Like coral reefs and glaciers, the tropical Andes are among the most vulnerable to the dual impacts of climate change and human population pressures. About a sixth of the world's biodiversity — perhaps two million species of plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms — can be found in the region. About 10 percent have been identified.
"What makes the northern Andes so special is that they have extraordinary concentrations of species within very small geographical ranges," said Stuart Pimm, a professor of conservation ecology at Duke University who specializes in species extinction.
"Each one of these mountain-tops has wonderfully different sets of species of plants and birds and butterflies and amphibians," said Pimm, who also chairs a conservation organization, SavingSpecies, that is restoring deforested lands near Las Orquídeas to address habitat fragmentation. "The question is, what happens when the climate warms?"
"What makes the northern Andes so special is that they have extraordinary concentrations of species within very small geographical ranges," said Stuart Pimm, a professor of conservation ecology at Duke University who specializes in species extinction.
"Each one of these mountain-tops has wonderfully different sets of species of plants and birds and butterflies and amphibians," said Pimm, who also chairs a conservation organization, SavingSpecies, that is restoring deforested lands near Las Orquídeas to address habitat fragmentation. "The question is, what happens when the climate warms?"
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