Research – FCAT Ecuador

Research

FCAT conducts and facilitates top quality research in northwest Ecuador.

We welcome and are able to support researchers at all levels, including experienced scientists looking to extend established research programs, advanced students seeking to implement independent research, and those looking to get some hands-on experience in the context of FCAT’s ongoing research.

FCAT’s research program is anchored by highly trained local residents that contribute to study design, data collection, and interpretation of results. We investigate how naturally occurring and human-caused variation in environmental conditions influence ecological processes and the patterns of diversity. Our team researches a broad range of organisms and span the fields of animal behavior, community ecology, conservation biology, plant-animal interactions, and reforestation. FCAT publishes findings in peer-reviewed articles (below) and shares results with local stakeholders via educational and outreach initiatives.

This ongoing research provides an ideal venue for training developing scientists in basic field methods, and we have given dozens of young people their first tropical research experience. At the same time, we also offer rich opportunities for established scientists and graduate students to further their research agendas. Our nuanced understanding of the biological and social dynamics of our project area, extensive experience with permitting, travel and logistics, and highly trained local resident researchers have anchored many successful projects by visiting scientists. Ongoing collaborative projects with established researchers from around the world range focus on ecology of cavity nesting birds, aquatic ecology, and public health, and we have supported dozens of undergraduate and graduate thesis projects. For more information, contact us.

Research Articles by the FCAT Team (click for PDF)

48. The adaptive significance of off-lek sociality in birds: A synthetic review, with evidence for the reproductive benefits hypothesis in Long-wattled Umbrellabirds. (2023)

47. Cavity-nesting birds are limited by nesting habitat in Neotropical agricultural landscapes. (2023)

46. Patterns of hummingbird diversity in a modified tropical landscape in the Chocó Biogeographic zone. (2023)

45. Impacts of flowering density on pollen dispersal and gametic diversity are scale dependent. (2023)

44. Functional traits, species diversity and species composition of a Neotropical palm community vary in relation to forest age. (2022)

43. Forest cover at landscape scales increases male and female gametic diversity of palm seedlings. (2021)

42. Richness and abundance of stream fishes in a fragmented landscape. (2021)

41. Ecological drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal services of a common neotropical palm. (2021)

40. Resource‐related variables drive individual variation in flowering phenology and mediate population‐level flowering responses to climate in an asynchronously reproducing palm (2020)

39. Environmental correlates of richness, community composition, and functional traits of terrestrial birds and mammals in a fragmented tropical landscape (2020)

38. Patterns of avian haemosporidian infections vary with time, but not habitat, in a fragmented Neotropical landscape (2018)

37. Genetic diversity of dispersed seeds is highly variable among leks of the long-wattled umbrellabird (2018)

36. Fruit removal by large avian frugivores varies in relation to habitat quality in continuous neotropical rainforest (2018)

35. The relative contributions of seed and pollen dispersal to gene flow and genetic diversity in seedlings of a tropical palm (2018)

34. Habitat loss and fragmentation reduce effective gene flow by disrupting seed dispersal in a neotropical palm (2018)

33. Rare genotype advantage promotes survival and genetic diversity of a tropical palm (2018)

32. Landscape‐level tree cover predicts species richness of large‐bodied frugivorous birds in forest fragments (2017)

31. Nocturnal bird diversity in forest fragments in north-west Ecuador (2017)

30. Impacts of forest fragmentation on orchid bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Euglossini) communities in the Chocó biodiversity hotspot of northwest Ecuador (2017)

29. Relative influence of relatedness, conspecific density and microhabitat on seedling survival and growth of an animal-dispersed Neotropical palm, Oenocarpus bataua (2016)

28. Frequency‐dependent selection for rare genotypes promotes genetic diversity of a tropical palm (2016)

27. Diversity of palm communities at different spatial scales in a recently fragmented tropical landscape (2016)

26. Loss of sexual dimorphism is associated with loss of lekking behavior in the green manakin Xenopipo holochora (2015)

25. Biodiversity in forest fragments of the Mache-Chindul Reserve (2015)

24. Genetic consequences of seed dispersal to sleeping trees by white-bellied spider monkeys (2015)

23. Short-term genetic consequences of habitat loss and fragmentation for the neotropical palm Oenocarpus bataua (2015)

22. Impacts of mating behavior on plant–animal seed dispersal mutualisms: a case study from a Neotropical lek-breeding bird (2014)

21. Amphibian diversity and species composition in relation to habitat type and alteration in the Mache–Chindul Reserve, Northwest Ecuador (2014)

20. 2013 Biotropica Award for Excellence in Tropical Biology and Conservation (2013)

19. Effects of forest disturbance and habitat loss on avian communities in a Neotropical biodiversity hotspot (2013)

18. Avifauna of the Mache Chindul ecological reserve, northwest Ecuador (2013)

17. Use of alpha, beta, and gamma diversity measures to characterize seed dispersal by animals (2012)

16. The pollen dispersal kernel and mating system of an insect-pollinated tropical palm, Oenocarpus bataua (2012)

15. A trans-Amazonian screening of mtDNA reveals deep intraspecific divergence in forest birds and suggests a vast underestimation of species diversity (2012)

14. Mating Behavior Drives Seed Dispersal by the Long‐wattled Umbrellabird Cephalopterus penduliger (2012)

13. Seed dispersal by neotropical birds: Emerging patterns and underlying processes (2012)

12. Pajaro toro: el finquero plumado de la selva (2011)

11. Nesting biology, home range, and habitat use of the brown wood rail (Aramides wolfi) in northwest Ecuador (2011)

10. Destination‐based seed dispersal homogenizes genetic structure of a tropical palm (2010)

9. Pompadours in the Palms.: A rare bird’s elaborate mating habits help a tropical tree disperse its seeds (2010)

7. Effects of seed disperser social behavior on patterns of seed movement and deposition (2009)

6. Advances in sexual selection theory: insights from tropical avifauna (2008)

5. Home range and habitat preferences of the Banded Ground-cuckoo (Neomorphus radiolosus) (2008)

4. Extensión del rango de distribución de ocho especies de aves en las montañas de Mache-Chindul, Ecuador (2008)

3. Nesting biology of the Banded Ground-cuckoo (Neomorphus radiolosus) (2007)

2. Temporal and spatial patterns of macaw abundance in the Ecuadorian Amazon (2005)

1. Nesting biology of a female Long-wattled Umbrellabird Cephalopterus penduliger in north-western Ecuador (2003)