2021 ESA Annual Meeting (August 2 - 6)

FT 13 A Walk Through the Wilderness of Wayqecha Biological Station in the Peruvian Cloud Forest

12:00 PM-1:00 PM
Session Organizer:
Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya
Volunteer:
Shih-Huai Cheng
This Virtual Field Trip will take you to the Peruvian Cloud Forest, where Wayqecha Biological Station is located(2500-3400 m.a.s.l.): one of the world’s highest field stations and best sites to explore the lush cloud and elfin forest ecosystem bordering Manu National Park. Situated where the eastern slopes of the Andes meet the Amazon lowlands, the cloud forest absorbs moisture from passing clouds and is often blanketed in mist and fog. We will virtually take you to see where the Andean grasslands transition into lush cloud forests and montane forests below. We will take participants to great heights: a walk across the 50m heigh canopy walkway where all trees are seen from above, exposing their beautiful epiphytes from a different angle, we will show a recap of an expedition through the Andean Highlands in a quest to find the endangered Spectacled Bear, to a tour of our stunning orchid trail with orchids that live only at these high altitudes. This trip will show you what it's like to perform research and field expeditions at such high altitudes, where oxygen is limited and UV-radiation is fierce. The virtual field trip will be filled with orchids, bromeliads, hummingbirds and spectacled bears, which play the lead role in the stunning ecosystem around Wayqecha Biological Station. More info on the station and the managing NGO Conservación Amazónica - ACCA can be found here: Wayqecha Cloud Forest Biological Station