SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Globally recognised as one of the world’s most biologically diverse areas, the Chocó region is home to an extraordinary wealth of species - many of which remain largely unstudied. Moreover, due to its’ isolation from the amazon by the Andes mountain range, around 25% of these species are thought to exist in this area alone. Sadly, the forests of the Chocó region are among the most highly exploited in the world, with Ecuador being the worst hit by this destruction. It is thought that as much as 96% of the Ecuadorian Choco has already been lost, with expanding agricultural activity, mining and logging widely regarded as the key driving factors. As one of the few remaining protected forests in this area, Tesoro Escondido provides the ideal location in which to expand our understanding of this region's unique flora and fauna. This knowledge will be invaluable to the development of conservation strategies working towards the protection of this vulnerable area.
Diversity and Evolution of Aculeate Bees and Wasps Along an Altitudinal Gradient
- Rosa Bonifacii
This research examines the aculeate bees and wasps of the Ecuadorian Chocó, with the aim of expanding our current understanding of their diversity, evolution and behaviour. Bees and wasps are considered to be essential ‘keystone species’- as important pollinators they are crucial to the reproductive processes of many forest plants and significant contributors to ecosystem biodiversity. This makes understanding their distribution, diversity and behaviour not only of great scientific interest, but also of utmost importance for conservation efforts. Moreover, with almost unparalleled life-history diversity, this group presents an excellent opportunity to investigate the adaptive value of various life-history characteristics. Recognising the influence of these characteristics on the ability of organisms to cope with different environmental conditions can be a useful tool for predicting their likely sensitivity to global climatic change.
To contact Rosa, you can email her at: r.bonifacii@sussex.ac.uk
Rosa putting out traps
Rosa putting out traps
Ecological and social implication of habitat degradation through soundscape: a study case of the effects on the wildlife and human communities - Paola Moscoso
This research compares measurable patterns in the wildlife acoustic community between sites presenting different degrees of forest degradation. These patterns are: (1) species composition; (2) acoustic niche partitioning and (3) calling coordination within the acoustic community.
Soundscape team in the lab
Soundscape team in the field
Soundscape team after work
Soundscape team in the lab
The acoustic communities of birds and frogs are the main focus of this research. The first pattern will describe the diversity and abundance of species along all habitats; the second will reveal the distribution of frequencies within the acoustic niches of generalist species; and the third will explore the acoustic synchronisation and organisation of the communities within different sites.
Paola is interested in questions such as:
(1) Are there any evident differences in the acoustic communities along habitats?
(2) Is habitat intervention a factor that determines the acoustic community patterns?
(3) Are the communities adapting to habitat change?
For these purposes, Paola has selected three research sites in the Ecuadorian Chocó, with differing levels of forest degradation: from a pristine rainforest that harbours healthy animal populations in Tesoro Escondido, up to a palm oil plantation located in a small town in Puerto Quito.
Furthermore, Paola will include an analysis of human perception of soundscape across social groups with differing proximity to natural landscapes. She is interested in answering how the relationship between soundscape and emotions is constructed under cultural and habitat shift.
To contact Paola, you can email her at: p.moscoso@sussex.ac.uk