Conservación Amazónica - ACCA

Annual Research Report

2017

Research and education are essential parts of
ACCA’s mission. During 2017, we continued
to support scientific research in our biological
stations and motivate students and young
researchers to perform their projects and earn
capacities for conservation. Furthermore, we
share all the information produced with other
organizations and government agencies, so
it can be used in establishing conservation
actions that will assure the protection of the
Andes Amazon basin.
O U R B I O L O G I C A L S TAT I O N S
Our biological stations are located on an
altitudinal gradient from the Andes to the
Amazon of southeastern Peru (Figure 1).
Furthermore, they are within the buffer zone
of Manu National Park and are very important
to maintain the biodiversity of this area.
From Wayqecha Biological Station located in
the cloud forest going through Villa Carmen
located in the foothills of the Andes-Amazon
and finally Los Amigos in the Amazon lowlands.
Each station is surrounded by pristine forests of
high conservation and biological value, making
them ideal places to carry out studies on a
grand geographic scale.
Figure 1. ACCA’s biological stations are located in an
altitudinal gradient from the Andes to the Amazon
Wayqecha Cloud Forest Biological Station is
located at an altitude of 3,200 meters above sea
level. It has over 580 hectares and has the status of
a Private Natural Protected Area recognized by the
Peruvian Park Service. The station is surrounded
by cloud forest, scrub forest, and grasslands.
Villa Carmen Biological Station is located in the
lower basin of the Piñipiñi River between the
foothills of the Andes and the beginning of the
Amazon lowlands. The station sits at an altitude of
1200 masl and has an area of over 3,060 hectares.
Indigenous Andean and Amazonian communities
live adjacent to the station.
Los Amigos Biological Station, established in the
Amazon plains of the Madre de Dios region, is
managed jointly with the Los Amigos Conservation
Concession (LACC). LACC comprises 145,965
hectares of primary forest that connect Manu
National Park to the Tambopata National Reserve,
forming a large natural corridor. It also borders
the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve, which
protects indigenous people in voluntary isolation
(PIACI, by the Spanish acronym) from the Mashco
Piro community. This station has three principal
terrestrial habitats: lowland forest, floodplains,
and wetlands.
 RESEARCH OVERVIEW T R A I N I N G T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N O F
C O N S E R VAT I O N S C I E N T I S T S

Since 2000, almost 500 research projects have taken
place in our biological stations. These projects contribute
with the knowledge of tropical biology and ecology and
impacts of climate change and possible conservation
actions. In 2017, 32 research projects are taking place
in our biological stations. Dr. Dan Metcalfe (from Lund
University) continues to research the importance of
cloud for tropical cloud forest biodiversity, hydrology
and carbons sequestration with the construction
of an experiment to isolate forest patches from fog
that have caught major media attention. This project
will give important information about the effects
of climate change on cloud forest. Furthermore, Dr.
Timothy Russel (from RAINFOR) assessed the forest in
order to understand their resilience to climate change.
In addition, the Andean bear is the main subject of a
study conducted by Dr. Russell Van Horn (San Diego
Zoo Institute for Conservation Research) that seeks to
understand its ecology and behavior in southeast Peru.
Also the susceptibility of amphibians to climate change
and diseases has been assessed by different researchers
such as Meredith Miles and Michael Britton. Finally,
during 2017 a total of 36 scientific publications were
published in peer-reviewed journals by researchers
from different organizations that performed studies at
our biological stations.
Supporting the next generation of conservationist and
tropical researchers has always been one of the main
goals of ACCA. During 2017, twelve Peruvian students
and young researchers received scholarships funded by
EROL foundation. Emilio Bonifaz, Teresa Noningo, Emmy
Medina, Jesús Lescano, Kevin Loayza, Daniel Calderón-
Urquizo, Francisco Vasquez, Luz Arqqe, Italo Treviño,
Paloma Ordoñez, Liliana Quispe and Maryzender
Rodriguez received these scholarships to develop their
scientific projects in our biological stations.
At Los Amigos, Bonifaz and Noningo are assessing the
impacts of mining on small non-flying mammals and the
seed dispersal capacity of bats and birds. In addition,
Medina is studying the diversity of dragonflies and
damselflies, and Lescano evaluating the prevalence of
antibodies against bacteria that produce Weil’s disease
(Leptospira spp.) in the Titi Monkeys populations of Los
Amigos.
In Villa Carmen, our biological station that used to be
a farm, Loayza is using satellite imagery to evaluate
the forest recovery. Furthermore, Calderón-Urquizo
is studying the dung beetle communities at different

land-use types to understand the impact of agricultural
activities on biodiversity, and Vasquez is recording the
Dawn chorus (i.e., when birds sing at the start of a new
day) to assess the impacts produced by changes on the
bird’s habitats. Finally, Arqqe is evaluating the diversity
and altitudinal distribution of the Marantaceae plant
family.
At Wayqecha located in the Cloud Forest, Treviño is
studying Myxomicetes and Ordoñez is assessing the
prevalence of haemosporid parasites (that cause avian
malaria) on the bird community of the station. Moreover,
Quispe is evaluating the mutualistic interaction between
plants and humming birds. Finally, Rodriguez is assessing
the impact of human activities (especially cattle ranching)
on the insects communities of Wayqecha and at the
moment she is formally describing two new species of
rove beetles found during her field work at the station.
These projects will increase our knowledge about
our tropical biodiversity and will provide valuable
information to implement conservation measures to
protect the amazing biodiversity of the Andes Amazon.
Furthermore, we are sure that this opportunity will
help these students and researchers to advance their
professional careers in conservation and tropical biology.
FIELD COURSES
ACCA continues to host and support field courses in
our biological stations. The privilege location of our
stations, following the altitudinal gradient from the
Andes to the Amazon, provide the perfect setting
to learn about tropical ecology and biodiversity.
Moreover, the presence of current environmental
issues in the areas where the stations are located (such
as cattle-ranching, agricultural expansion and gold
mining) and the efforts done by ACCA to address these
problems allow students to learn about conservation
on the field. During 2017, 240 students from 19
different field courses were hosted in our biological
stations. Instructors of well-known institutions such as
the University of Vancouver, Aberystwyth University,
Wake Forest University, University of Michigan,
Field Projects International among others, led these
courses. The main topics of these courses were tropical
ecology, tropical biology, herpetology, primatology,
ornithology and conservation. Our biological stations
were the perfect setting for these amazing courses and
were perfect living labs for the students to see and
experiment everything they learned. This way, ACCA
continues to support and motivate the next generation
of conservationists.

SCIENTIFIC
P U B L I C AT I O N S
IN 2017
We present the abstract of the 36
publications produced during 2017 of
research conducted in ACCA’s biological
stations.
BIRDS
D O T H E R M O R E G U L AT O R Y C O S T S L I M I T A LT I T U D E
DISTRIBUTIONS OF ANDEAN FOREST BIRDS?
Along tropical mountains, species often occupy narrow
altitude ranges. Numerous biotic and abiotic factors
have been proposed as determinants of altitude
occupancy.
We measured several aspects of thermal physiology of
215 bird species across a 2.6-km altitude gradient in the
Peruvian Andes. We predicted that highland species
would show adaptation to the colder high-altitude
climate and that energy costs of thermoregulation
might limit upslope dispersal of lowland natives.
We found reductions in thermal conductance, body
temperature and lower critical temperature in highland
birds compared with lowland species. These combine
to make highland natives more resistant to heat
loss. We did not find convincing evidence that acute
thermal limits or energy costs of thermoregulation
constrained altitude distributions. Heat-budget
models predicted low-to-moderate long-term costs at
native altitudes. Costs increased for lowland natives
modelled in the highland climate, but for all but a few
species, costs remained within putative expenditure
limits. Although we did not test heat tolerances, we
measured all species at temperatures similar to the
hottest air temperatures at the lowland site. There was
no evidence that high lowland temperatures preclude
downslope movements of highland birds. While
thermal tolerances probably do not directly determine
altitude occupancy by most species, the additional
energy cost of thermoregulation experienced by
lowland species moving upslope may trade off against
investment in important life-history components such
as breeding, and thereby affect altitude range limits.
Londoño, G. A., Chappell, M. A., Jankowski, J. E., & Robinson, S. K.
(2017). Do thermoregulatory costs limit altitude distributions of
Andean forest birds? Functional Ecology 31(1): 204-215
 Carbon/ Nutrient/ Water cycles Carbon/ Nutrient/ Water cycles

N U T R I E N T L I M I TAT I O N S T O B A C T E R I A L A N D F U N G A L M I X I N G A S A D R I V E R O F T E M P O R A L VA R I AT I O N S I N R I V E R
GROWTH DURING CELLULOSE DECOMPOSITION IN H Y D R O C H E M I S T R Y. P A R T 2 : M A J O R A N D T R A C E E L E M E N T
TROPICAL FOREST SOILS C O N C E N T R AT I O N D Y N A M I C S I N T H E A N D E S ‐ A M A Z O N T R A N S I T I O N

Nutrients constrain the soil carbon cycle in tropical
forests, but we lack knowledge on how these constraints
vary within the soil microbial community. Here, we
used in situ fertilization in a montane tropical forest
and in two lowland tropical forests on contrasting soil
types to test the principal hypothesis that there are
different nutrient constraints to different groups of
microorganisms during the decomposition of cellulose.
We also tested the hypotheses that decomposers shift
from nitrogen to phosphorus constraints from montane
to lowland forests, respectively, and are further
constrained by potassium and sodium deficiency in the
western Amazon. Cellulose and nutrients (nitrogen,
phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and combined) were
added to soils in situ, and microbial growth on cellulose
(phospholipid fatty acids and ergosterol) and respiration
were measured. Microbial growth on cellulose after
single nutrient additions was highest following nitrogen
addition for fungi, suggesting nitrogen as the primary
limiting nutrient for cellulose decomposition. This was
observed at all sites, with no clear shift in nutrient
constraints to decomposition between lowland and
montane sites. We also observed positive respiration
and fungal growth responses to sodium and potassium
addition at one of the lowland sites. However, when
phosphorus was added, and especially when added
in combination with other nutrients, bacterial growth
was highest, suggesting that bacteria out-compete
fungi for nitrogen where phosphorus is abundant.
In summary, nitrogen constrains fungal growth and
cellulose decomposition in both lowland and montane
tropical forest soils, but additional nutrients may also
be of critical importance in determining the balance
between fungal and bacterial decomposition of
cellulose.
Nottingham, A.T., Hicks, L.C., Ccahuana, A.J.Q. et al. Biol Fertil
Soils (2017). Nutrient limitations to bacterial and fungal growth
during cellulose decomposition in tropical forest soils. Biology and
Fertility of soils 54(2): 219-228Andean forest birds? Functional
Ecology 31(1): 204-215
The response of hillslope processes to changes in
precipitation may drive the observed changes in
the solute geochemistry of rivers with discharge.
This conjecture is most robust when variations in
the key environmental factors that affect hillslope
processes (e.g., lithology, erosion rate, and climate)
are minimal across a river’s catchment area. For rivers
with heterogenous catchments, temporal variations
in the relative contributions of different tributary
subcatchments may modulate variations in solute
geochemistry with runoff. In the absence of a dense
network of hydrologic gauging stations, alternative
approaches are required to distinguish between the
different drivers of temporal variability in river solute
concentrations. In this contribution, we apportion
the water and solute fluxes of a reach of the Madre
de Dios River (Peru) between its four major tributary
subcatchments during two sampling campaigns (wet
and dry seasons) using spatial variations in conservative
tracers. Guided by the results of a mixing model, we
identify temporal variations in solute concentrations of
the main stem Madre de Dios that are due to changes in
the relative contributions of each tributary. Our results
suggest that variations in tributary mixing are, in part,
responsible for the observed concentration‐discharge
(C‐Q) relationships. The implications of these results are
further explored by reanalyzing previously published
C‐Q data from this region, developing a theoretical
model of tributary mixing, and, in a companion paper,
comparing the C‐Q behavior of a suite of major and
trace elements in the Madre de Dios River system.
Baronas, J. J., Torres, M. A., Clark, K. E., & West, A. J. (2017).
Mixing as a driver of temporal variations in river hydrochemistry.
Part 2: Major and trace element concentration dynamics in the
Andes‐Amazon transition. Water Resources Research. https://
doi.org/10.1002/2016WR019733
 Carbon/ Nutrient/ Water cycles
COMPLEX CONTROLS ON NITROUS OXIDE FLUX ACROSS A LONG
E L E VAT I O N G R A D I E N T I N T H E T R O P I C A L P E R U V I A N A N D E S
Current bottom–up process models suggest that
montane tropical ecosystems are weak atmospheric
sources of N2O, although recent empirical studies from
the southern Peruvian Andes have challenged this
idea. Here we report N2O flux from combined field and
laboratory experiments that investigated the process-
based controls on N2O flux from montane ecosystems
across a large-elevation gradient (600–3700 m a.s.l.)
in the southern Peruvian Andes. Nitrous oxide flux
and environmental variables were quantified in four
major habitats (premontane forest, lower montane
forest, upper montane forest and montane grassland)
at monthly intervals over a 30-month period from
January 2011 to June 2013. The role of soil moisture
content in regulating N2O flux was investigated
through a manipulative, laboratory-based 15N-tracer
experiment. The role of substrate availability (labile
organic matter, NO3−) in regulating N2O flux was
examined through a field-based litter-fall manipulation
experiment and a laboratory-based 15N–NO3− addition
study, respectively. Ecosystems in this region were net
atmospheric sources of N2O, with an unweighted mean
flux of 0.27 ± 0.07 mg N–N2O m−2 d−1. Weighted
extrapolations, which accounted for differences in
land surface area among habitats and variations
in flux between seasons, predicted a mean annual
flux of 1.27 ± 0.33 kg N2O–N ha−1 yr−1. Nitrous
oxide flux was greatest from premontane forest,
with an unweighted mean flux of 0.75 ± 0.18 mg N–
N2O m−2 d−1, translating to a weighted annual flux
of 0.66 ± 0.16 kg N2O–N ha−1 yr−1. In contrast, N2O
flux was significantly lower in other habitats. The
unweighted mean fluxes for lower montane forest,
montane grasslands, and upper montane forest were
0.46 ± 0.24 mg N–N2O m−2 d−1, 0.07 ± 0.08 mg N–
N2O m−2 d−1, and 0.04 ± 0.07 mg N–N2O m−2 d−1,
respectively.
Carbon/ Nutrient/ Water cycles
This corresponds to weighted annual
fluxes of 0.52 ± 0.27 kg N2O–N ha−1 yr−1,
0.05 ± 0.06 kg N2O–N ha−1 yr−1, and
0.04 ± 0.07 kg N2O–N ha−1 yr−1, respectively. Nitrous
oxide flux showed weak seasonal variation across the
region; only lower montane forest showed significantly
higher N2O flux during the dry season compared to
wet season. Manipulation of soil moisture content in
the laboratory indicated that N2O flux was significantly
influenced by changes in water-filled pore space
(WFPS). The relationship between N2O flux and
WFPS was complex and non-linear, diverging from
theoretical predictions of how WFPS relates to N2O
flux. Nitrification made a negligible contribution to N2O
flux, irrespective of soil moisture content, indicating
that nitrate reduction was the dominant source of
N2O. Analysis of the pooled data indicated that N2O
flux was greatest at 90 and 50 % WFPS, and lowest
at 70 and 30 % WFPS. This trend in N2O flux suggests
a complex relationship between WFPS and nitrate-
reducing processes (i.e. denitrification, dissimilatory
nitrate reduction to ammonium). Changes in labile
organic matter inputs, through the manipulation of
leaf litter-fall, did not alter N2O flux. Comprehensive
analysis of field and laboratory data demonstrated that
variations in NO3− availability strongly constrained
N2O flux. Habitat – a proxy for NO3− availability under
field conditions – was the best predictor for N2O
flux, with N-rich habitats (premontane forest, lower
montane forest) showing significantly higher N2O flux
than N-poor habitats (upper montane forest, montane
grassland). Yet, N2O flux did not respond to short-term
changes in NO3− concentration.
Diem, T., Morley, N. J., Ccahuana, A. J., Hauraca Quispe, L. P., Baggs,
E., Meir, P., Richards, M.I.A., Smith, P. & Teh, A. Y. (2017). Complex
controls on nitrous oxide flux across a long elevation gradient in
the tropical Peruvian Andes. Biogeosciences 14: 5077-5097
 Carbon/ Nutrient/ Water cycles Carbon/ Nutrient/ Water cycles

EROSION OF ORGANIC CARBON FROM THE ANDES AND ITS EFFECTS T H E VA R I AT I O N O F P R O D U C T I V I T Y A N D I T S A L L O C AT I O N A L O N G

ON ECOSYSTEM CARBON DIOXIDE BALANCE A T R O P I C A L E L E VAT I O N G R A D I E N T: A W H O L E C A R B O N B U D G E T
PERSPECTIVE

Productive forests of the Andes are subject to
high erosion rates that supply to the Amazon
River sediment and carbon from both recently
photosynthesized biomass and geological sources.
Despite this recognition, the source and discharge
of particulate organic carbon (POC) in Andean Rivers
remain poorly constrained. We collected suspended
sediments from the Kosñipata River, Peru, over 1 year
at two river gauging stations. Carbon isotopes (14C,
13C, and 12C) and nitrogen to organic carbon ratios
of the suspended sediments suggest a mixture of
POC from sedimentary rocks (POCpetro) and from the
terrestrial biosphere (POCbiosphere). The majority of
the POCbiosphere has a composition similar to surface
soil horizons, and we estimate that it is mostly younger
than 850 14C years. The suspended sediment yield in
2010 was 3500 ± 210 t km−2 yr−1, >10 times the yield
from the Amazon Basin. The POCbiosphere yield was
12.6 ± 0.4 t C km−2 yr−1and the POCpetro yield was
16.1 ± 1.4 t C km−2 yr−1, mostly discharged in the wet
season (December to March) during flood events.
The river POCbiosphere discharge is large enough to
play a role in determining whether Andean forests
are a source or sink of carbon dioxide. The estimated
erosional discharge of POCpetro from the Andes is much
larger (~1 Mt C yr−1) than the POCpetro discharge by
the Madeira River downstream in the Amazon Basin,
suggesting that oxidation of POCpetro counters CO2
drawdown by silicate weathering. The flux and fate of
Andean POCbiosphere and POCpetro need to be better
constrained to fully understand the carbon budget of
the Amazon River basin.
Clark, K. E., Hilton, R. G., West, A. J., Robles Caceres, A., Gröcke,
D. R., Marthews, T. R., Ferguson, R.I. & Y. Malhi. (2017). Erosion of
organic carbon from the Andes and its effects on ecosystem carbon
dioxide balance. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences.
doi 10.1002/2016JG003615
Why do forest productivity and biomass decline with
elevation? To address this question, research to date
generally has focused on correlative approaches
describing changes in woody growth and biomass with
elevation.We present a novel, mechanistic approach
to this question by quantifying the autotrophic carbon
budget in 16 forest plots along a 3300 m elevation
transect in Peru.
Low growth rates at high elevations appear primarily
driven by low gross primary productivity (GPP), with little
shift in either carbon use efficiency (CUE) or allocation
of net primary productivity (NPP) between wood, fine
roots and canopy. The lack of trend in CUE implies
that the proportion of photosynthate allocated to
autotrophic respiration is not sensitive to temperature.
Rather than a gradual linear decline in productivity,
there is some limited but nonconclusive evidence
of a sharp transition in NPP between submontane
and montane forests, which may be caused by cloud
immersion effects within the cloud forest zone. Leaf-
level photosynthetic parameters do not decline with
elevation, implying that nutrient limitation does not
restrict photosynthesis at high elevations.
Our data demonstrate the potential of whole carbon
budget perspectives to provide a deeper understanding
of controls on ecosystem functioning and carbon
cycling.
Malhi, Y., Girardin, C. A., Goldsmith, G. R., Doughty, C. E., Salinas,
N., Metcalfe, D.B., Huaraca Huasco, W., Silva-Espejo,... & Silman,
M. (2017). The variation of productivity and its allocation along a
tropical elevation gradient: a whole carbon budget perspective.
New Phytologist 214(3): 1019-1032
 Carbon/ Nutrient/ Water cycles
NO LONG-TERM EFFECT OF LAND-USE ACTIVITIES ON SOIL CARBON
D Y N A M I C S I N T R O P I C A L M O N TA N E G R A S S L A N D S
Montane tropical soils are a large carbon (C)
reservoir, acting as both a source and a sink of CO2.
Enhanced CO2 emissions originate, in large part,
from the decomposition and losses of soil organic
matter (SOM) following anthropogenic disturbances.
Therefore, quantitative knowledge of the stabilization
and decomposition of SOM is necessary in order to
understand, assess and predict the impact of land
management in the tropics. In particular, labile SOM is
an early and sensitive indicator of how SOM responds to
changes in land use and management practices, which
could have major implications for long term carbon
storage and rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations.
The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts
of grazing and fire history on soil C dynamics in the
Peruvian montane grasslands; an understudied
ecosystem, which covers approximately a quarter of
the land area in Peru. A combination of density and
particle-size fractionation was used to quantify the labile
and stable organic matter pools, along with soil CO2
flux and decomposition measurements. Grazing and
burning together significantly increased soil CO2 fluxes
and decomposition rates and reduced temperature
as a driver. Although there was no significant effect
of land use on total soil C stocks, the combination of
burning and grazing decreased the proportion of C in
the free LF, especially at the lower depths (10-20 and
20-30 cm).
The free LF in the control soils made 20 % of the bulk
soil mass and 30 % of the soil C content compared to the
burnt- grazed soils, which had the smallest recovery of
free LF (10 %) and significantly lower C content (14 %).
The burnt soils had a much higher proportion of C in
the occluded LF (12%) compared to the non-burnt soils
(7%) and there was no significant difference among
the treatments in the heavy F (~70%). The synergistic
effect of burning and grazing caused changes to the
Carbon/ Nutrient/ Water cycles
soil C dynamics. CO2 fluxes were increased and Oliver, V., Oliveras, I., Kala, J., Lever, R., & Teh, Y. A. (2017). No
the dominant temperature driver was obscured by long-term effect of land-use activities on soil carbon dynamics in
tropical montane grasslands. Biogeosciences Discussions
some other process, such as changes in plant C and
N allocation promoting autotrophic respiration. In
addition, the free LF was negatively affected when
these two anthropogenic activities took place on the
same site. Most likely a result of reduced detritus
being incorporated into the soil. A positive finding
from this study is that the total soil C stocks were
not significantly affected and the long term C storage
in the occluded LF and heavy F were not negatively
impacted. Possibly this is because of low intensity fire,
fire-resilient grasses and the grazing pressure is below
the threshold to cause severe degradation.
 Carbon/ Nutrient/ Water cycles
N E O T R O P I C A L P E AT L A N D M E T H A N E E M I S S I O N S A L O N G A
V E G E TAT I O N A N D B I O G E O C H E M I C A L G R A D I E N T
Tropical wetlands are thought to be the most important
source of interannual variability in atmospheric
methane (CH4) concentrations, yet sparce data prevents
them from being incorporated into Earth system
models. This problem is particularly pronounce in the
neotropics where bottom-up models based on water
table depth are incongruent with top-down inversion
models suggesting unaccounted sinks or sources of
CH4. The newly documented vast areas of peatlands
in the Amazon basin may account for an important
unrecognized CH4 source, but the hydrological and
biogemichal controls of CH4 dynamics from these
systems remain poorly understoof.
We studied three zones of peatland in Madre de Dios,
Peru, to test whether CH4 emissions and pore water
concentrations varied with vegetation community, soil
chemistry and proximity to groundwater sources.We
found that the open-canopy herbaceous zone emitted
roughly one-third as much CH4 as the Mauritia flexuosa
palm-dominated areas (4.7 ± 0.9 and 14.0 ± 2.4 mg
CH4 m-2 h-1, respectively). Emissions decreased with
distance from groundwater discharge across the three
sampling sites, and tracked changes in soil carbon
chemistry, especially increased soil phenolics. Based
on all available data, we calculate that neotropical
peatlands contribute emissions of 43 ± 11.9 Tg CH4
y-1, however this estimate is subject to geographic
bias and will need revision once additional studies are
published.
Winton, R.S., Flanagan N. & Richardson, C.J. (2017). Neotropical
peatland methane emissions along a vegetation and
biogeochemical gradient. PLoS ONE 12(10):e0187019
Carbon/ Nutrient/ Water cycles
A LT I T U D E E F F E C T O N L E A F WA X C A R B O N I S O T O P I C C O M P O S I T I O N
IN HUMID TROPICAL FORESTS
The carbon isotopic composition of plant leaf
wax biomarkers is commonly used to reconstruct
paleoenvironmental conditions. Adding to the
limited calibration information available for modern
tropical forests, we analyzed plant leaf and leaf wax
carbon isotopic compositions in forest canopy trees
across a highly biodiverse, 3.3 km elevation gradient
on the eastern flank of the Andes Mountains. We
sampled the dominant tree species and assessed
their relative abundance in each tree community. In
total, 405 sunlit canopy leaves were sampled across
129 species and nine forest plots along the elevation
profile for bulk leaf and leaf wax n-alkane (C27–C33)
concentration and carbon isotopic analyses (δ13C);
a subset (76 individuals, 29 species, five forest plots)
were additionally analyzed for n-alkanoic acid (C22–
C32) concentrations and δ13C. δ13C values display
trends of +0.87 ± 0.16‰ km−1 (95% CI, r2 = 0.96, p <
0.01) for bulk leaves and +1.45 ± 0.33‰ km−1 (95%
CI, r2 = 0.94, p < 0.01) for C29n-alkane, the dominant
chain length. These carbon isotopic gradients are
defined in multi-species sample sets and corroborated
in a widespread genus and several families, suggesting
the biochemical response to environment is robust
to taxonomic turnover. We calculate fractionations
and compare to adiabatic gradients, environmental
variables, leaf wax n-alkane concentrations, and sun/
shade position to assess factors influencing foliar
chemical response. For the 4 km forested elevation
range of the Andes, 4–6‰ higher δ13C values are
expected for upland versus lowland C3 plant bulk leaves
and their n-alkyl lipids, and we expect this pattern to
be a systematic feature of very wet tropical montane
environments. This elevation dependency of δ13C
values should inform interpretations of sedimentary
archives, as 13C-enriched values may derive from C4
grasses, petrogenic inputs or upland C3 plants. Finally,
we outline the potential for leaf wax carbon isotopes
to trace biomarker sourcing within catchments and for
paleoaltimetry.
Wu, M. S., Feakins, S. J., Martin, R. E., Shenkin, A., Bentley, L.
P., Blonder, B., ... & Malhi, Y. (2017). Altitude effect on leaf wax
carbon isotopic composition in humid tropical forests. Geochimica
et Cosmochimica Acta 206: 1-17
 INSECTS
THREE NEW SPECIES OF NEOTROPICAL
COREIDAE (HEMIPTERA:
HETEROPTERA: COREINAE:
ACANTHOCEPHALINI: ANISOSCELINI)
Se describe Lucullia guilberti n. sp., de la Guyana
Francesa incluyéndola en la tribu Acanthocephalini
y Leptostellana infuscata n. sp., de Panamá y
Malvanaioides fastosa n. sp., del Perú en la tribu
Anisoscelini. Cada especie es comparada señalando las
diferencias con su especie afín. Se incluyen fotografías
en vista dorsal y dibujos de la cápsula genital del
macho. Se proporcionan las claves para la separación
de las especies conocidas de cada género.
Brailovsky, H. (2017). Three new species of neotropical
Coreidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreinae: Acanthocephalini:
Anisoscelini). Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 88(1): 65-70
STUDIES OF PERUVIAN PTILIIDAE
(COLEOPTERA) 6: NEW SPECIES AND
RECORDS OF ACROTRICHINI
This is the sixth report on a collection of Ptiliidae
made by Dr Caroline Chaboo and her students at the
University of Kansas as part of a programme to compile
an inventory of leaf beetles in Peru; it includes the first
specific species records of Acrotrichis Motschulsky,
1848, from the country. A key is provided to the
genera. The new species described are: Acrotrichis
chabooae sp. n., A. extraordinairia sp. n., A. fastigata
sp. n., A. franae sp. n., A. fumosa sp. n., A. obesa sp.
n., A. pseudoarmillata sp. n., A. sumptuosa sp. n.;
Phytotelmatrichis rava sp. n.; Storicricha copiosa sp. n.,
S. furcilla sp. n., S. magnifica sp. n., S. nigrita sp. n. and
S. tumida sp. n. Acrotrichis armillata Darby 2015, and
Petrotrichis rotundata Darby 2015, are recorded from
the country for the first time.
Darby M. (2017). Studies of Peruvian Ptiliidae (Coleoptera) 6:
new species and records of Acrotrichini. Entomologist’s Monthly
Magazine 153: 179–203
A NEW LED LAMP FOR THE COLLECTION OF NOCTURNAL
L E P I D O P T E R A A N D A S P E C T R A L C O M PA R I S O N O F L I G H T-
TRAPPING LAMPS
Most nocturnal Lepidoptera can be attracted to artificial
light sources, particularly to those that emit a high
proportion of ultraviolet radiation. Here, I describe a
newly developed LED lamp set for the use in the field
that is lightweight, handy, robust, and energy efficient.
The emitted electromagnetic spectrum corresponds to
the peak sensitivity in most Lepidoptera eye receptors
(ultraviolet, blue and green). Power LEDs with peaks at
368 nm (ultraviolet), 450 nm (blue), 530 nm (green),
and 550 nm (cool white) are used. I compared the
irradiance (Ee) of many commonly used light-trapping
lamps at a distance of 50 cm. Between wavelengths of
300 and 1000 nm, irradiance from the new lamp was
1.43 W m-2. The new lamp proved to be the most energy
efficient, and it emitted more radiation in the range
between 300 and 400 nm than any other lamp tested.
Cold cathodes are the second most energy-efficient
lamps. Irradiation from fluorescent actinic tubes is
higher than from fluorescent blacklight-blue tubes.
High-wattage incandescent lamps and self-ballasted
mercury vapour lamps have highest irradiance, but
they mainly emit in the long wave spectrum. The use
of gauze and sheets decreases the proportion of UV
radiation and increases the share of blue light, probably
due to optical brighteners. Compared with sunlight,
UV irradiance is low at a distance of 50 cm from the
lamp, but (safety) glasses as well as keeping sufficient
distance from the lamp are recommended. In field
tests, the new LED lamp attracted large numbers of
Lepidoptera in both the Italian Alps and in the Peruvian
Andes.
Brehm, G. (2017). A new LED lamp for the collection of nocturnal
Lepidoptera and a spectral comparison of light-trapping lamps.
Nota Lepidopterologica 40: 87
 INSECTS

H I T C H H I K E R S AT T H E D I N N E R TA B L E : A R E V I S I O N A R Y
S T U D Y O F A G R O U P O F A N T PA R A S I T O I D S BEETLES (COLEOPTERA) OF PERU: A SURVEY OF THE
(HYMENOPTERA: EUCHARITIDAE) SPECIALIZING IN THE FA M I L I E S C U R C U L I O N I D A E : P L AT Y P O D I N A E
U S E O F E X T R A F L O R A L N E C TA R I E S F O R H O S T A C C E S S

Extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) are nectar-secreting glands
found on plants independent of their flowers. EFNs are
diverse in form, present on a wide variety of plants, and
their secretions are known to recruit ants. However,
much less information has been published on insects with
known EFN associations other than ants. Two distinct
species groups of Orasema Cameron (Hymenoptera:
Eucharitidae) deposit their eggs close to the EFNs of their
plant hosts. The simulatrix group comprises six species
found in deserts and xeric shrublands of the southwestern
United States and Mexico. This species group is revised,
retaining O. aureoviridis, O. beameri and O. simulatrix
as valid species, and describing O. cancellata sp.n., O.
difrancoae sp.n. and O. zahni sp.n. The wayqecha group
is from Peru and Colombia and includes the newly
described O. wayqecha sp.n. and O. quadrimaculata
sp.n. Members of the simulatrix group oviposit near
EFNs of Chilopsis linearis Cav. (Bignoniaceae), Prosopis
glandulosa Torr. (Fabaceae), Prosopis velutina Wooton
(Fabaceae) and Populus angustifolia James (Salicaceae),
whereas Orasema wayqecha oviposit on leaves of two
species in the family Primulaceae. Monophyly of the
two species groups is proposed based on a molecular
analysis of ribosomal (28S and 18S) and mitochondrial
(cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) DNA, morphological
features of the adults and planidia larvae, and their
shared behavioural association with EFNs. Adults
of both species groups have an expanded postgena
that encloses the mouthparts, but are otherwise
morphologically divergent. The planidia of both groups
also share several features, including long cerci that may
facilitate their movements within EFNs. Oviposition near
EFNs is proposed as a means of increasing encounter
rates of the first-instar larvae with their myrmicine ant
host; however, it remains unclear whether the planidia
are transported directly by the foraging workers of their
host Pheidole (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) or indirectly
with the help of an intermediate host.
Herreid, J. S. & Heraty, J. M. (2017). Hitchhikers at the dinner table:
a revisionary study of a group of ant parasitoids (Hymenoptera:
Eucharitidae) specializing in the use of extrafloral nectaries for
host access. Syst Entomol 42: 204–229
I summarize literature records and recent identifications
of pinhole borers (Platypodinae) of Peru. Most
specimens were from two sources: the Caroline
Chaboo Beetles of Peru project (collected 2010–2011)
and trapped material col- lected by R. Leschen (in
1993). This study more than doubles the reported
species diversity. Examination of 706 mostly male
specimens and a literature review yielded a total of 54
identified and 46 unnamed species distributed among
10 of the 11 Neotropical Platypodinae genera. Of the
named species, 34 are new to Peru, and 5 species are
new to South America: Costaroplatus clunis (Wood),
Euplatypus cribricollis (Blandford), Megaplatypus
artecarinatus (Schedl), Megaplatypus exaratus
(Chapuis), and Neotrachyostus quadrilobus (Blandford).
The genera Tesserocranulus Schedl, Costaroplatus
Nunberg, Neotrachyostus Browne, Platyphysus Wood,
and Teloplatypus Wood are reported for the first time
from Peru. Many species found in Peruvian forests
remain to be identified or described, as 46 species
could not be named at this time; many of these
probably are new to science and almost all are new
to Peru. Platypus subaequalispinosus Schedl and one
morphospecies could not be placed in current genera.
Country records are given for all identified species. I
find that Platypodinae are unusually widely distributed
for tropical insects. Of 54 identified species, 11 species
now known from Peru are found in Mexico, 23 have
been collected from both Central and South America,
29 are known to occur in forests of the Guyana Shield,
and eight are recorded as far south as Argentina.
Given these wide distributions, it seems probable that
further intensive sampling in Peru, especially at higher
altitudes and in different forest types, would turn up
all genera and many if not most of the platypodine
species occurring in South America.
Kirkendall, L.R. (2017). Beetles (Coleoptera) of Peru: A survey
of the families Curculionidae: Platypodinae. The Coleopterists
Bulletin 71(1): 99-115
 INSECTS

A N E W S P E C I E S O F D R E PA N O C N E M I S E X T R E M E S E X U A L D I M O R P H I S M A N D P O LY M O R P H I S M I N T W O
A NEW SPECIES OF MADA GORDON SPECIES OF THE TIGER MOTH GENUS DYSSCHEMA (LEPIDOPTERA:
(DIPTERA, MUSCIDAE) FROM
FROM THE ANDES (COLEOPTERA: E R E B I D A E ) : A S S O C I AT I O N B E T W E E N M A L E S A N D F E M A L E S , S E X U A L
A N D E S I N P E R U , W I T H A N U P D AT E D
COCCINELLIDAE: EPILACHNINI) M I M I C R Y A N D M E L A N I S M R E V E A L E D B Y I N T E G R AT I V E TA X O N O M Y
P H Y L O G E N E T I C A N A LY S I S O F S P E C I E S

Drepanocnemis Stein (Diptera, Muscidae) is a small
genus of flies that occur in high altitudes in the
Colombian Andes, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Herein
we describe Drepanocnemis aurifrons sp. nov. from
Cuzco, Peru, which is found from high (2904 m) to
lower altitudes (707 m). An updated phylogeny, key to
species and map of species’ distributions are provided,
together with images and illustrations of the male and
the female terminalia.
Pereira Gomes, L. R., Souto Couri, M. & Barros de Carvalho, C.
(2017). A new species of Drepanocnemis (Diptera, Muscidae) from
Andes in Peru, with an updated phylogenetic analysis of species.
Revista Brasileira de Entomologia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
rbe.2017.10.001
Although Gordon (1975) revised the herbivorous
ladybirds of the New World, the taxonomy of this group
in the Americas is still poorly studied. Some recent
efforts have been made at the generic (Szawaryn 2015b)
as well as species level (Szawaryn 2015a; González &
Gómez 2013; González 2015) to describe and improve
our knowledge of the systematics of Neotropical
Epilachnini, but they still need more investigation.
Szawaryn, K., & Gonzalez, G. (2017). A new species of Mada
Gordon from the Andes (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Epilachnini).
Zootaxa 4226(3): 442-446
The genus Dysschema belongs to Pericopina (Erebidae:
Arctiinae: Arctiini). It is outstanding because of the
extreme sexual dimorphism and polymorphism found
among many of its species, with males and females
mimicking different groups within Lepidoptera. This has
led to a confused taxonomic scenario because males and
females were routinely described as different species,
and an inflated number of species was established.
Dysschema maginata and D. terminata are sexually
dimorphic, the females of both species have the same
wing pattern and represent a rare case of sex-limited
mimicry. Both species were described based on the
females, and the association with males was proposed
long after the original descriptions without any further
evidences. Despite these similarities, the former
species represents a simple dual case of polymorphism,
while the latter species represents an uncommon
case of multiple-dual polymorphism with at least four
phenotypes for the male. In this study, we tested and
corroborated hypothesized associations between
sexes of D. marginata and D. terminata using DNA
barcodes. The morphological studies also corroborated
four phenotypes of males in D. terminata, with a new
synonym: Dysschema Hering, 1928 and the the first
record of a female-like male morph in a population of
a sexually dimorphic species in Arctiinae. Moreover,
we redescribed the two species, with comments on
morphology and discussion on the polymorphism. A
lectotype is designated for Pericopis holofernes Butler,
1871, synonym of D. terminata, to ensure the stability
of the name.
Moraes, S. D. S., Cardoso, L. W., Silva-brandÃo, K. L., & Duarte,
M. (2017). Extreme sexual dimorphism and polymorphism in
two species of the tiger moth genus Dysschema (Lepidoptera:
Erebidae): association between males and females, sexual mimicry
and melanism revealed by integrative taxonomy. Systematics and
Biodiversity 15(3): 259-273
 INSECTS
P H Y L O G E N E T I C R E L AT I O N S H I P S O F T H E T R I B E
T O X O T R Y PA N I N I ( D I P T E R A : T E P H R I T I D A E ) B A S E D O N
MOLECULAR CHARACTERS
Current hypotheses of relationship among the species
of the fruit fly genera Anastrephaand Toxotrypana
are tested using sequence data from six DNA regions:
the mitochondrial regions 16S, CAD, and COI, and the
nuclear regions EF1a, PER, and PGD. DNA sequences
were obtained from 146 species of Anastrepha,
representing 19 of the 21 species groups as well as five
of the six clades of the robusta group, and four species
of Toxotrypana in addition to species of Hexachaeta,
Pseudophorellia, Alujamyia, and 13 other tephritid
genera used as outgroups. The results indicate that
Hexachaeta is more closely related to the Molynocoelia
group than to Toxotrypana and Anastrepha, and it is
removed from the tribe Toxotrypanini.
The group Anastrepha + Toxotrypana and the genus
Toxotrypana are strongly supported as monophyletic,
consistent with previous studies, but Toxotrypana
arises within Anastrepha, confirming that Anastrepha
as currently defined is paraphyletic. The placement of Relationships among the species groups are generally Mengual, X., Kerr, P., Norrbom, A. L., Barr, N. B., Lewis, M.
poorly resolved, with the following exceptions: (1) the L., Stapelfeldt, A. M., ... & Uramoto, K. (2017). Phylogenetic
Toxotrypana within Anastrepha is clearly defined for
relationships of the tribe Toxotrypanini (Diptera: Tephritidae)
the first time with high support, as the sister group lineage including Toxotrypana, the cryptostrephaclade, based on molecular characters. Molecular Phylogenetics and
to the cryptostrepha clade of the robusta group of and the tripunctata group; (2) the sister group Evolution 113: 84–112
Anastrepha. Within Anastrepha, the daciformis, relationship of the daciformis + dentata groups; (3) a
dentata, leptozona, raveni, and striataspecies groups clade comprising the punctata and panamensisgroups;
are highly supported clades. The serpentina group is and (4) the large clade comprising the pseudoparallela
recognized with lower support, and the fraterculus + spatulata + ramosa + grandis + serpentina + striata +
and pseudoparallela groups are supported with fraterculusgroups.
minor alterations. The robusta group is resolved
as polyphyletic, but four of the six species clades
within it are recovered monophyletic (one clade is
not represented and another is represented by one
species). The punctata and panamensis groups are
resolved together in a clade. At least some species of
the mucronota group are related, however this group
requires further study. The benjamini, grandis, and
spatulata groups appear to be polyphyletic.
 INSECTS
NEW GENUS AND 22 NEW SPECIES OF
COELIDIINE LEAFHOPPERS FROM PERU
WITH NEW DISTRIBUTION RECORDS
(HEMIPTERA: CICADELLIDAE:
COELIDIINAE)
A new genus, Paradicodia, type species, Paradicodia
eminentia, sp. nov. and 22 new species in ten genera
and four tribes in the subfamily Coelidiinae from Peru
are elucidated. These include the following: Paradicodia
eminentia, P. bispiculata, P. lineata, Evansolidia
semibulbata, Crassinolanus bulbatus, Dialodia undulata,
(Coelidiini); Stalolidia prodignatia, Stalolidia oblongata,
Hastalidia retrorsa, Docalidiamultipenna, D. acinacea,
D. unica, D. lunata, D. ata, D. soulierae, D. rodriguezi,
D. trispinata, D. quadrata, D. vansweringeni (Teruliini);
Sandersellus flexus (Sandersellini); Youngolidia undulata
and Y. bifurcata (Youngolidiini). New records for
Peru include the following species: Docalidia dentula
(Metcalf), Dicodia germari Nielson, Megalidia elongata
Nielson and Boliviela inflata (DeLong).
Nielson, M. W. & C. Weideman (2017). New genus and 22 new
species of coelidiine leafhoppers from Peru with new distribution
records (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Coelidiinae). TAES 143: 117-152
LOS ESCARABAJOS DEL PERÚ:
U N E S T U D I O D E L A S FA M I L I A S
EUCNEMIDAE
Se presenta una lista anotada de los escarabajos
eucnemídeos del Perú, basada en registros bibliográficos
y examen de especímenes en colecciones de dos museos.
La fauna peruana consiste aproximadamente de 107
especies en 30 géneros de ocho tribus y tres subfamilias.
Se registran nueve géneros para Perú; entre ellos se
encuentran: Xylophilus Mannerheim 1823, Temnillus
Bonvouloir 1871, Gastraulacus Guérin-Méneville 1843,
Somahenecus Cobos 1964, Silveriola Cobos 1956,
Onichodon Newman 1838, Cladus Bonvouloir 1872,
Thambus Bonvouloir 1871 y Neomathion Fleutiaux 1930.
Recientemente se registraron cincuenta y ocho especies
para Perú. Se proporciona una diagnosis de la familia,
así como también notas sobre hábitat, métodos de
recolección y biología de Eucnemidae. Esta publicación
es una contribución del proyecto ‘Escarabajos del Perú’.
Otto, R. L. (2017). Los escarabajos del Perú: un estudio de las
Familias. Eucnemidae Eschscholtz, 1829. Revista Peruana de
Biología. 24(1): 11-24
A N A N T- P L A N T M U T U A L I S M T H R O U G H T H E L E N S O F
CGMP-DEPENDENT KINASE GENES
In plant-animal mutualisms, how an animal forages interaction effects on ant behaviour and herbivory. Our
often determines how much benefit its plant partner results suggest a molecular basis for ant protection of
receives. In many animals, foraging behaviour changes plants in this mutualism.
in response to foraging gene expression or activation
of the cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) that
foragingencodes. Here, we show that this highly
conserved molecular mechanism affects the outcome
of a plant-animal mutualism. We studied the two PKG
genes of Allomerus octoarticulatus, an Amazonian
ant that defends the ant-plant Cordia nodosa against
herbivores. Some ant colonies are better ‘bodyguards’
than others.
Working in the field in Peru, we found that colonies fed
with a PKG activator recruited more workers to attack
herbivores than control colonies. This resulted in less
herbivore damage. PKG gene expression in ant workers
correlated with whether an ant colony discovered Malé, P.G., Turner, K.M., Doha, M., Anreiter, I., Allen, A.M.,
Sokolowski, M.B. & Frederickson, M.E. (2017). An ant-plant
an herbivore and how much damage herbivores
mutualism through the lens of cGMP-dependent kinase genes.
inflicted on leaves in a complex way; natural variation Proc. R. Soc. B 284: 20170896. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/
in expression levels of the two genes had significant rspb.2017.0896
 INSECTS
D R A M AT I C D I F F E R E N C E S I N G U T B A C T E R I A L D E N S I T I E S
H E L P T O E X P L A I N T H E R E L AT I O N S H I P B E T W E E N D I E T
A N D H A B I TAT I N R A I N F O R E S T A N T S
Abundance is a key parameter in microbial ecology,
and important to estimates of potential metabolite
flux, impacts of dispersal, and sensitivity of samples
to technical biases such as laboratory contamination.
However, modern amplicon-based sequencing
techniques by themselves typically provide no
information about the absolute abundance of microbes.
Here, we use fluorescence microscopy and quantitative
PCR as independent estimates of microbial abundance
to test the hypothesis that microbial symbionts have
enabled ants to dominate tropical rainforest canopies
by facilitating herbivorous diets, and compare these
methods to microbial diversity profiles from 16S rRNA
amplicon sequencing. Through a systematic survey of
ants from a lowland tropical forest, we show that the
density of gut microbiota varies across several orders of
magnitude among ant lineages, with median individuals
from many genera only marginally above detection
limits. Supporting the hypothesis that microbial
symbiosis is important to dominance in the canopy, we
find that the abundance of gut bacteria is positively
correlated with stable isotope proxies of herbivory
among canopy-dwelling ants, but not among ground-
dwelling ants. Notably, these broad findings are much
more evident in the quantitative data than in the 16S
rRNA sequencing data. Our results help to resolve a
longstanding question in tropical rainforest ecology,
and have broad implications for the interpretation of
sequence-based surveys of microbial diversity.
Sanders, J. G., Łukasik, P., Frederickson, M., Russell, J., Koga,
R., Knight, R., & Pierce, N. (2017). Dramatic differences in gut
bacterial densities help to explain the relationship between diet
and habitat in rainforest ants. bioRxiv 57(4):705-722
BEETLES (COLEOPTERA) OF PERU: A SURVEY OF THE
FA M I L I E S . C U R C U L I O N I D A E : S C O LY T I N A E
The bark and ambrosia beetle fauna (Scolytinae) of
Peru is reviewed. Examination of ˜ 8,000 museum Smith, S. M., Petrov, A. V., & Cognato, A. I. (2017). Beetles
(Coleoptera) of Peru: A survey of the families. Curculionidae:
and recently collected specimens and a literature
Scolytinae. The Coleopterists Bulletin 71(1): 77-94
review yielded 106 new country records among 248
species distributed among 56 genera and 15 tribes.
Our findings for Peru increase the reported species
diversity by ˜ 75%. Despite this thorough review, at
least a hundred more Peruvian species remain to be
identified or described. The geographic ranges of some
species were discovered to extend more than 1,500 km
from Central America or the Guyana Shield to southern
Peru. It is unknown if these populations are disjunct or
if they represent cryptic species. Our results suggest
that only 25% of the South American scolytine fauna
is known. A new synonymy of Gymnochilus glaber
(Schedl, 1951) = Scolytodes schoenmanni Wood, 2007
is proposed.
 Herpetology

EPIZOOTIC TO ENZOOTIC TRANSITION OF A FUNGAL

C U TA N E O U S B A C T E R I A , B U T N O T P E P T I D E S , A R E
DISEASE IN TROPICAL ANDEAN FROGS: ARE SURVIVING
A S S O C I AT E D W I T H C H Y T R I D I O M Y C O S I S R E S I S TA N C E I N
SPECIES STILL SUSCEPTIBLE?
PERUVIAN MARSUPIAL FROGS

The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
(Bd), which causes the disease chytridiomycosis, has been
linked to catastrophic amphibian declines throughout
the world. Amphibians differ in their vulnerability to
chytridiomycosis; some species experience epizootics
followed by collapse while others exhibit stable host/
pathogen dynamics where most amphibian hosts
survive in the presence of Bd (e.g., in the enzootic state).
Little is known about the factors that drive the transition
between the two disease states within a community, or
whether populations of species that survived the initial
epizootic are stable, yet this information is essential for
conservation and theory.
Our study focuses on a diverse Peruvian amphibian
community that experienced a Bd-caused collapse. We
explore host/Bd dynamics of eight surviving species a
decade after the mass extinction by using population
level disease metrics and Bd-susceptibility trials. We
found that three of the eight species continue to
be susceptible to Bd, and that their populations are
declining. Only one species is growing in numbers and it
was non-susceptible in our trials.
Our study suggests that some species remain vulnerable
to Bd and exhibit ongoing population declines in enzootic
systems where Bd-host dynamics are assumed to be
stable.
Catenazzi, A., Swei, A., Finkle, J., Foreyt, E., Wyman, L. &
Vredenburg, V.T. (2017). Epizootic to enzootic transition of a
fungal disease in tropical Andean frogs: Are surviving species still
susceptible? PLoS ONE12(10): e0186478.
Amphibians are a highly threatened vertebrate group,
and populations of these animals have declined
drastically. An important global threat to amphibians is
the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
(Bd), which causes the disease chytridiomycosis.
However, not all species develop chytridiomycosis
when exposed to Bd. We compared susceptibility to
disease in two species of marsupial frogs and found that
Gastrotheca nebulanastes is susceptible, whereas its
congeneric G. excubitor is resistant. Since Bd is a skin
pathogen, it is possible that cutaneous defenses like
symbiotic bacteria and antimicrobial peptides protect
the resistant species. We tested this hypothesis by
comparing the anti-Bd abilities of cutaneous defenses
between the two Gastrotheca species.
Cultivable bacteria and peptides were isolated from the
skin and tested for their abilities to inhibit Bd with in vitro
co-culture assays. Twenty-six bacteria were identified by
sequencing their 16S rRNA gene and 19 peptides were
profiled by MALDI TOF mass spectrometry. We found
that bacteria, but not peptides, differed between the two
species in their ability to inhibit Bd growth. The resistant
G. excubitor harbored more isolates of cultivable anti-
Bd bacteria both in number and proportion (6/15 vs.
1/11). Also, the one anti-Bd isolate from G. nebulanastes
demonstrated the weakest ability to inhibit Bd growth.
Our results highlight the importance of anti-Bd skin
bacteria in providing frog species with protection from
Bd and can inform mitigation strategies for other wildlife
diseases.
Burkart, D., Flechas, S. V., Vredenburg, V. T., & Catenazzi, A.
(2017). Cutaneous bacteria, but not peptides, are associated with
chytridiomycosis resistance in Peruvian marsupial frogs. Animal
Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12352
 Herpetology Mammals

DIVERGENCE OF THERMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS IN O B S E R VAT I O N S O F T E R M I TA R I U M G E O P H A G Y B Y

TERRESTRIAL BREEDING FROGS ALONG A TROPICAL RY L A N D S ’ B A L D - FA C E D S A K I M O N K E Y S ( P I T H E C I A
E L E VAT I O N A L G R A D I E N T RYLANDSI) IN MADRE DE DIOS, PERU

Critical thermal limits are thought to be correlated with
the elevational distribution of species living in tropical
montane regions, but with upper limits being relatively
invariant compared to lower limits. To test this hypothesis,
we examined the variation of thermal physiological traits
in a group of terrestrial breeding frogs (Craugastoridae)
distributed along a tropical elevational gradient. We
measured the critical thermal maximum (CT max; n =
22 species) and critical thermal minimum (CT min; n
= 14 species) of frogs captured between the Amazon
floodplain (250 m asl) and the high Andes (3,800 m asl).
After inferring a multilocus species tree, we conducted
a phylogenetically informed test of whether body size,
body mass, and elevation contributed to the observed
variation in CT max and CT min along the gradient. We
also tested whether CT max and CT min exhibit different
rates of change given that critical thermal limits (and
their plasticity) may have evolved differently in response
to different temperature constraints along the gradient.
Variation of critical thermal traits was significantly
correlated with species’ elevational midpoint, their
maximum and minimum elevations, as well as the
maximum air temperature and the maximum operative
temperature as measured across this gradient. Both
thermal limits showed substantial variation, but CT min
exhibited relatively faster rates of change than CT max,
as observed in other taxa. Nonetheless, our findings call
for caution in assuming inflexibility of upper thermal
limits and underscore the value of collecting additional
empirical data on species’ thermal physiology across
elevational gradients.
May, R., Catenazzi, A., Corl, A., Santa‐Cruz, R., Carnaval, A. C., &
Moritz, C. (2017). Divergence of thermal physiological traits in
terrestrial breeding frogs along a tropical elevational gradient.
Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2929
Geophagy, or soil consumption, has been documented
in diverse animal taxa, including many primates.
Physiological functions such as mineral supplementation,
detoxification of secondary compounds, and antacid
properties are possible causes for this behavior.
We report on observations of geophagy at arboreal
termitaria by freeranging Pithecia rylandsi at La Estación
Biológica Los Amigos (EBLA) in Peru between 2008 and
2015. Characteristics of geophagy events, including saki
monkey behavior at the termitaria, were recorded and
geochemical analyses were conducted on consumed
termitaria, nearby topsoils, and unvisited termitaria. We
observed 76 feeding bouts at 26 different termitaria by
two groups of P. rylandsi during 1125 observational hours
(0.07 bouts/obs. h.). Geophagy occurred throughout
the year, but rates peaked in January during the rainy
season. All age and sex classes visited both active and
inactive mounds. Feeding bouts were brief (171+ SD
154 s), and no diffferences were observed in time spent
feeding at active or inactive termitaria. Analysis showed
that consumed soils contained higher concentrations
of phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium
that did topsoil. Consumed soils also contained a
higher total cation exchange capacity than topsoil. Our
analysis of consumed versus control termitaria revealed
no differences in their chemical composition. We
discuss these results in the context of the two primary
hypotheses proposed for geophagy in pitheciins:
mineral supplementation and toxin adsorption. Our
data are consistent with the interpretation that P.
rylandsi consume soils from arboreal termitaria to aid
in adsorption of toxins found in immature seeds, which
are a year-round component of thei diet.
Adams, D.B., Rehg, J.A., Watsa, M. (2017) Observations of
termitarium geophagy by Rylands’ bald-faced saki monkeys
(Pithecia rylandsi) in Madre de Dios, Peru. Primates 58: 449-459
 Mammals
FATA L AT TA C K O N A R Y L A N D ’ S B A L D -
FA C E D S A K I M O N K E Y ( P I T H E C I A
RYLANDSI) BY A BLACK-AND-
WHITE HAWK EAGLE (SPIZAETUS
MELANOLEUCUS)
Predation risk has played an important role in primate
behavioral evolution, yet natural primate-predator
interactions are rarely observed. We describe the
consumption and probable predation of an adult bald-
faced saki monkey (Pithecia rylandsi) by a black-and-white
hawk-eagle (Spizaetus melanoleucus) at the Los Amigos
Biological Station in lowland Amazonian Peru. To our
knowledge, this is the first published case of a black-and-
white hawk-eagle consuming any primate species. We
contend that while most reported observation of successful
and attempted predation by raptors involves the largest
and most notorious species (i.e. the harpy eagle), smaller
and lesser known species like S. melanoleucus should be
considered more seriously as a predator of neotropical
primates. We discuss the predation event in the context
of understanding what other neotropical primates might
be vulnerable to S. melanoleucus predation given its body
size and hunting tactic.
Adams, D.B., Williams, S.M. (2017) Fatal attack on a Ryland’s bald-
faced saki monkey (Pithecia rylandsi) by a black-and-white hawk eagle
(Spizaetus melanoleucus). Primates 58: 361-365
RANGE EXTENSION OF THE RARE
P E R U V I A N F I S H - E AT I N G R AT
NEUSTICOMYS PERUVIENSIS
(RODENTIA: CRICETIDAE) IN PERU
Neusticomys peruviensis (Musser & Gardner 1974) is a
semi aquatic rodent which belongs to the Ichthyomyini
Tribe. It is an endemic species of Peru, previously known
for three specimens: type specimen from Balta, another
specimen from Rio Shesha, both from Ucayali department;
and the third specimen from Pakitza (Madre de Dios
department). We captured an additional specimen in
Cusco Department. Its geographic distribution extends
84.15 km south of the previously known distribution
range. This suggest that this species would have a broader
distribution. More detailed studies are needed to know
the ecology and distribution of these rodents.
Gonzales, F.N., Arce Merma, A. & Zeballos, H. (2017). Range extension
of the rare Peruvian fish-eating rat Neusticomys peruviensis (Rodentia:
Cricetidae) in Peru. Revista Peruana de Biología 24(4): 413-416
Mammals
CHRONIC PLASMODIUM BRASILIANUM INFECTIONS IN
W I L D P E R U V I A N TA M A R I N S
There is an increased interest in potential zoonotic
malarias. To date, Plasmodium malariae that infects
humans remains indistinguishable from Plasmodium
brasilianum, which is widespread among New World
primates. Distributed throughout tropical Central and
South America, the Callitrichidae are small arboreal
primates in which detection of natural Plasmodium
infection has been extremely rare. Most prior screening
efforts have been limited to small samples, the use of
low-probability detection methods, or both. Rarely have
screening efforts implemented a longitudinal sampling
design. Through an annual mark-recapture program
of two sympatric callitrichids, the emperor (Saguinus
imperator) and saddleback (Saguinus fuscicollis) tamarins,
whole blood samples were screened for Plasmodium by
microscopy and nested PCR of the cytochrome b gene
across four consecutive years (2012±2015). Following
the first field season, approximately 50% of the samples
collected each subsequent year were from recaptured
individuals. In particular, out of 245 samples from 129
individuals, 11 samples from 6 individuals were positive
for Plasmodium, and all but one of these infections was
found in S. imperator. Importantly, the cytochrome b
sequences were 100% identical to former isolates of P.
malariae from humans and P. brasilianum from Saimiri
sp. Chronic infections were detected as evidenced by
repeated infections (7) from two individuals across the
4-year study period. Furthermore, 4 of the 5 infected
emperor tamarins were part of a single group spanning
the entire study period. Overall, the low prevalence
reported here is consistent with previous findings. This
study identifies two new natural hosts for P. brasilianum
and provides evidence in support of chronic infections
in wildlife populations. Given that callitrichids are often
found in mixedspecies associations with other primates
and can be resilient to human-disturbed environments,
they could contribute to the maintenance of P. malariae
populations if future work provides entomological and
epidemiological evidence indicating human zoonotic
infections.
Erkenswick G.A., Watsa M., Pacheco M.A., Escalante A.A., Parker P.G.
(2017). Chronic Plasmodium brasilianum infections in wild Peruvian
tamarins. PLoS ONE 12(9): e0184504
 Mammals Mammals

T E M P O R A L A N D D E M O G R A P H I C B L O O D PA R A S I T E
M O D E L I N G D E V E L O P M E N TA L C L A S S P R O V I D E S I N S I G H T S
DYNAMICS IN TWO FREE-RANGING NEOTROPICAL
I N TO I N D I V I D UA L C O N T R I B U T I O N S TO I N FA N T S U RV I VA L
P R I M AT E S
IN CALLITRICHIDS

Parasite-host relationships are influenced by several
factors intrinsic to hosts, such as social standing,
group membership, sex, and age. However, in wild
populations, temporal variation in parasite distributions,
and concomitant infections can alter these patterns. We
used microscropy and molecular methods to screen for
naturally occurring haemoparasitic infections in two
Neotropical primate host populations, the saddleback
(Leontocebus weddelli) and emperor (Saguinus
imperator) tamarin, in the lowland tropical rainforests
of southeastern Peru. Repeat sampling was conducted
from known individuals over a three-year period to test
for parasite-host and parasite-parasite associations.
Three parasites were detected in L. weddelli including
Trypanosoma minasense, Mansonella mariae, and
Dipetalonema spp., while S. imperator only hosted
the latter two. Temporal variation in prevalence was
observed in T. minasense and Dipetalonema spp.,
confirming the necessity of a multi-year study to evaluate
parasite-host relationships in this system. Although
callitrichids display a distinct reproductive dominance
hierarchy, characterized by single breeding females
that typically mate polyandrously and can suppress the
reproduction of subdominant females, logistic models
did not identify sex or breeding status as determining
factors in the presence of these parasites. However, age
class had a positive effect on infection with M. mariae
and T. minasense, and adults demonstrated higher
parasite species richness than juveniles or sub-adults
across both species. Body weight had a positive effect
on the presence of Dipetalonema spp. The inclusion of
co-infection variables in statistical models of parasite
presence/absence data improved model fit for two of
three parasites. This study verifies the importance and
need for broad spectrum and long-term screening of
parasite assemblages of natural host populations.
Erkenswick, G.A., Watsa, M., Gozalo, A. S., Dmytryk, N., & Parker,
P.G. 2017. Temporal and demographic blood parasite dynamics in
two free-ranging neotropical primates. International Journal of
Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 6: 59-68
Cooperative breeders live in social groups in which
individuals in an age-sex class vary in reproductive
development due to reproductive dominance by a
few individuals in each group. Among callitrichids,
adult males have been implicated in driving group
reproductive output, but uneven sampling efforts, the
underlying effects of group size, and pseudoreplication
at the group and species levels are confounding variables
in these analyses. We examined the drivers of group
reproductive output in callitrichids by 1) conducting a
meta-analysis of published results of callitrichid group
composition; 2)assigning developmental class based
on reproductive morphology; and 3) using multivariate
modeling to test whether the proportion of individuals
of each developmental class predicts the presence and
the number of surviving offspring among free-ranging
Weddell’s saddleback tamarins (Leontocebus weddellli)
and emperor tamarins (Saguinus imperator) in Peru. The
meta-analysis revealed that the number of adult females
and group size, but not the number of adult males, are
significantly correlated with group reproductive output.
Statistical models of the new dataset revealed that the
proportion of primary breeding males, primary breeding
females, and group size predicted whether groups had
surviving infants, and that only the proportion of primary
breeding females and group size predicted the number
of surviving infants. Thus, primary breeding males
appear to be necessary for groups to raise any infants,
but a higher proportion of primary breeding females and
a larger group size increase group reproductive output
overall.
Watsa, M., Erkenswick, G., Robakis, E. 2017. Modeling
developmental class provides insights into individual contributions
to infant survival in Callitrichids. International Journal of
Primatology. http://doi.org/10/1007/s10764-017-9995-4
 Ecology Plants

P R E D I C T I N G T R A I T‐ E N V I R O N M E N T R E L AT I O N S H I P S ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF ETHANOLIC AND

F O R V E N AT I O N N E T W O R K S A L O N G A N A N D E S ‐ A M A Z O N A Q U E O U S E X T R A C T S O F M E D I C I N A L LY U S E D T R E E F E R N S
E L E VAT I O N G R A D I E N T A L S O P H I L A C U S P I D ATA A N D C YAT H E A M I C R O D O N TA

Understanding functional trait-environment
relationships (TERs) may improve predictions of
community assembly. However, many empirical TERs
have been weak or lacking conceptual foundation.
TERs based on leaf venation networks may better link
individuals and communities via hydraulic constraints.
We report measurements of vein density, vein radius,
and leaf thickness for more than 100 dominant species
occurring in ten forest communities spanning a 3,300 m
Andes-Amazon elevation gradient in Peru. We use these
data to measure the strength of TERs at community scale
and to determine whether observed TERs are similar to
those predicted by physiological theory. We found strong
support for TERs between all traits and temperature,
as well weaker support for a predicted TER between
maximum abundance-weighted leaf transpiration rate
and maximum potential evapotranspiration. These
results provide one approach for developing a more
mechanistic trait-based community assembly theory.
Blonder, B., Salinas, N., Patrick Bentley, L., Shenkin, A., Chambi
Porroa, P. O., Valdez Tejeira, Y., ... & Asner, G. P. (2017). Predicting
trait‐environment relationships for venation networks along
an Andes‐Amazon elevation gradient. Ecology. https://doi.
org/10.1002/ecy.1747
Medicinal plants are important components of Longtine, C. & Tejedor, A. (2017). Antimicrobial activity of ethanolic
traditional medicine and sources of novel antimicrobial and aqueous extracts of medicinally used tree ferns Alsophila
cuspidata and Cyathea microdonta. Acta Botanica Malacitana
compounds against drug resistance pathogen strains. 42(1): 119-123
This study tested the antimicrobial activity of ethanolic
and aqueous extracts of medicinally used Neotropical
tree ferns Cyathea microdonta and Alsophila cuspidata
against gram positive bacteria and gram negative
bacteria using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method.
Highest antimicrobial activity was observed in ethanolic
extracts, and extracts were more active against gram
positive bacteria than gram negative bacteria. No
difference was observed in antimicrobial activity between
species or between extracts made from the leaves, stipe,
or caudex. These results suggest that the traditional
use of tree fern mucilage as a topical agent for cuts
and leishmaniasis lesions may reduce risk of secondary
infection with skin bacteria such as Staphylococcus
aureus, and that Neotropical Cyatheaceae are a potential
source of novel antimicrobial compounds.
 Plants
A L L O M E T R I C D E R I VAT I O N A N D E S T I M AT I O N O F G U A D U A
W E B E R B A U E R I A N D G . S A R C O C A R PA B I O M A S S I N T H E
B A M B O O - D O M I N AT E D F O R E S T S O F S W A M A Z O N I A
Bamboo-dominated forests in Southwestern Amazonia
encompass an estimated 180,000 km2 of nearly
contiguous primary, tropical lowland forest. This area,
largely composed of two bamboo species, Guadua
weberbaueri Pilger and G. sarcocarpa Londoño &
Peterson, comprises a significant portion of the Amazon
Basin and has a potentially important effect on regional
carbon storage. Numerous local REDD(+) projects would
benefit from the development of allometric models for
these species, although there has been just one effort
to do so. The aim of this research was to create a set of
improved allometric equations relating the above and
belowground biomass to the full range of natural size
and growth patterns observed. Four variables (DBH,
stem length, small branch number and branch number ≥
2cm diameter) were highly significant predictors of stem
biomass (N≤ 278, p<0.0001 for all predictors, complete
model R2=0.93). A secondary field model (containing
DBH and branch number > 2cm diameter), proved highly
significant as well (N= 278, p<0.0001 for both predictors,
R2=0.84). The belowground biomass was estimated to
be 19.2 ±6.2% of the total dry biomass of the bamboo
species examined. To demonstrate the utility of these
models in the field and derive stand-level estimates of
bamboo biomass, ten 0.36-ha plots were analyzed (N=
3,966 culms), yielding above + belowground biomass
values ranging from 4.3-14.5 Mg.ha-1. The results of this
research provide novel allometric models and estimates
of the contribution of G. weberbaueri and G. sarcocarpa
to the total budget of this vast and largely unexplored
Amazonian habitat.
Yavit, N. M. (2017). Allometric Derivation And Estimation Of
Guadua weberbaueri And G. sarcocarpa Biomass In The Bamboo-
Dominated Forests Of SW Amazonia. bioRxiv 129262
T R E E F E R N S D O M I N AT E S E C O N D A R Y S U C C E S S I O N I N
A B A N D O N E D P I N E A P P L E P L A N TAT I O N S A R O U N D M A N U
N AT I O N A L PA R K , P E R U
Habitat management and restoration in buffer zones lived pioneer, reaching its peak of live stem density
of national parks is critical for maintaining ecosystem in 6 to10 years and dying off in older plots. Cyathea
services and biological connectivity in and around the delgadii, on the other hand, continues to grow and
parks’ core protected areas. Vegetation succession in persists beyond 10 years of succession. Areas adjacent
abandoned plantations in buffer zones may take different to abandoned pineapple fields have few tree ferns and
paths that reach climax ecosystems in more or less higher tree species diversity, suggesting that pineapple
time depending on the conditions of initial succession, agriculture and the resulting tree fern community may
thus enhancing or hindering biological connectivity be a longer pathway to reach climax vegetation stages
and ecosystem services. This study documents the than other types of plantation
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 Schilling, O. & Tejedor, A. (2017). Tree ferns dominate secondary
succession in abandoned pineapple plantations around Manu
microdonta. Cyathea microdonta functions as a short-
National Park, Peru. Acta Botanica Malacitana 42(1): 141-148
Aimy Cáceres Pinedo, PhD
Directora de Ciencia e Investigación
Science and Research Director