Field Notes from Ecuador II: Balancing Rare Species Protections With Rural Livelihoods

A steady rain drenched us head to toe, and as it neared midnight I started to wonder when we would finally head back to camp. The herpetologists, though, were unconcerned with the elements. They scrambled up and down steep muddy slopes in search of reptile and amphibian specimens. In all likelihood, the fruits of their labor would be the discovery of species completely new to science! When the group finally called it quits for the night, the transect had yielded a half dozen frogs, a plump lizard, and a beautiful, non-venomous false coral snake to be documented and photographed.

By |2022-04-21T10:13:01-06:00April 20th, 2022|Corridors and Crossings, International Connectivity, People, Research|Comments Off on Field Notes from Ecuador II: Balancing Rare Species Protections With Rural Livelihoods

Field Notes from Ecuador I: Exploring Connectivity Conservation in a Biodiversity Hotspot

This past weekend, I visited the newly established Parque Nacional Río Negro Sopladora, a national park that covers more than 30,000 hectares of undisturbed habitat in Ecuador, ranging from high peaks at 12,800 feet above sea level eastwards into the humid Amazon basin, at 2,600 ft. A highlight of hiking in this lesser-known park was seeing hours-fresh footprints of mountain tapir and a large cat (my guess is cougar). It was nice to finally get my boots muddy after two weeks in the city, getting situated in the country I will call home for a month and a half.

By |2022-04-21T10:12:36-06:00March 15th, 2022|Corridors and Crossings, International Connectivity, People, Research|Comments Off on Field Notes from Ecuador I: Exploring Connectivity Conservation in a Biodiversity Hotspot
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