Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad

Chemical and enantioselective analyses of Protium amazonicum resin essential oil: featuring the first natural occurrence of 4-epi-eudesm-5-ene

This study reports, for the first time, the chemical composition of an essential oil, distilled from the resin of Protium amazonicum collected in Ecuador within its native ecological context. Hydrodistillation gave an exceptionally high yield of 9.3% (w/w). GC analyses, using pol...

Description of a new species of Ixodes Latreille, 1795 (Acari: Ixodidae) parasitizing small mammals in the Andean Chocó Biosphere Reserve of Ecuador

Ixodes is the most diverse genus of hard ticks worldwide, with nearly 62 species recorded in the Neotropical region, including nine in Ecuador. However, the diversity of this genus in the Ecuadorian Andean Chocó remains poorly understood. In this study, we describe a new species...

The anthropogenic fingerprint on emerging infectious diseases

Abstract Emerging infectious diseases are a hallmark of the Anthropocene 1,2 . Human-driven ecosystem changes and human–wildlife–livestock contact can drive the emergence of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases 3–5 , but how much these processes shape landscapes of outbreak risk is...

Occupational Risk of Histoplasma capsulatum Exposure among Field Biologists in Ecuador: Evidence from Skin Testing and Serology

Abstract Histoplasma capsulatum, a dimorphic fungus, is the causative agent of histoplasmosis, a respiratory disease with a wide clinical spectrum ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe pulmonary or disseminated disease. Although Ecuador is recognized as an endemic country...

Amazon Forgotten Fishes. How the remarkable diversity of freshwater fishes is critical to people, rivers and forest

Across the vast sweep of the Amazon Basin, thousands of rivers, streams and floodplain lakes flow in an immense, interconnected waterscape— home to an unparalleled diversity of freshwater fishes. More than 2,700 species have so far been recorded, with dozens more added each year...

Highly contiguous reference genome assembly of the endangered Orcés’ blue whiptail Holcosus orcesi

Abstract Holcosus orcesi , the Orcés’ Blue Whiptail, is a Critically Endangered lizard endemic to the upper Jubones River basin in southern Ecuador. Restricted to a narrow elevational range within semi-arid Andean shrublands, it represents one of the few montane members of a pred...