Although the Andes have long been occupied by people, and therefore are considered cultural landscapes, habitat loss and fragmentation through deforestation and human development has been severe during the past century. Recent research estimates that 80 to 95% of the native habitats in the Andean highlands have been converted already to other uses. Improved knowledge about the persistence of species not only in natural vegetation remnants but also along the gradient of habitats disturbed by human activities will greatly increase the scientific foundation for conservation in landscapes dominated by human activities. Given current human population growth, protected areas are unlikely to save more than a tiny fraction of biodiversity because they are too small, isolated and undergoing natural and anthropogenic change. In the short term, persistence of biodiversity in the Ecuadorian Andes will depend on the conservation of human dominated lands. The conservation value of human modified landscapes will be critical for increasing the area, connectivity, and range of conditions represented in protected areas.

 

In this context, I am documenting the distribution patterns of mammalian carnivores (páramo fox, Lycalopex culpaeus; puma, Puma concolor; pampas cat, Leopardus pajeros; striped hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus semistriatus; long-tailed weasel, Mustela frenata; Colombian weasel, Mustela felipei; mountain coati, Nasuella olivacea; Neotropical river otter, Lontra longicaudis; and spectacled bear, Tremarctos ornatus) along a gradient of human disturbance in the Ecuadorian Andes, to determine which habitat variables influence occurrence of these carnivores in a fragmented landscape, and to determine whether there are thresholds in these habitat variables beyond which carnivore occurrence declines markedly. In addition, I am examining how landscape structure affects fine-scale movement of carnivore species and determine whether species that differ in habitat specialization traits respond to landscape structure similarly in this system. Several of these species, such as the spectacled bear, the mountain coati, and Colombian weasel, are endemic to the Northern Andes and are listed as endangered species.

 

Carnivores were selected because little is known about how they respond to landscape change in Ecuador, and because the suite of species inhabiting the Tropical Andes is probably the least known group of Neotropical mammalian species. In addition, carnivores are thought to be particularly vulnerable to local extinction in fragmented landscapes because of their relatively large ranges, low numbers, and direct persecution by humans. The decline and extirpation of these predators from Andean habitats also may generate trophic cascades that alter the structure of the entire ecological community. Thus, carnivores can serve as useful tools for the study of ecological disturbances and for conservation planning in the Andean environment.

 

This project has the support of Proyecto Páramo Andino, The Compton Foundation, The Program for Studies in Tropical Conservation, The Amazon Conservation Leadership Initiative, The Tropical and Conservation Development Program, and the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.

CURRENT PROJECTS

RESPONSES OF MAMMALIAN CARNIVORES TO HUMAN DISTURBANCE IN THE NORTHERN ECUADORIAN ANDES