Ecuador-I

The "Ecuador-I" expedition represents a comprehensive trans-Andean survey conducted in March-April 2011, spanning multiple biogeographic regions across Ecuador. This ambitious collecting effort aimed to document arachnid diversity across the dramatic ecological gradients characteristic of this megadiverse Neotropical country.

Led by A.B. Kury, the initial team included A. Chagas, A. Giupponi, and M. Vega, with the core team continuing throughout the expedition's duration. The survey covered an extraordinary range of habitats, from coastal Pacific dry forests to high-elevation Andean cloud forests and eastern Amazonian lowlands.

The expedition's twenty collecting localities span eight Ecuadorian provinces, representing one of the most geographically comprehensive arachnological surveys conducted in the region. From the humid coastal forests of Esmeraldas province to the montane environments of Pichincha and Tungurahua, and extending into the Amazon basin through Pastaza and Morona-Santiago, the expedition documented remarkable faunal transitions across Ecuador's biogeographic complexity.

Notable collecting areas included protected zones such as the Reserva Cayambe-Coca, Parque Nacional Podocarpus, and Parque Nacional Machalilla, as well as private reserves like El Madrigal and corporate-administered protected areas like Bosque Protector Cerro Blanco. This expedition provided critical baseline data for understanding arachnid biogeography across the Tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot and adjacent lowland regions.