Biodiversity of "El Gullán" Scientific

A glimpse on the Biodiversity of the El Gullán Scientific Station

The University of Azuay in the last 20 years has made important efforts to conserve an area of native vegetation in southern Ecuador. During that time, the professors, researchers and students of the School of Biology, Ecology and Management have conducted a large variety of research projects.

Although these studies have produced interesting results in different areas of knowledge, many have not been made known to society and have remained accessible only in the academic and scientific field. At the moment, the absence of correct and effective strategies for disseminating the results obtained during the investigative processes is one of the most common and recurrent problems in the academic-scientific field. Starting from this problem, it is proposed with the publication of this book to generate a tool that allows exposing the biodiversity that can be found in this ecosystem, to get people to see, comment, think, be interested and be aware of the value of biodiversity. and the importance of its conservation.

The High Andean ecosystem in which the Gullán Research Station is located is perhaps one of the least studied and most threatened ecosystems in the Tropical Andes. In general, the vast majority of studies on diversity have focused on ecosystems located at lower altitudes, which is why our knowledge of the true diversity of this ecosystem remains very limited. In addition, the little information that exists is scattered and not easily accessible.

As human beings are visual creatures, we use what we see to learn, which is why photographs awaken feelings of wonder and curiosity, becoming a very effective tool when transmitting knowledge, in this case information about the natural heritage that we have in Ecuador. Thus, through this book I want to reduce the distance between science and society through aesthetics and the information that accompanies the photographs in this book.

Here is included a small approximation to the true biodiversity of the area where the El Gullán Scientific Station of the University of Azuay is located. With more than one hundred high-quality photos of more than two hundred species of fauna and flora, which are accompanied by texts that deal with a wide variety of topics such as diversity, ecology, evolution, ethology, etc. And although, in these texts, a language accessible to the general public is used, the scientific rigor of the same is not neglected, all the information presented is backed by a rigorous updated bibliographic review , in addition, it was counted with the advice of scientists from different parts of the world who are specialists in some of the species presented. The selection of the species was based on some criteria such as aesthetics and scientific interest.

I hope, then, that this publication will be used as a letter of introduction to the scientific community and to the society of the biodiversity that exists in the forests found in the El Gullán Research Station and that it will attract new research and conservation projects. for this interesting place.