idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
The Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change is working with the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE) in Quito to establish a scientific center for biodiversity research in Ecuador. The Ecuadorian-German Integrative Biodiversity Research Centre (EGiB) will work with a network of research institutions to further develop the scientific infrastructure in one of the world's most important and at the same time highly endangered biodiversity hotspots.
The project, which has just been launched in February, will initially be funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research for three years, followed by a consolidation phase. ‘We want to establish a long-term partnership between German and Ecuadorian researchers,’ emphasizes EGiB project leader Prof. Dr Bernhard Hausdorf from the LIB.
While the transformation of nature in Ecuador is progressing rapidly, countless species have yet to be discovered. Ecuador is characterized by an extremely high diversity of ecosystems, 64 out of 91 are forest ecosystems. There are dry steppes and plateaus, rocky Andean peaks, and tropical forests along the Amazon. Climate change is having a particularly negative impact on biodiversity in this mosaic of biozones. Diversity is dwindling.
LIB researchers have been involved in projects in Ecuador for almost five years, including LIB collection manager and co-EGiB project manager Nadine Dupérré: ‘We have already gained extensive experience here and built up a base. We are now going one step further with the science center. This cooperation is significantly larger and more long-term than our previous projects.’
The science center will offer local and international researchers an infrastructure and services for their work: for example, there will be help with applying for permits, setting up collaborations, and, organizing joint excursions. Researchers will also have access to the morphological and molecular laboratories and biobanks of the PUCE as well as to the field stations and collections of the Zoological Museum in Quito (QCAZ) with its two million specimens.
A great deal of pooled knowledge from different areas of the LIB is being channeled into the project, including experience in biodiversity monitoring and conservation research.
Scientists from molecular biodiversity research at the LIB are contributing their knowledge to research into infectious and chronic diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans (such as Chagas, and dengue). The CISeAL Centre for Research on Health in Latin America is researching this and is an important project partner.
Another focus of the project is the training of Ecuadorian researchers and students, particularly in animal groups where there is little local expertise to date, such as spiders or snails. As part of the project, a course in biodiversity research and systematics will be offered as part of a Master's program at the PUCE.
‘With the extensive knowledge from our center, we are laying the foundation and building a network,’ says Bernhard Hausdorf. ‘In the long term, the science center will be supported by new sources of funding. The acceptance and use of the center by a large number of researchers from Germany and Ecuador will be crucial here.’
Contact EGiB project leaders:
Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change
Museum of Nature Hamburg
Prof Dr Bernhard Hausdorf
Head of the Mollusca Section
E-mail: b.hausdorf@leibniz-lib.de
Phone: +49 40 238317-617
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Nadine Dupérré
Collection Manager Arachnology
E-mail: n.duperre@leibniz-lib.de
Phone: +49 40 238317-611
Ecuador also has a share in the world's most important tropical wilderness region, the Amazon Basin, ...
Elicia Tapia
LIB, Elicia Tapia
The project aims to establish a long-term partnership between German and Ecuadorian researchers - wi ...
Elicia Tapia
LIB, Elicia Tapia
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