Megadiversity of Ecuador

So, some info on my school…After all, I suppose I am here (in part) to go to school and learn!

There are 5 students in my Spanish program, including me and Josh. So far, my Spanish classes are my favorite, even though we have only had one. Our “professor” is Luis or “Beto,” which is the nickname for all names –berto (Alberto, Roberto, etc.). Of course he will be teaching us but he is very laid back and more wants to be a friend to us than above us in the teacher sense.

Tuesday afternoon we had an amazingly knowledgeable and English-fluent speaker on the megadiversity of Ecuador. It was by far the most interesting and impressive seminar we have had, and the most understandable! Here are some incredible facts about the environment of Ecuador:
¡ First, 10% of the world’s surface holds 70% of the world’s diversity in plant and animal species.
¡ Ecuador is not first in terms of number of different species, although it is up in the top 3 or 5 for most. What is truly astounding is the number of species per 1000 square kilometers – Ecuador ranks first by this measurement in almost every species group. For example:
o Plant: 19,000 species or 74.11 species/1000km2
o Mammals: 389 species or 15.17/1000km2 (of mammals, 170 are bats!!! Only 3 bats here are blood eating and only 1 of those goes for large mammal blood; the other 2 eat fish or other bats)
o Reptiles: 14.5/1000km2
o Amphibians: 15.68/1000km2
o Butterflies: 8.58/1000km2
o Birds: 1600 species
**sidenote: a kilometer squared is about 3000 square feet. That means in an average size house in the US, the different species you would find include 74 plants, 15 mammals, 14 reptiles, 15 amphibians, 8 butterflies and a ton of birds. Full house?! Just to put that in perspective.**
¡ Why there is so much diversity jammed into a country the size of Nevada:
o Location: on the equator, a tropical belt plus the Andes mountains
o Geography: some many types of environs; altitudes ranges from 0-20,700ft
o Climate: more intense sun gives a higher amount of energy to each square of earth here (see Exhibit A: my forehead)

So there’s your biological and ecological lesson for the day!