Rarely Studied Orchid Species in Southeastern Peru Are Excellent Indicators of Overall Biodiversity in the Area
The
only truly sustainable solution to orchid conservation over time is to
keep orchids in an intact ecosystem. When preserving animals, one can
easily envision zoological parks as permanent “arks”, keeping large
animal species alive for perpetuity in a wholly ex situ
setting. Orchids do not follow the same pattern because of their
complex interaction with symbiotic fungi and specialized pollinators.
Even if they were available, no amount of human resources and funding
could hope to maintain the degree of biological complexity seen in
orchid relationships in nature.
-- Eric Christenson, 2003. Machu Picchu: Orchids. PROFONAPE, Lima, Peru.
PROJECT SUMMARY
There
are an estimated 30,000-35,000 species of orchids worldwide. Latin
America is home to over 20,000 species, with Peru accounting for 10% of
this number based only on minimal botanical activity over the last 30
years. Based on a review of available data of orchid collections, there
have been surprisingly few collections in the Andes-Amazon region of
southeastern Peru. The discovery and study of wild orchids in Peru has
been hampered by inaccessibility, either to the habitat or to the
collections, data, and images from the field. There is a wealth of
ecological information to be discovered about the mysterious orchid
family.
In addition to the charm and beauty of
orchids, there are strong scientific indications that this family has
much to offer in guiding humankind to understanding our effects on
different tropical forest types. Because of their complex biology,
orchids are excellent indicators of overall biodiversity in an area
(Christenson, 2003). Because orchids are highly evolved with their
pollinators and require a specific relationship with fungus to
germinate, they are intimately intertwined with the ecology of their
habitat. To conserve orchids we must understand and protect their
environment. Many orchids are epiphytes, meaning they live on other
plants: on tree trunks, branches, and sometimes leaves. The precarious
life of an epiphyte makes orchids especially sensitive to climate
change. “In particular, they are good ecological indicators for the
increasing temperatures and aridity associated with widescale
deforestation in the tropics. Diminishing orchid populations often
signal long-term deleterious environmental change.” (Christenson,
2003). The study of wild orchids has many conservation and scientific
benefits, including the use of the orchid family as a base-line
indicator of ecosystem health. To achieve conservation and scientific
benefits, we need to conduct a comprehensive orchid inventory and
monitoring program that will document orchid ecology, biology, and
natural history. We need to use this information to design orchid
conservation plans for the intact regions of habitat where orchids
still thrive.
Conservation of the cloud forest region of the Kosñipata Valley on
the eastern slopes of the tropical Andes in Peru is important for
orchid conservation for several reasons.
- The conservation value of the area is high. This valley is
the buffer zone for Manu National Park, a World Heritage site, widely
known as one of the most important protected areas on the planet. The
upper elevation forests are known to have many endemic species found
only in this life zone.
- The sheer amount of specialized
cloud forest species is immense. Many of the species occur within a
narrow altitudinal range of a few hundred meters. The orchid diversity
in this region is very high, though few in-depth studies have been done
to provide the scientific evidence.
- The altitudinal
transect that connects the lowlands with the highlands can act as a
biological escape corridor for species that will need to migrate in
response to accelerating climate change.
- Cloud
forest habitat is undergoing rapid conversion to agricultural and
pastoral land. Comparatively, the Kosñipata Valley is relatively
pristine and undisturbed making it an ideal study and conservation site.
OBJECTIVES
Our primary goal is to assess our state of knowledge of the orchid
diversity of the Andes-Amazon region of southeastern Peru, a region
from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado, Peru. This goal will be
reached by accomplishing the following work objectives:
1. Explore orchid diversity of the Andes-Amazon region of
southeastern Peru through botanical investigations in the field and
herbarium
2. Produce large set of high-resolution digital images of orchid
species of the region, and their habitats, habits, and morphology
3. Identify and describe the orchid species collected in the region
4. Compile a comprehensive checklist of the orchids species of the region
5. Collect and analyze quantitative data about the natural history,
population biology, and phenology of orchids at selected locations
along the Andes-Amazon altitudinal gradient
6. Develop and publish web pages about the orchid diversity of the
Andes-Amazon region, including species pages with information and
images about each orchid species in the region
7. Prepare and submit at least one manuscript about results of the
project, including a comprehensive species checklist and
recommendations for the conservation and continued exploration of the
orchid diversity of the Andes-Amazon region
8. Submit basic orchid field guides for one Andean (Wayqecha) and
one Amazonian (Los Amigos) research site, with species diagnoses, brief
descriptions, images, and keys
We have completed the above objectives and are currently working to
analyze the data. Below we present increments of the project. Please
stay tuned for further updates!
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Miguel
Chocce, a student from San Marcos University who works in the herbarium
at the San Marcos Museum, has been working closely with several members
of the AABP team since 2003 and is now one of the core members of the
team. He was stationed between the field and museum. Although he has
been known to collect anything with chlorophyll, his favorite group of
plant is the orchid family. Miguel has made hundreds of collections in
the Andes-Amazon region and has taken images of most of them. During
2003-2004, Miguel documented nearly 100 orchid species in the forests
around the Los Amigos Research Center. He continued his orchid work at
Los Amigos carrying out field research as part of the AABP team.
AABP team members, Janovec, Neill, and Chocce, and the Amazon
Conservation Association (ACA) conducted a brief (three days)
reconnaissance investigation of orchid diversity at the Wayqecha Cloud
Forest property in Jan 2003 and then again in March 2004. At that time,
in less than 10 total days of collecting, we collected over 110 species
of orchids, from the size of 5 cm to a length of 4 m, in a small patch
of undisturbed cloud forest. Data from the March 2004 expedition are
being combined with data from orchid studies in 2003 through work by
Miguel Chocce in the San Marcos Herbarium in Lima, Peru.
Eric
Christenson, a world-renowned orchidologist specializing in the orchids
of Peru, identified the specimens we collected. Based on his
identifications, he indicated that possibly two of our collections
might be species new to science. We predict there could be more than
500 orchid species in the area. To discover and document them requires a consistent inventory and monitoring program.
In
2005, TCU Graduate student Rebecca Repasky began a year long study of
the orchid diversity located within the Wayqecha Cloud forest. Rebecca
collected data for 10 days each month in various habitats of this
region. Through her preliminary research, it was believed that more
than 200 orchids would be found within this area. By the end of her
year long study, she had documented 239 orchid species.
We are currently conducting basic statistical analysis of the
diversity, abundance, and density of orchid species through
quantitative inventory at five locations over the project period. This
will involve similarity indices, multivariate data analysis, ecological
ordination, and regression analysis against environmental and
ecological data. We will produce time series analysis on the orchid
phenology dataset and attempt to correlate phenological patterns with
environmental data (i.e., climate, temperature) being collected in the
region.
Preparation and Submission of Manuscript
We will prepare and submit a manuscript about the orchids of the
Andes-Amazon region. The manuscript will include a checklist of orchid
species to be compiled through this project from existing sources of
information and new discoveries made through field expeditions and
herbarium study. The introduction to the article will provide pertinent
information about the history and status of botanical exploration in
the region, using the orchid family as an indicator group. Information
and collections for each species will be provided, along with maps of
their distributions. Along with the article, we will also publish color
images. This manuscript will serve as the foundation for production of
orchid field guides.
Publication of Field Guides to Orchid Diversity of Andean and Amazonian Research Sites
One of the major set of products from this project will include two
field guides to orchid diversity. One of the guides will be focused on
the Los Amigos Conservation Area in the Amazonian lowlands of Madre de
Dios, Peru. The second guide will be focused on the Wayqecha Cloud
Forest Research Station in the Andean highlands in the Department of
Cusco, Peru. This will increase interest in the rich botanical
diversity and endemism of the Andes-Amazon region.
REFERENCES
Balick, M. 1999. Good Botanical Practices. In: D. Eskinazi, M.
Blumenthal, N. Farnsworth, and C. Riggins (eds.). Botanical Medicine:
Efficacy, Quality Assurance, and Regulation. pp. 221-125. Mary Ann
Liebert, Inc., Larchmont, NY.
Christenson, Eric. 2003. Machu Picchu: Orchids. PROFONAPE, Lima, Peru