and woodlands are also found throughout the Tropical Andes. Tropical Andes also is home to the deepest gorge in Peru at 3,223 meters deep and Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world...
, the highest navigable water with the height of 3,810 meters.
The diversity between vegetation throughout altitudes was further studied in Colombia. Chengyu Weng studied how pollen diversity is affected by different temperatures due to changing altitudes. The team studied different vegetations, the subandean forest, Andean forest, subparamo and grassparamo located in the Andes. There was more plant diversity as altitude increased throughout the vegetations. Pollen diversity positively correlated with more diversity at lower altitudes (Weng). With these findings, they were able to see changes in plant diversity in the past 430000 years. During hot temperatures, pollen diversity increased at higher altitudes from plant species moving up. While cooler temperatures saw pollen diversity in lower altitudes. The study explains how temperature influences plant diversity.
The ecoregions in the hotspot include:
- Cordillera La Costa montane forests (Venezuela)
- Venezuelan Andes montane forests (Venezuela)
- Cordillera Oriental montane forests (Colombia, Venezuela)
- Santa Marta páramo (Colombia)
- Santa Marta montane forests (Colombia)
- Northern Andean páramo (Colombia, Ecuador)
- Magdalena Valley montane forests (Colombia)
- Northwestern Andean montane forests (Colombia, Ecuador)
- Cauca Valley montane forests (Colombia)
- Cauca Valley dry forestsCauca Valley dry forestsThe Cauca Valley dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in Colombia.-Setting:The Cauca Valley dry forests occupies an area of , extending in a long, narrow strip along the Cauca River. The Cauca Valley is nestled between the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central in the...
(Colombia) - Magdalena Valley dry forests (Colombia)
- Patía Valley dry forests (Colombia)
- Eastern Cordillera real montane forests (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru)
- Marañón dry forests (Peru)
- Peruvian YungasPeruvian YungasThe Peruvian Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of Peru.-Setting:The Peruvian Yungas occur on the eastern slopes and valleys of the Peruvian Andes...
(Peru) - Cordillera Central páramo (Peru)
- Central Andean wet punaCentral Andean wet punaThe Central Andean wet puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia.-Setting:This ecoregion occurs above and consists of high-elevation, wet, montane grasslands amid lakes, plateaus, valleys, and high mountains. It is bordered on the west by the Sechura...
(Bolivia, Peru) - Central Andean punaCentral Andean punaThe Central Andean puna is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in the Andes of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Argentina.-Setting:...
(Bolivia, Peru) - Bolivian YungasBolivian YungasThe Bolivian Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of central Bolivia and eastern Peru.-Setting:The ecoregion occurs in elevations ranging from on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Bolivia...
(Bolivia, Peru) - Bolivian montane dry forestsInterandean VallesDry valleys in the central Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina, known as "valles", are marked by a rain shadow effect of the surrounding mountains, and thus rainfall is limited, and mostly falls in a brief rainy season...
(Bolivia) - Central Andean dry punaCentral Andean dry punaThe Central Andean dry puna is an ecoregion, in the Montane grasslands and shrublands biome, located in the Andean High plateau, in South America...
(Argentina, Bolivia, Chile) - Southern Andean YungasSouthern Andean YungasThe Southern Andean Yungas is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Yungas of southwestern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina.-Climate:This ecoregion has a subtropical highland climate...
(Argentina, Bolivia)
Hotspots
A hotspotBiodiversity hotspot
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.The concept of biodiversity hotspots was originated by Norman Myers in two articles in “The Environmentalist” , revised after thorough analysis by Myers and others in...
can be identified as an area with great biological diversity with high endemism. The location must also have lost a significant amount of land and threatened species according to the Essentials of Conservation Biology fourth edition. The term hotspots was used by Norman Myers
Norman Myers
Norman Myers BA PhD , is a British environmentalist specialisting in biodiversity. He is an influential figure among policy and institutional circles, although much of his more prominent work - such as on environmental refugees' - is widely viewed as lacking academic credibility...
written to describe ten tropical forests. The forests contained the characteristics of high levels of plant endemism and loss of habitats. Norman Myers went on to add eight more hotspots by 1990. The Conservation International reassessed Myers definition of a hotspot and by 1999 criteria for a hotspot developed to be used globally. A hotspot needs 1,500 endemic vascular plant species and a loss of at least 70 percent of original land (Conservation International). With these criteria, twenty-five hotspots were identified in 1999 and published in the journal Nature. These twenty-five hotspots contained at least 44 percent of earth’s endemics plants and 35 percent of land vertebrates. The combined area between the twenty-five hotspots used to cover 11.8 percent of land. The total amount of land has reduced from 17 million km2 to 2 million km2 or about 85% of land. Leaving this great biodiversity limited to about 1 percent of Earth’s land surface (Primack).
Research
There a little over thirty hotspots now recorded and used for research. A couple other hotspots include the Caribbean Islands, Himalaya, and JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Due to a hotspots great diversity and endemic species, conservation biology
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
and many other sources conduct research in these locations. Research is also needed considering the amount of threatened species in hotspots. Researches have the opportunity to preserve many species along with their habitats within hotspots. Some organizations that use hotspots for research are World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Birdlife International, Conservation International, and World Wildlife Fund. Research is also done on human impacts to the hotspots land and species that reside in them. Hotspots have actually received the most funding in the help save hotspots. Funding has estimated to $750 million accumulated over the past fifteen years. By focusing research on hotspots, many species can be helped at once.
One specific research studies fires impact on vegetation in Northern Ecuador of the Tropical Andes. This locations variety of vegetation includes different forests, land used for agricultural and páramo, or tropical alpine found at 4,500 meters. Páramo, is dominated by grasses but still high in diversity. The article Fire Ecology and Conservation in the High Tropical Andes: Observations from Northern Ecuador, looks at páramo’s ability to withstand disturbances such as fire. The fact that humans have lived in this location for 7,000 years, the páramo has been through fires and grazing. The writer believes policies used to implement fire suppression are not probable or beneficiary to the plants species (Keating). Policies instead should be written up according specific plant species and impact on natives living there. This is a small example of research in the Tropical Andes that could make a big impact to saving diversity.
Further research is also processed on looking into the decrease in avian populations, focusing in hotspots due to its massive diversity. The study focuses in Endemic Bird Areas or EBA in order to understand why they go extinct and possible conservation plans. As of 2003 there was 218 EBA’s with over 30 percent bird species threatened. EBA’s located in hotspots interfere with many human activities leading to habitat loss in 51 percent EBA’s. According to the articles chart, five EBA’s with habitat loss are located in the Tropical Andes. By studying the effect of human activities on EBA’s that are losing avian populations, plans to help the future of other EBA’s is possible. Their results showed if a species has habitat specificity and large in size the chance of extinction increases. Habitat loss will impact those with habitat specificity greatly. Conservation
Conservation ethic
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
goals need to look into human activities and the birdj’s habitat specificity in order to make a positive impact.
An example of research on a specific threatened species in the Tropical Andes is the Tremarctos ornatus, or known as Andean (or spectacled) bears. By capturing two male species, radio collars were attached in order to track and study their habits and movement. The two bears portrayed similar patterns compared to many other bear species. These findings contrasted with the belief of spectacled bears being nocturnal and no change in patterns between seasons because only slight change in temperature. The radio collars proved these spectacled bears to be diurnal. The bears were in motion from sunrise to sunset with periods of rest in-between. There was a small change in level of activity between seasons with an increase during the dry season. Due to the technology of radio collars, hypothesis about the rare spectacle bears in the Tropical Andes were tested. By knowing species habitat and lifestyle, we can better understand and help threatened species.
Rich Diversity
The Tropical Andes is said to be the most diverse hotspots. The journal Nature contained an article by Norman Myers comparing the twenty-five hotspots with land and species in 2000. At the time the Tropical Andes was recorded to have 45,000 plant species with the next closest hotspots recorded to have 25,000 plant species. Actually a sixth of all plant species can reside in the Tropical Andes. Tropical Andes also has the most endemic plant species at 20,000 and the next hotspot contains 15,000. Tropical Andes does have a lot of land compared to other hotspots, but is not the largest. Shows Tropical Andes can provide for biodiversity with diverse landscape.
Many endemic plant and animal species are currently threatened in the Tropical Andes. An example of a threatened plant species is the Andean bromelilad. Andean bromelilad is an endemic plant that takes up to 100 years to mature and a common diet for species that forage. Other plants species include many crops such as tobacco and potatoes. Some endemic animals include the Andean condor
Andean Condor
The Andean Condor is a species of South American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae and is the only member of the genus Vultur...
that almost became extinct from hunting. Thanks to a conservation reintroduction program, their numbers are growing. Another threatened endemic bird in the Tropical Andes is the yellow-eared parrot
Yellow-eared Parrot
The Yellow-eared Parrot , is an endangered parrot of tropical America. It is found in the western Andes in Colombia and Ecuador and is closely associated to the wax palm Ceroxylon sp. which is itself endangered.-Range and habitat:The Yellow-eared Parrot nests and lives among wax palms in a few...
. One threat this species faces is the loss of the vulnerable wax palm. The yellow-eared parrot uses the wax palm for nesting and roosting. However, humans especially in Colombia are removing the vulnerable wax palm from the wild for Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....
. Some conservation programs are helping the situation to educate churches to use other resources besides the vulnerable wax palm. The yellow tailed monkey is another endemic animal being endangered. They are one of the rarest mammals with a recorded population of 250 found in cloud forests of Peru. They are threatened by humans causing habitat loss and fragmentation of their habitat. Their slow maturity and low population densities do not help. Programs have tried to relocate to secondary forests, but attempts have failed. Many species reside in the Tropical Andes but threatened severely.
Threats
There are many threats that Tropical Andes face every day. One of the main threats is human activities especially with the increasing population. Some activities include mining, logging, and construction. Humans also use land for agriculture and keep relocating once the land is used up. Valleys are severely degraded due to humans living there. Hydroelectric dams have also been put in the Tropical Andes and negatively pressured cloud forests. The 25 percent of land that is protected is still poorly managed with little help from the public from lack of education. Invasive species have also been a threat to the Tropical Andes’ land and species, possibly brought in from humans. A couple invasive species include the American bullfrog and certain grasses used for cattle.Humans have the ability to cause habitat loss and habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...
for species. The forest habitats that are threatened in the Tropical Andes are modified and destroyed 30 percent faster than lower tropical areas (Cuervo). Fragmentation causes a separation within species and decreases the diversity of genes. There is the possibility of inbreeding to increase as well. An article also looked at fragmentation causing certain phenotypes to arise in organisms. By studying feathers of 2,500 individual bird species within nine forests, observation showed asymmetry linked with fragmentation. Asymmetry was lowest if the forest continued and highest with small or medium fragmentation. (Cuervo). They suggest asymmetry of bird feathers influenced by the stress of fragmentation and changing environments. That is one outcome from fragmentation in the Tropical Andes.
A study by Niall O’Dea looks at bird communities in general and how habitat degradation impacts them. He compared the bird communities that reside in primary forests, secondary forests, edge habitat and agricultural land, all modified by humans. Most diversity was found in secondary forests and edge habitats but different species. While the agricultural land and primary forest held lowest diversity (O'Dea). This study suggests within Andean montane forests, preserving secondary forests offers most benefit for these threatened birds.
Another serious threat to the Tropical Andes is global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. Global warming is the effect of too many greenhouse gasses trapped in the air that hold in heat. Some locations are increasing in temperature and others decreasing. The change in temperatures has a major effect on the Tropical Andes; some say more negative then deforestation. One serious issue is the melting of the glaciers in the mountains. It is estimated that 80 percent of freshwater comes from mountains and with them melting about half of the Earths population will be affected (Mark). All over the world glaciers are melting, but the mountains in the Tropical Andes are very susceptible. It is said that a quarter of the Tropical Andes glacier has already begun retreating. These glaciers make up many species water supply, and the location could be in crisis if they melt away. Glaciers in the Andes provide two main functions; decrease seasonal discharge variability and provide greater specific discharge (Mark). The article by Bryan Mark, predicts an increase in discharge as glaciers melt with the ability to trace glacier water melting into watersheds using isotopes. (Mark) Global warming can lead to the extinction of many species especially in hotspots. A study done by Jay Malcolm predicts less than 1 percent up to 43 percent of endemic biota will become extinct due to global warming. He also believes the Tropical Andes is in the top six vulnerable hotspots with the possibility of plant extinction exceeding 2000 species (Malcolm).
Global warming is also causing an increase in diseases among amphibians. Considering the Tropical Andes is recorded to have the most amphibians, some restricted to this location, diseases could decrease the diversity greatly. Another other factor, that 400 of the amphibian species are already threatened. These deadly fungi have actually been linked to the extinction of dinosaurs (Associated Press). One chytrid fungus that is infecting amphibians is the batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a chytrid fungus that causes the disease chytridiomycosis. In the decade after it was first discovered in amphibians in 1998, the disease devastated amphibian populations around the world, in a global decline towards multiple extinctions, part of the Holocene...
. This fungus will impair the amphibian’s skin and reduce its ability to absorb. One example of an amphibian in the Tropical Andes is the genus Atelopus
Atelopus
Atelopus, commonly known as harlequin frogs, is a large genus of true toads from Central and South America, ranging as far north as Costa Rica and as far south as Bolivia. Atelopus are small, generally brightly colored and diurnal. Most species are associated with mid- to high-elevation streams...
with 56 of the species Critically Endangered. Due to increase in temperature, the fungus has the ability to spread rapidly and thrive on living amphibians.
A new threat that is becoming researched is the effect from nitrogen deposition. The studies done in Europe have shown diversity among plants decreased due to nitrogen deposition. Current models are estimating what could happen to hotspots across the world if nitrogen deposition keeps increasing. By comparing to past research, nitrogen deposition has already increased 50 percent since the 1990’s. Estimation for the future shows an increase by 100 percent in 2050. Considering the great plant diversity in the Tropical Andes, especially so many endemics, nitrogen deposition could be a sever threat. The decrease in plant diversity could cause a chain reaction on other species that depend on the plants.
These are just few threats the Tropical Andes faces on a daily basis. The impact on the land is shown by a 75 percent decrease from original mass. Species effected are decreasing in numbers and increases the amount of species listed on the Endangered Species Act. It is worse when threatened species are endemic to the Tropical Andes. It is recorded 14 endemic mammals and 110 endemic birds are threatened in the Tropical Andes. Two species from the Tropical Andes have already become extinct.
Help and prevention
As noted before, funding and research goes into hotspots in order to conserve species and land. Key biodiversity areas, locations with a high number of globally threatened species, receive lots attention. By focusing on the diversity in these specific locations, many rare species are given attention to bring their populations back up. Diversity is a key factor to life on earth, and humans cannot survive without it. One important factor is education the public, especially locals, of the importance diversity is. If locals know how species are needed in their lives, they will want to help the cause. One example would be explaining the impacts of global warming on the Andes glaciers affecting their water supply. By decreasing the unnecessary human impacts, species within the Tropical Andes could bounce back. Also, teaching the locals how to reuse the land instead of using up resources and relocating. By using the diversity to their advantage, humans can gain more from the land. Small impacts like these from natives could help diversity in the Tropical Andes greatly.On a bigger scale, many programs are implemented to help diversity. Organizations are taking advantage of the knowledge and ability to rehabilitate species when needed. The Andean condor was an example of a success story. Corridors are also implemented throughout the Tropical Andes. Corridors
Wildlife corridor
A wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities . This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, which may help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity that often occur within...
are used to link up protected or secluded areas. This will allow species to increase gene flow and help with migration. The connection will have a larger impact on the survival of certain species. The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund concentrates on the corridor that runs from Peru to Bolivia called the Vilcabamba-Amboró. The location covers 300,000 km² and overflows with biodiversity. Other corridors that reside in Peru are Santiago-Comaina Reserved Zone, Tabaconas-Namballe National Sanctuary and Cordillera Azul National Park. Then there is the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) conservation program developed by Conservation International and BirdLife International. This program is used to focus on certain areas with high numbers of at-risk birds. An article by Niall O’dea questions the positive effects of IBA in the Tropical Andes. The article reports IBA sites actually increases the human population and does not help at-risk birds. Big scale or small scale, changes needed to be made to decrease threats to increase biodiversity in the Tropical Andes.