Tree ferns from northern Peru: confirmation of the Amotape-Huancabamba Zone as a unique biotic hotspot in the tropical Andes

Palaeo-glaciological studies of former ice thickness and extent within the tropical Andes have tended to focus on locations where glaciers are currently present, or in high elevation locations where evidence exists of recently deglaciated cirques. Few studies have focussed on low elevation regions due to the presumption that glaciers could not have existed at such low altitudes within the tropics. A latitudinal &#8216;data gap&#8217; exists between Ecuador and more central and southern Peru where evidence for former glaciation is abundant. To fill this gap we present rare evidence of past glaciation from the Las Huaringas region, northern Peru, located in a relatively low elevation massif (<3900 m).Within Las Huaringas a large valley glacier existed, extending N-S ~12 km down valley to ~2900 m in elevation while glacial cirques existed exhibiting an E-W orientation on the western facing hillslope of the massif with pronounced moraine complexes and bedrock erosion. We used high-resolution remotely sensed imagery, a 30 m ALOS DEM, and preliminary field observations to identify and map an abundance of geomorphic evidence of glaciation. These include moraines at different stages of preservation and predominance, eroded bedrock surfaces, cirque landforms and overdeepened valleys to develop the first glacial geomorphological map of the region. We performed morphometric analysis (e.g. width, length, altitude, azimuth) of the mapped glacial landforms and cirques along with hypsometric analysis of the main valley of Laguna Shimbe, yielding a hypsometric maxima of 3250 m. Using the geomorphological map, we determine the former extent and thickness of palaeoglaciers in the area and use delineated glacial outlines of their furthest extent to reconstruct Equilibrium Line Altitudes (ELAs) of these ice masses using a combination of ELA estimation techniques.Ongoing research aims to determine whether the palaeoglacial evidence is consistent with formation by valley glaciers or an icecap and whether the timing of the local Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was synchronous with the global timing. A set of hypotheses for the timing and drivers of the reconstructed extent of former glaciers in the area will be presented. Our analysis confirms the presence of former glaciers in a low elevation and low latitude region of the tropical Andes. Our ongoing work aims to unveil the timing of the glacial events and the drivers of the glacial and climate history seen within this important region.

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Six New Scaly Tree Ferns (Cyathea: Cyatheaceae) from Northern Peru

American Fern Journal ◽

10.1640/0002-8444-108.4.117 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 108 (4) ◽

pp. 117

Author(s):

Adrian Tejedor ◽

Gloria Calatayud

Keyword(s):

Tree Ferns ◽

Northern Peru

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Unprecedented Rainfall and Moisture Patterns during El Niño 2016 in the Eastern Pacific and Tropical Andes: Northern Perú and Ecuador

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos10120768 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 768 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Janeet Sanabria ◽

Carlos M. Carrillo ◽

David Labat

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

El Niño ◽

Large Scale ◽

El Nino ◽

Eastern Pacific ◽

Tropical Andes ◽

El Niño Events ◽

Northern Peru ◽

Rainfall Patterns ◽

Upper Level

Using vertically integrated water vapor and its convergence, associated with large-scale and regional atmospheric circulation, we found two patterns of rainfall over the Eastern Pacific (EP) and the tropical Andes-with a focus in Ecuador and northern Perú-during three recent El Niño events: 1983, 1998, and 2016. Although these three events were the strongest El Niños, the different sources of moisture contribute to different rainfall patterns between El Niño 1983–1998 and 2016. In the region, the spatial pattern of precipitation during El Niño 2016 presents an unprecedented out-of-phase atmospheric response consistent and verified with water vapor transport when compared with El Niño 1983–1998. During El Niño 2016, precipitation in the Andes was enhanced by moist air transported from the Amazon—with an opposite regime compared to the subsidence that dominated in 1983–1998. During the 1983–1998 El Niño, the source of moisture to feed the EP was enhanced by upper-level divergence (300 hPa), which supports moisture influx by middle levels in the EP. In El Niño 2016, this divergent upper-level flow migrated north, followed by the companion moisture. This study illustrates a link between upper-level large-scale circulation and low-level regional mechanisms on the moisture transport in determining different rainfall patterns during El Niño events.

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Cyathea gratissima, a new name for a Neotropical tree fern (Cyatheaceae, Polypodiopsida)

Phytotaxa ◽

10.11646/phytotaxa.484.1.8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 484 (1) ◽

pp. 144-144

Author(s):

ADRIAN TEJEDOR ◽

GLORIA CALATAYUD

Keyword(s):

Botanical Review ◽

Tree Fern ◽

New Name ◽

Neotropical Tree ◽

Tree Ferns ◽

Northern Peru ◽

Acta Botanica

Domin, C. (1930) The species of the genus Cyathea J.Sm. Acta Botanica Bohemica 9: 85–174.Hooker, W.J. & Baker, J.G. (1874) Synopsis Filicum, ed. 2. R. Hardwicke, London. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.41433Tejedor, A. & Calatayud, G. (2018) Six new scaly tree ferns (Cyathea: Cyatheaceae) from Northern Peru. American Fern Journal 108(4): 117–138. https://doi.org/10.1640/0002-8444-108.4.117Weigend, M. (2002) Observations on the biogeography of the Amotape-Huancabamba Zone in northern Peru. The Botanical Review 68: 38–54. https://doi.org/10.1663/0006-8101(2002)068[0038:OOTBOT]2.0.CO;2

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Four new species of Stenocercus Duméril & Bibron, 1837 (Squamata, Iguania) from the Department of Amazonas in northeastern Peru

Evolutionary Systematics ◽

10.3897/evolsyst.4.57578 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 79-108

Author(s):

Pablo J. Venegas ◽

Luis A. García-Ayachi ◽

Juan C. Chávez-Arribasplata ◽

Germán Chávez ◽

Iván Wong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Natural History ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Mountainous Region ◽

Tropical Andes ◽

The Andes ◽

Northern Peru

The tropical Andes are known to be the richest and most diverse place on earth. This mountainous region covers almost one third of the Peruvian territory, and its herpetofauna remains poorly known. The lizard genus Stenocercus Duméril & Bibron, 1837 contains 69 species and most of them occur in the tropical Andes, although some exist as high as 4000 m a.s.l. The examination of newly collected material from the Andes of northern Peru in the Department of Amazonas reveals four new species of Stenocercus which we describe below. Of these four new species, three inhabit the ecoregion of Peruvian Yungas at elevations of 1460 to 2370 m a.s.l., and one the Marañón dry forest ecoregion at elevations of 1340 to 1470 m a.s.l. Additionally, we provide new data about coloration, natural history and distribution of the poorly known S. aculeatus O’Shaughnessy, 1879; and discuss the identity of some populations of S. prionotus Cadle, 2001 and S. scapularis Boulenger, 1901.

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Solving the cryptic diversity of the genus Manerebia Staudinger in northern Peru: description of new species and considerations on the biogeographical role of the Huancabamba Deflection (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae: Pronophilina)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.5072.3.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5072 (3) ◽

pp. 201-237

Author(s):

OSCAR MAHECHA-J. ◽

KLAUDIA FLORCZYK ◽

KEITH WILLMOTT ◽

JOSÉ CERDEÑA ◽

ANNA ZUBEK ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Taxonomic Status ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

The Other ◽

Tropical Andes ◽

Study Region ◽

Other Hand ◽

Southern Ecuador ◽

Northern Peru ◽

Colour Patterns

The Huancabamba Deflection in the Andes of northern Peru and southern Ecuador is a pivotal area for Neotropical biogeography, where exceptional biodiversity coincides with high rates of endemism. These characteristics are well illustrated within the montane butterfly genus Manerebia Staudinger (Nymphalidae, Satyrinae). Here, six new, apparently endemic species, and two new subspecies, are described from this region: M. inducta Pyrcz & Willmott n. sp., M. ronda Pyrcz & Boyer, n. sp., M. ronda amplia Pyrcz & Boyer, n. ssp., M. punku Pyrcz & Farfán n. sp., M. huamanii Cerdeña & Pyrcz n. sp., M. placida Pyrcz & Willmott n. sp., M. granatus Willmott, Radford & Pyrcz n. sp. and M. prattorum udima Pyrcz & Boyer, n. ssp. A total of 22 species of Manerebia is reported from the study region, as much as half the total number of species in this genus distributed throughout the tropical Andes. The alpha-taxonomy of Manerebia is particularly demanding, as colour patterns have apparently converged among different species making identification virtually impossible in some cases without comparison of their genitalia, which prove taxonomically and phylogenetically highly valuable. On the other hand, several species differ markedly in wing colour patterns and occur at different elevations but have identical genitalia. Furthermore, our data show that DNA barcoding is only partly viable as an alpha-taxonomic tool, as some markedly different species of Manerebia, in terms of external morphology and ecological preferences, are genetically not separable using only COI markers. On the other hand, several species barely differing morphologically are identified based on barcode. Barcodes of 26 species, including 18 from the northern Andes, are studied here, showing strong differences within some taxa previously considered conspecific based on morphological characters, suggesting that their taxonomic status needs to be re-evaluated. In particular, M. trimaculata and the widely distributed polytypic M. inderena may be highly variable species or complexes of several species. A total of 16 species are found north of the Chamaya valley in southern Ecuador and extreme northern Peru, compared to 14 species south of it in northern Peru. The faunal (Jaccard) similarity coefficient of the two adjacent regions is low (0.3), reflecting the role of the Huancabamba Deflection as a biogeographical barrier.

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