FDU students discover biodiversity in Ecuador

a group of students pose for the camera. there is a mountain range behind them.

Students climb the Páramo.

Our tropical ecology students participated in a two-week study abroad program in Ecuador this winter, organized by the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. The expedition included visits to the high-elevation Páramo, the Cloud Forest and tropical rainforest of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, which is enriched in biodiversity. The students experienced close encounters with a wide variety of wildlife, ranging from the world’s smallest monkeys, pygmy marmosets, to Amazon river dolphins and the extravagant cock-of-the-rock. The program was ran by associate professor Harald Parzer and assistant professor Elise Morton, along with the director of the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Gonzalo Rivas-Torres.

This amazing journey facilitated a deeper understanding of tropical ecology and appreciation of these remarkable and important environments.

a group of students huddle around a professor. they are standing in a rainforest. they hold notebooks and observe a insect held by the professor.

Students study wildlife at the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve.

Photo gallery here 

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