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In order to make efficient management plans for conservation it is vital to understand what species are found in the area and to understand their ecology. The Payamino territory is proving to be extremely diverse in both flora and fauna. This biodiversity has been one of the focus areas of Glasgow and Manchester Universities’ field courses.

Based at the Timburi Research Station, in the heart of the Payamino territory, the field courses have concentrated on teaching undergraduate students fieldwork techniques for carrying out biological research in tropical areas. In addition to learning how to carry out research, students and staff on these visits have been collecting data on species found at Payamino. As a result of the work they have carried out, the project now has a list of more than 300 bird species, over 60 reptiles and amphibians and 21 spiders.

Click here to see the Payamino Bird list

Members of the Payamino community have been actively involved in guiding and helping  field study groups, assisting with data collection and learning the correct techniques to capture, identify and release the animals they have been working with. Additionally, a number of young people from Payamino are currently attending once-monthly ornithology training workshops, run by an Ecuadorean NGO called Aves & Conservacion, to help them improve their birding skills.

As well as working with Manchester and Glasgow Universities, in 2010, San Jose de Payamino hosted its first Ecuadorean researcher, Meche Gavilanez, who is currently studying for her PhD at Lousiana State University in the US. Meche was carrying out a study on the feeding habits of monkeys, and was able to confirm the presence of howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys and titi monkeys in the Payamino territory, along with the more common squirrel monkeys and saddle-backed tamarins that can be often seen in and around inhabited areas and in trees along the river banks.

The project’s vision for research is to expand to be able to host researchers from Ecuador and around the world, with research areas developing to include social and anthropological research, as well as biological research.

If you are interested in conducting surveys or field courses in Payamino, please send a mail to info@payamino.org