The structure and organization of an Amazonian bird community remains little changed after nearly four decades

Documenting patterns of spatio-temporal change in hyper-diverse communities remains a challenge for tropical ecology, yet is increasingly urgent as some long-term studies have shown major declines in bird communities even in relatively undisturbed sites. In 1982, Terborgh et al. quantified the structure and organization of the bird community in a 97-ha. plot in southeastern Peru. We revisited the same plot in 2018 and repeated the same intense combination of methodologies as the original study in order to evaluate community-wide changes. Contrary to the results from studies elsewhere, we found little change in bird distribution and abundance within the plot, although there were some declines related to loss of mixed-species flocks with a high level of species interdependence. This apparent stability suggests that large-scale forest reserves such as Manu National Park may provide the conditions necessary for establishing refugia from at least some of the effects of global change on birds.

Efecto distancia en la disposición a pagar por la conservación de la biodiversidad: el caso de un área protegida megadiversa

This research addresses the case of Manu National Park (PNM) in Peru, one of the most biodiverse protected areas worldwide. Applying the choice experiments (CE) method, based on 1.164 surveys in this country, the positive decay effect on the willingness to pay (WTP) was determined for the conservation of the PNM, at least for most of the attributes analyzed. This suggests that in cases of megadiverse areas, WTP for conservation may not be inversely related to the interviewee’s distance since the effect of biodiversity conservation interest would exceed the effect of disinterest associated with distance.

Trapped in nature: discourses on humanity in processes of environmental naturalization

<p>The naturalization of protected areas is based on the discursive redefinition of both the environment and the social actors that inhabit it. This article studies how, within the processes associated with the creation and management of protected areas, discourses are generated that define humanity in relation to nature and its effects on access to resources and power relations. These processes are analyzed on the basis of a comparative ethnographic case study of El Manu National Park (Amazon, Peru) and the Galapagos National Park (Ecuador). Finally, it is concluded that discourses on humanity are instrumental in the processes for legitimizing or delegitimizing the role played by locals within protected areas, depending on attributed proximity or distance of humans to nature.</p><p><strong>Key words</strong>: nature, naturalization, humans, discourse, protected areas, Amazon, Galapagos</p><p> </p>

Pristimantis antisuyu sp. n. and Pristimantis erythroinguinis sp. n., two new species of terrestrial-breeding frogs (Anura, Strabomantidae) from the eastern slopes of the Andes in Manu National Park, Peru

We describe two new species of Pristimantis from the Kosñipata valley in the eastern slopes of the Andes near Manu National Park, Peru. The two new species are closely related but do not overlap elevationally: P. antisuyu sp. n. occurs from 1485–1823 m a.s.l., whereas P. erythroinguinis sp. n. occurs from 930–1255 m a.s.l. Both species are readily distinguished from all other species of Pristimantis but P. cruciocularis and P. flavobracatus by possessing an iris with a cruciform pattern, no tympanum, and red bright or yellow coloration on groin. We used a Maximum Likelihood approach to infer a molecular phylogeny on a dataset composed of 27 terminals and 903 bp of the concatenated 16S rRNA and COI mitochondrial fragments. Our phylogenetic analyses indicate that, despite differing in groin coloration from red to yellow, individuals of P. cruciocularis and P. flavobracatus form a single clade, and some specimens have identical 16S sequences. Therefore, we synonymize P. flavobracatus with P. cruciocularis. The two unnamed species are closely related to P. cruciocularis. Pristimantis antisuyu sp. n. differs from P. cruciocularis and P. erythroinguinis sp. n. by having smaller yellow spots, instead of extensive red coloration, on groin and hind limbs, by being larger with proportionally longer tibias, and by having an inner metatarsal tubercle three times the size of outer metatarsal tubercle (twice as long in the other two species). Pristimantis erythroinguinis sp. n., despite having coloration very similar to P. cruciocularis, is the sister taxon to both P. antisuyu sp. n. and P. cruciocularis, and can be distinguished from the latter by having much darker ventral coloration, and no cream or yellow spots on flanks and surrounding the red inguinal marks.

Tree ferns dominate secondary succession in abandoned pineapple plantations around Manu National Park, Peru

Habitat management and restoration in buffer zones of national parks is critical for maintaining ecosystem services and biological connectivity in and around the parks’ core protected areas. Vegetation succession in abandoned plantations in buffer zones may take different paths that reach climax ecosystems in more or less time depending on the conditions of initial succession, thus enhancing or hindering biological connectivity and ecosystem services. This study documents the dominance of tree ferns in the initial stages of vegetation succession on abandoned pineapple plantations on the Andean foothills around Manu National Park, Peru, and discusses the role it may have on ecosystem restoration. Four years after abandonment, tree fern gametophytes grow under the shade of pineapple plants and melastomes. After 6-10 years of succession, the vegetation is dominated by a tree fern community composed of at least eight species, of which the most common are by far Cyathea delgadii and Cyathea microdonta. Cyathea microdonta functions as a short-lived pioneer, reaching its peak of live stem density in 6 to10 years and dying off in older plots. Cyathea delgadii, on the other hand, continues to grow and persists beyond 10 years of succession. Areas adjacent to abandoned pineapple fields have few tree ferns and higher tree species diversity, suggesting that pineapple agriculture and the resulting tree fern community may be a longer pathway to reach climax vegetation stages than other types of plantation.

Tree ferns dominate secondary succession in abandoned pineapple plantations around Manu National Park, Peru

Habitat management and restoration in buffer zones of national parks is critical for maintaining ecosystem services and biological connectivity in and around the parks’ core protected areas. Vegetation succession in abandoned plantations in buffer zones may take different paths that reach climax ecosystems in more or less time depending on the conditions of initial succession, thus enhancing or hindering biological connectivity and ecosystem services. This study documents the dominance of tree ferns in the initial stages of vegetation succession on abandoned pineapple plantations on the Andean foothills around Manu National Park, Peru, and discusses the role it may have on ecosystem restoration. Four years after abandonment, tree fern gametophytes grow under the shade of pineapple plants and melastomes. After 6-10 years of succession, the vegetation is dominated by a tree fern community composed of at least eight species, of which the most common are by far Cyathea delgadii and Cyathea microdonta. Cyathea microdonta functions as a short-lived pioneer, reaching its peak of live stem density in 6 to10 years and dying off in older plots. Cyathea delgadii, on the other hand, continues to grow and persists beyond 10 years of succession. Areas adjacent to abandoned pineapple fields have few tree ferns and higher tree species diversity, suggesting that pineapple agriculture and the resulting tree fern community may be a longer pathway to reach climax vegetation stages than other types of plantation.

Giant otters: using knowledge of life history for conservation

The giant otter is an endangered South American carnivore with a facultatively cooperative social system that may be affected by local ecology. This chapter synthesises demographic data arising from a 16 year study of a population inhabiting patchily distributed and resource-rich oxbow lakes in the floodplain of Manu National Park, in the Department of Madre de Dios, Peru. It explores how giant otter group size and composition relates to territory size, and how reproductive success is affected by territory quality. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the implications of these findings for giant otter conservation in southeastern Peru, in the face of increased human/giant otter conflict; tourism; and mining, logging and agricultural pressures, and highlights the need for a giant otter habitat conservation corridor along the Madre de Dios River.

The threat of road expansion in the Peruvian Amazon

The construction of roads and other large-scale infrastructure projects, and the secondary impacts they precipitate, are among the key drivers of change in tropical forests. The proposed expansion of a road in the buffer zones of Peru's Manu National Park and Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, in the country's Amazon region, threatens biodiversity and indigenous communities in one of the world's most species-rich and environmentally sensitive rainforest areas. In particular, road expansion is likely to result in uncontrolled colonization, deforestation, and the illicit extraction of timber and other natural resources, as well as an increase in social conflict between resource extractors and indigenous communities. Furthermore, the development of infrastructure in the Manu region puts at risk Peru's international commitments regarding climate change by promoting, rather than avoiding, forest loss. A number of viable alternatives to further road expansion are available to achieve economic development and improved mobility in Manu, including agricultural intensification, improved land-use planning, and a less invasive transportation infrastructure. Given the growth in the global road network expected in the coming decades, as well as the common factors underlying the expansion of such infrastructure across tropical, developing countries, the issues surrounding road expansion in Manu and the compromise solutions that we propose are broadly applicable to efforts to achieve sustainable development in other remote, tropical regions.