We have been working in the cloud forests near Chachapoyas, Peru since 2014 to understand how regional climate variability and agricultural land use change shape tropical montane bird communities. This work exists due to the invaluable contributions of over 100 student field assistants and collaborators from local campesino communities where our research is based.

Please click on the following links to learn more:

~

Press Releases from the Florida Museum of Natural History

~

Study Sites

Levanto ~ 3000m

This site is located within the Communal Forest Reserve of Levanto and a network of nearby forest fragments. We camp in a rustic cabin near treeline. The community also protects pajonal in the private conservation area of Tilacancha.

Huiquilla ~ 2700-3000m

Part of our research is conducted at the private conservation area of Huiquilla in Choctamal en route to the Chachapoyan Fortress of Kuelap. This beautiful tract of cloud forest has hosted a variety of biological research. We stay at a bunkhouse on the reserve.

Pomacochas & San Lorenzo~ 2500-2800m

We are lucky to work within an extensive network of cloud forest fragments owned by Don Diego Poclin and other landowners near the town of Pomacochas and its famous laguna. We also work in several fragments near the community of San Lorenzo across the valley. We stay with local families.

Bosque de Palmeras de Ocol ~ 2200-2400m

Part of our research is conducted at the private conservation area of Bosque Palmeras Taulia-Molinopampa which hosts the world’s largest stand of Ceroxylen palms and extensive tracts of primary cloud forest. We coordinate with the Women’s Association in Ocol who provide food and lodging.

Bosque Berlín ~ 2000-2300m

We work with the family Rimarachín at their beautiful private conservation area of Bosque Berlín. Perched above the arid Utcubamba River valley, the forest is a lush oasis for iconic cloud forest species such as the Cock of the Rock and endangered Yellow Woolly-Tailed Monkey. We stay at the family’s farmhouse, a 1.5 hour backpack from the nearest road.

Corosha ~ 1800-2000m

We work with a network of landowners in forests around the Community of Corosha. We coordinate with the Women’s Association in Beruit who provide food and lodging. The community protects habitat for yellow-tailed woolly monkey and spectacled bear in the private conservation area of Hierbabuena-Allpayacu.

Venceremos ~ 1700-1900m

We worked for several years within the Bosque de Proteccion Alto Mayo. The protected area covers 1,820 square kilometers of montane forest. Park guards are working to promote conservation and education in local communities to reduce deforestation. We stayed in a bunkhouse at the Puesto de Control Venceremos.

Chachapoyas

The project is based out of Chachapoyas, capital of the department of Amazonas. It is a beautiful old Andean city built on the slopes above the Rio Utcabamba, with nearby pre-Incan ruins from the Chachapoyan culture and some of the tallest waterfalls in the world.

~

Research

Please see our ResearchGate pages for pdfs: Ian Ausprey & Felicity Newell

~

The Birds

~

Outreach

~

People

Field Assistants 2015 – 2019

M. Antezana Aponte, A.R. Antezana Ccencho, P.B. Ayala Nagao, E.V. Berrocal Rodríguez, J.F. Castro Ospina, J. Cereghetti, K.M. Chumpitaz Trujillo, D. Guevara Apaza, A.C. Felix Caballero, E. Flores Cabrejos, A.S. Herrera Reto, L.L. Horna Ordinola, R.A. Huayanca Munarriz, N. Mamani Cabana, E.I. Nuñez Cortez, J.W. Ortiz Herrera, P.M. Ordoñez Buezo de Manzanedo, A.C. Paca Condori, N.J. Peña Girón, R.O. Pérez Purizaca, J.N. Pisconte Camargo, T.V. Poma Coyla, V. Rimarichín Cayatopa, M.C. Ríos Vásquez, V.E. Sánchez  Cabrerra, M.E. Seminario Rebolledo, & W. Zhou.