Cerro Blanco, west of Guayaquil, Ecuador Photograph by John Lamoreux   Western South America: Along the Pacific coast of Ecuador Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests   8,200 square miles (21,300 square kilometers) -- about the size of Massachusetts Critical/Endangered

· A Forest Sandwich
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
More Photos

A Forest Sandwich

The Ecuadorian Dry Forests ecoregion lies on the Pacific coast of Ecuador, sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the western foothills of the Andes. The ecoregion occurs on a gradient, with areas of arid scrub and cactus forest along the Pacific Ocean and wetter regions higher on the Andean slopes. Dry habitats along the Pacific coast of the Americas are particularly rare, so this ecoregion is a precious example of a vanishing forest type. Throughout this ecoregion you can find amazing plants that are well adapted to the dry conditions that persist here during much of the year, including trees such as acacia, jacaranda, mesquite, fig, and a variety of cacti. Many species of birds use this area, including long-distance migrants, dry-forest specialists, and seasonal visitors from the neighboring montane forests, which come to feed during the fruiting season.

Special Features

The Ecuadorian Dry Forests are an isolated haven for many plants and animals that occur nowhere else on Earth. Precipitation levels range from 20 to 40 inches (500 to 1000 mm) annually, and the region is strongly seasonal. As with most dry forest areas, the vegetation occurs in a mosaic of forest patches with gallery forests along permanent waterways. Unfortunately, this area is becoming increasingly converted to agriculture. During the dry season, many plants loose their leaves to conserve water, and many of the animals gather around permanent water holes. The rainy season changes all this, and the landscape changes from yellow and brown to vibrant green in just a few days. It is during this season that the Ecuadorian Dry Forest comes to life.

	Fruit bats are extremely important to many trees because the bats distribute tree seeds in their droppings far from the parent tree, which gives the seeds a better chance of growing.

Wild Side

From flycatchers to raptors, many species of birds visit the Ecuadorian Dry Forests every year in search of food and shelter. You might find an elegant gray-backed hawk preening itself in a jacaranda tree. In a dense and thorny acacia thicket, a small bird called the saffron siskin searches for seeds, with its distinctive black hood contrasting a bright yellow collar and chest. Camouflaged in the leaf litter below, a scrub nightjar awaits the evening, when it will take flight in search of nocturnal insects. In moister Andean areas, forests of thick-leaved fig trees are filled with the loud squawking sounds of red-masked parakeets and Pacific parrotlets. Birds are not the only animals filling the skies of this diverse ecoregion. At night, several species of fruit bats make their way through the canopy and along dry streambeds in search of fresh fruits. Since most of this ecoregion is very dry, wetland habitats form important oases where you may find water opossums looking under rocks and logs for small fish, crabs, and frogs--sometimes under the watchful eyes of an ocelot.

Cause for Concern

Logging and overgrazing are serious threats to this unique and fragile ecosystem. Its proximity to Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, adds urban sprawl to the pressures of increased human colonization. Cattle are a prominent feature on the landscape, as are small and large coastal fishing and farming communities.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.