The Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve (Reserva Ecológica Jama-Coaque) is a 2,100-acre (850

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

) protected area of

Pacific Equatorial Forest The Pacific Equatorial Forest (also known as thPacific Forest of Ecuador is a tropical forest ecosystem located along Ecuador's coastal mountain range at 0° latitude, primarily concentrated in northwestern Manabí. The ecosystem is most notable fo ...

in coastal

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. It is one of the last significant remnants of

tropical moist forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Description TSMF is generally found in large ...

and premontane

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

in the region between the

Andes mountains The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

in Ecuador. It is estimated that only 2% of the native forest still remains in coastal Ecuador. The Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve is owned and managed by Third Millennium Alliance (TMA), a non-profit conservation foundation. It is part of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena biodiversity hotspot as designated by

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia, in Arlington County, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and co ...

Location

The Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve is located along the Jama-Coaque Coastal Mountain Range in northwestern Ecuador, in the heart of the Pacific Equatorial Forest. It is 19 kilometers south of the equator and 7 kilometers inland from the Pacific Ocean in the Upper Camarones River Basin. It is 3 kilometers inland from the small agricultural community of Camarones and approximately equidistant from the mid-sized coastal towns of Jama and Pedernales in the province of Manabí. The Bamboo House Research Station within the reserve is located at 0° 06’56.8” S, 80°07’29.5” W.

History

The Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve was established by Third Millennium Alliance in 2007, initially as a 95-acre (38 hectare) private reserve along the peaks of the coastal mountain range. From 2008 to 2011, the reserve expanded to through 5 subsequent land purchases, and presently covers 57% of the Upper Camarones River Basin. The reserve takes its name from the ancient kingdom that thrived in the region from 355 B.C. to 1532 A.D.

Ecology

The Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve climbs from elevation, along the Camarones River, to a maximum elevation of elevation at the peak of Cerro Sagrado mountain. The lowland part of the reserve is characterized by tropical moist evergreen forest and transition to tropical

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

. Starting at approximately of elevation, the forest rapidly transitions to premontane

, owing to the nearly constant fog layer along the crests of the coastal mountain range. The Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve protects the headwaters of the Camarones River and three tributaries.

Climate

The Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve is subject to a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

. Although it receives abundant rainfall like that of the tropical rain forest climate, rainfall is concentrated in the high-sun season, which is late December through May. The reserve is located onshore from the changeover between the Humboldt and El Niño ocean currents, which place it at the transition zone between some of the wettest forests in the world (the Chocó rainforests in Colombia) and the driest desert in the world (the Atacama in Peru and Chile). Starting in late December, a change in atmospheric pressure shifts ocean currents so that warm waters from the El Niño current come closer to shore and displace the cold waters of the

Humboldt current The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and pro ...

. The result is warmer air temperatures and heavy rainfall that used to last through August, but now usually only lasts into May. The dry season, which now begins in June or July and can last into mid January, is characterized by cooler temperatures and more overcast skies. The Bamboo House research station in the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve records an average daily temperature range of 24-31°Celsius (75-88°Fahrenheit) in the rainy season and 19-28°Celsius (66-82°Fahrenheit) in the dry season. Annual rainfall in the lowland moist forests of the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve averages 1,000-1,500 mm. The total annual water intake of the cloud forest is estimated to exceed 2000 mm, owing to

fog drip Fog drip is water dripping to the ground during fog. It occurs when water droplets from the fog adhere to the needles or leaves of trees or other objects, coalesce into larger drops and then drop to the ground. Fog drip can be an important sourc ...

, a process in which moisture from the clouds the hover along the peaks of the mountains is stripped by the surfaces of vegetation and condenses into water that drips to the forest floor.

Wildlife

The Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve serves as habitat and key migratory channel for six endangered species of felines (

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

, puma,

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted Felidae, wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Central and South America, ...

oncilla The oncilla (''Leopardus tigrinus''), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the popul ...

margay The margay (''Leopardus wiedii'') is a small wild cat native to Mexico, Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal felid, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted for the wildl ...

, and

jaguarundi The jaguarundi (''Herpailurus yagouaroundi''; or ) is a wild felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its range extends from central Argentina in the south to northern Mexico, through Central America, Central and South America east of the Andes. T ...

) and two endangered species of primates (mantled

howler monkey Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropical realm, Neotropics and are among the largest of the New World monkey, platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyte ...

and white-fronted

capuchin monkey The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the "Street organ, organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some t ...

). Other endangered mammals include the

tayra The tayra (''Eira barbara'') is an omnivorous animal from the mustelid family, native to the Americas. It is the only species in the genus ''Eira''. Tayras are also known as the ''tolomuco'' or ''perico ligero'' in Central America, ''motete'' ...

, the

three-toed sloth The three-toed or three-fingered sloths are arboreal neotropical mammals. They are the only members of the genus ''Bradypus'' (meaning "slow-footed") and the family Bradypodidae. The five living species of three-toed sloths are the brown-throa ...

, the western

agouti The agouti (, ) or common agouti is any of several rodent species of the genus ''Dasyprocta''. They are native to Central America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced else ...

, and the spotted

paca A paca ia a rodent in South and Central America. Paca or PACA may also refer to: People * William Paca (1740–1799), a Founding Father of the United States * Paca Blanco (Francisca Blanco Díaz, born 1949), Spanish activist * Paca Navas (Franc ...

. In 2009,

herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...

Paul S. Hamilton discovered two new species of frog in the cloud forest of the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=May 2020 Nature reserves in Ecuador Forests of Ecuador Geography of Manabí Province