Although megadiversity is not a word found in the dictionaries, that's how most biologists would describe Ecuador. It is a relatively small country but is blessed with one of the highest biological diversity (or biodiversity in short) in the world. The main reasons for that are its tropical location on the equator, the high Andes mountain range and two major ocean currents along its coast. Furthermore it is home to the remote Pacific islands of Galapagos, a very special place for evolutonary biology.   Tropics (regions around the equator) are known as the nature region with the highest biodiversity, probably due to the fact that in times of Ice Ages, these zones serve as safe havens for all living organisms. Ecuador boasts of the Amazon and coastal basin of the tropical regions. The Andes which reach up to 6000m provide ideal conditions for different habitats due its altitudinal ranges. It also serves as a geographical barrier between the coastal tropics and subtropics to the west and the Amazonian eastern ones with many isolated areas, which  lends itself to speciation and therefore to an increase of distinct species of plants and animals over time with a high rate of endemic species. This in particular is true for Galapagos which has relatively few animals and plants but many of them are endemic, only found there and nowhere else in the world. Another important factor are the ocean currents along the coast and Galapagos islands which influences greatly the biogeography of the land. On the one hand you have the cold Humboldt current, which comes up north along the South American coast from Antarctica and on the other hand the warm El Niño, which flows along the equator. Both have great influence on the weather patterns of the land and the great variety of marine life found in Ecuadorian waters.   There is an estimate of some 25 000 species of plants alone in Ecuador (compare that to 17000 species in the whole of North America). There are 1600 birds found in the country (more than half of the 3000 species in whole South America and more than double the species in Europe). Known species of 369 mammals (most mammals per square meter worldwide) 350 species of reptiles call Ecuador its home  (with over 200 species of snakes alone and many endemic species in Galapagos). There exist around 400 amphibians in the country (with the most species of frogs in the world) ...no information yet. Estimate of 800 species of fish in the Amazon waters and  450 different fish in the Pacific ocean surrounding Ecuador ...no information yet. The number of invertebrates, especially the insects are unknown but they are the most numerous of any living creatures, reaching into the hundred of thousands. The last section called Others includes everything else which cannot be put in the other categories like fungi, echinoderms and more.....no information yet available.   Having all that said and given you the impressive numbers, it has to be noted, that much of the fauna and flora is under siege by human intervention and seriously endangered. Western Ecuador is a case study for the loss of endemic plants through habitat destructions, which never can be recuperated. But boasting still of many distinct ecosystems with numerous habitats, it is important to recognize their value and try to protect them for future generations. Although quite a few national and private parks and reserves exist in the country, they are often protected only on paper with very little actual conservation and preservation done in the fields.    Note from the author: I never ever would claim to be an expert in any of those subjects, on the contrary nature in general did not interest me at all before I came to Ecuador. Only in this country, I learnt to appreciate it and for that I have to thank some of my guests, who awakened my curiosity on trips to the various regions. Although the pages do not have any scientific value and were written primarily for my own learning and understanding process, they should be of interest to ordinary people and give them an idea of the rich biodiversity awaiting them here. Erich Lehenbauer     Who are not so much interested in explications but enjoy pictures of animals & plants go to the nature section of Ecuador-Images.net.

Life on Earth Big Bang ? Universe starts from almost nothing some 12 - 18 billion years ago and expands. Flying debris and gases from the explosion start to form the solar systems and planets. Planet Earth solidifies 4.6 billion years ago but is barren and void of any life whatsoever. Life is thought to have originated one billion year later somehow through a system of self- replication occurring in molecules with the help of an external energy source. The most successful self-replicators evolved then later into simple cells with a  separating wall and in that process life as we know it got started. Those so-called prokaryotes are the bacteria and archaea which represented for the next 2 billion years the only life on earth. Photosynthesizing bacteria played an important role in that time period as they enriched the atmosphere with oxygen and paved the road for life forms to come. Until then only anaerobic life existed. Another important step in the evolution of life was the appearance of cells with an enclosed nucleus. Those eukaryotic cells evolved by a symbiotic relationship of a merging of prokaryotic cells. The ensuring protists are still single cells but soon another important evolutionary step was the appearance of multi-cellular structures. The first multi-celled beings were soft bodied marine invertebrates and came into existence some 700 million years ago. Life for a long time afterwards only existed in the water, with the land being completely barren. Invertebrates called trilobites abounded in the oceans and later the first vertebrates, some simple fish evolved from worm-like creatures featuring a spinal chord. Some 500 million years ago another enormous step was the beginning of the greening of the planet. Algae ventured onto land and some transformed themselves into plants making it habitable for others to follow. The first to try their luck were some marine invertebrates which over time evolved into the successful insects and spiders. A lungfish followed soon and became the common ancestor of all tetrapods, the amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Later reptilian creatures started to dominate the earth till the mass extinction of 65 million years ago. The mighty dinosaurs became extinct and that opened up ecological niches for others to occupy. Some reptilian ancestors of birds and mammals somehow took this catastrophe better and evolved into today's true birds and mammals. A branch of primates came down from the trees and started to walk on two feet, freeing so the hands for other things. Brain size increased and hominoids began to use tools and invented language. Finally one group of humans ventured out of Africa some 40 000 years ago and settled the whole earth and became us, modern man. We are now the most dominant beings in the history of life and so successful, that many others have to yield to us.      Life Classification As everything else in life, so the systematic classification of it evolved from simple two kingdoms (Animals and Plants) proposed by Aristotle, to five kingdoms (as used here) suggested by Whittaker to  presently three domains ( Bacteria, Archaea & Eucarya) introduced by Carl Woese. Five Kingdom System Monera This group of living organisms include the prokaryotes, which are cells without an enclosed nucleus. Bacteria and archaea Protoctista   Unicellular organisms with eukaryotic cells, where the nuclei is already bound by membranes. Algae, slime molds, ciliates, ameba, ... Fungi Single- or multi-celled organisms which obtain food by direct absorption of nutrients. Reproduce by spores. Mushrooms, lichens, moulds; yeasts, ... Plantae Multi-cellular organisms which make their own food by converting light into chemical energy by photosynthesis. Mosses, ferns, flowering plants, ... Animalia Multi-celled organism, which actively acquire food for internal digestion and have senses and mobility. Mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, ...