Bolivia's Madidi National Park is most biodiverse in the world
Bolivia's Madidi National Park is most biodiverse in the world
Researchers hope the publicity earned by Madidi's record-setting biodiversity will encourage a continued commitment to conservation.
By Brooks Hays | May 22, 2018 at 2:27 PM
The forests of Bolivia's Madidi National Park are home to thousands of species,
including Madidi titi monkeys. Photo by Rob Wallace/Wildlife Conservation Society
May 22 (UPI) -- Bolivia's Madidi National Park is the world's most biodiverse protected area, according to a newly completed two-year survey of the park's plant and animal inhabitants dubbed "Identidad Madidi."
While documenting the park's thousands of plant and animal species, researchers identified 120 new candidate species of plants, butterflies and vertebrates.
"We have accomplished everything we hoped for and more on this journey of science and discovery," Robert Wallace, a scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society who lead the recent survey, said in a news release. "The massive amounts of images and data collected on the expedition will provide us with the baseline information needed to protect this natural wonder for future generations of Bolivians and the world."
The park features dramatic elevation changes as the Amazon transitions to the Andes, and as a result, it hosts a wide range of ecosystems, including grasslands, rivers, streams, wetlands and several types of forests -- Amazonian forests, montane dry forests, treeline elfin forests, Andean foothill forests and cloud forests.
More:
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2018/05/22/7121527008251/
Science:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/122857450
= new reply since forum marked as read
Is This the World’s Most Diverse National Park?
Bringing the numbers to life for the jewel in Bolivia’s conservation crown.
Rice rat Credit Mileniusz Spanowicz/Wildlife Conservation Society
By James Gorman
May 22, 2018
Leer en español
Madidi National Park in Bolivia goes from lowland to mountaintop, from 600 feet to almost 20,000 feet above sea level. It covers more than 7,000 square miles of wildly different habitats. It is, says Rob Wallace, an ecologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society in Bolivia, “a place where the Amazon meets the Andes.”
Keara valley Credit Omar Torrico/Wildlife Conservation Society
It has cloud forests, lowland jungle, rivers, streams, wetlands. It even has glaciers.
More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/22/science/bolivia-madidi-national-park.html
