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Tropical Andes
The richest and most
diverse region on
Earth
The richest and most diverse region on Earth, the
Tropical Andes spans 1,542,644 km², from western
Venezuela to northern Chile and Argentina, and
includes large portions of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and
Bolivia.
Hotspot Original Extent (km 2)
Hotspot Vegetation Remaining (km 2)
Endemic Plant Species
Endemic Threatened Birds
Endemic Threatened Mammals
Endemic Threatened Amphibians
Extinct Species†
Human Population Density (people/km
2)
Area Protected (km 2)
Area Protected (km 2) in Categories IIV*
1,542,644
385,661
15,000
110
14
363
2
37
246,871
121,650
•The Andes also
hold the highest
large navigable
lake in the world,
Lake Titicaca,
which sits at 3,810
meters between
Peru and Bolivia.
•The Tropical Andes
Hotspot contains the
deepest gorge in the
world -- the 3,223meter deep Cañón
del Colca near
Cabanaconde, Peru.
Tropical Andes are sometimes
split into northern and
southern zones, divided by
the Marañon Gap or
Huancabamba Depression.
In the north, the hotspot is naturally more complex and
fragmented, and consists of the main Andean mountains dividing
into three cordilleras in Colombia, including the isolated Sierra
Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia’s tallest mountain).
Types of Vegetation in the Tropical Andes
.
Flora
Tropical Andes is home to an estimated 30,000-35,000 species of
vascular plants. It is also the world leader in plant endemism, with an
estimated 50% (and perhaps 60% or more) of these species found
nowhere else on Earth.
The forests of the Tropical
Andes are floristically different
Parajubaea torallyi, EN
from their lowland counterparts
because they contain significant
representation of plant families
Tobacco crop
not found in the lowlands.
In general, diversity decreases
with altitude within this
hotspot, and endemism
Andean bromelilad
increases. However, the puna
and parámo grasslands that
extend from the cloud forests to
the snow line are still very
Potato crop
diverse, harbouring as many as
800 species, many of these local
endemics.
Cinchona plant
Birds
The Tropical Andes harbour more than 1,700 bird species, nearly 600 of
which are endemic. The region has 66 endemic bird genera, and
includes all or part of 21 different Endemic Bird Areas, as defined by
BirdLife International.
At present, nearly 160 bird species in the
Tropical Andes are threatened, and at least
one species, the Colombian grebe (Podiceps
andinus), has gone extinct in the last century.
Patagona gigas
Blue and gold macaw
Loddigesia mirabilis, EN
Green macaw
The hotspot also boasts the greatest diversity
of hummingbirds in the world, including the
world's largest, the giant hummingbird
(Patagona gigas), and the marvellous
spatuletail (Loddigesia mirabilis, EN),
appropriately named for its long racquetshaped tail.
Harpy eagle
Chestnut Eared Aracari
Mammals
The yellow-tailed woolly
monkey ( Oreonax
flavicauda, CR), is one of the
most important mammalian
flagship species for the
Tropical Andes, which was
believed to be extinct until it
was rediscovered in 1974. It
is the largest mammal
endemic to Peru.
There are nearly 570 mammal species in the Tropical Andes
hotspot; about 75 of these are endemic and nearly 70 are
threatened.
Tapir
Black agouti
The wild guanaco ( Lama guanicoe) is
one of four distinctive camel species
found in the Tropical Andes – represents
an important conservation success story
for this hotspot. Considered to have one
of the finest wools in the world, the
vicuña was driven to the brink of
extinction, until a sustainable-use
program implemented in the 1970s led
to its dramatic recovery.
Amazon river
dolphin
Jaguar
Red howler monkey
Borugo
Reptiles
There are more than 600 reptile species identified in the
Tropical Andes hotspot (more than 270 of which are
endemic).
Primitive tree boa
The region's
reptiles include the
primitive tree boa
(Corallus enydris),
an arboreal snake
which has a pelvis
and vestigal hind
limbs, and the
Magdalena river
turtle ( Podocnemis
lewyana, EN),
found in the Rio
Magdalena River
basin, along with
other various
snakes, alligators
and lizards.
Magdalena river turtle
Common green iguana
Rainbow skink
False coral snake
Amphibians
The best-known amphibians
are the brightly colored poison
dart frogs. Some of these frogs
are among the most poisonous
organisms on Earth; others,
like Epipedobates tricolor,
which produces a compound
more powerful than that of
morphine, hold promise as the
source of new medicines.
The Andes is the most important region in the world for
amphibians, with around 980 species and more than 670
endemics. The frog genus Eleutherodactylus has more than
330 species, of which more than 250 are restricted to the
hotspot.
White lined tree frog
Blue poison dart frog
Hyla rhodopepla tree frog
Habitat loss is playing a major role in driving many
of the extinctions of many species, also disease is
devastating impacts on amphibian populations in
this part of the world.
Monkey frog
Phantasmal poison frog
Human Impacts
The Inter-Andean valleys are the most degraded
parts of the hotspot, with less than 10% of their
original habitat remaining with no more than about
25% of its original vegetation left intact.
Cloud forests - agriculture,
deforestation, dams, and road
building are the most significant
threats
Higher altitudes - seasonal
burning, grazing, agriculture,
mining, and fuel wood collection
have degraded the grasslands and
scrublands of the puna and
páramos.
Lower altitudes - a new and
serious threat is oil exploration and
development on the eastern slopes
of the Andes and the adjacent
Amazonian lowlands of Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
Invasive species, such
as the rainbow trout
(above) and the
American bullfrog (left)
can out-compete or
even eat many native
amphibians and
threaten the survival of
native flora and fauna.
Conservation Action and Protected Areas
Protected areas cover some 16% of the original extent of vegetation in the region, although only about 8%
of the hotspot is protected in reserves or parks.
Globally threatened species are best protected through the conservation of sites in which they occur; these
sites are referred to as “key biodiversity areas” (KBAs), which are discrete biological units that contain one or
more globally threatened or restricted-range species, and can potentially be managed for conservation as a
single unit.
In the long term, conservation efforts in the Tropical
Andes have focused on the need to add to and connect
this network of protected areas.
This is done by:
•By connecting existing parks through corridors of
protected areas and biodiversity-friendly, sustainable
development projects
•Ecological processes like migration
•Dispersal
•Enhancing gene flow among populations
One of the most impressive projects has
been taking shape over the last few decades
- this corridor begins in Peru's Manú
National Park, which at 18,812 km² is one
of the largest rainforest reserves on Earth,
and stretches through the 3,250-km²
Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, parts of the
Tambopata-Candamo Reserved Zone in
Peru, and across the Bolivian border to the
19,000-km² Madidi National Park.