Over the years, numerous biologists, ecologists, and agroforestry practitioners have conducted research in and around the Jama-Coaque Reserve (JCR) in partnership with TMA and its team. Below are some of the highlights. They are organized according to three categories:
- Wildlife & Ecology
- Reforestation & Agroforestry
- Carbon & Climate Change
Jacqueline Tliemat, PhD candidate at Texas A&M, installing a camera trap in the canopy of an emergent tree in JCR.
Wildlife & Ecology
Canopy-based wildlife monitoring : TMA together with Dr. Shawn McCracken (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) and his students Jacqueline Tleimat and Rebecca Davis installed camera traps, acoustic recorders (AudioMoths), and climate sensors high in the canopy of trees to study local wildlife populations, with a focus on the critically-endangered Ecuadorian Capuchin Monkey, the Black Mantled Howler Monkey, and other internationally threatened species.
- Publication: Monitoring the habitat and spatial associations of two threatened primates along a conservation area in western Ecuador.
- Publication: Economic pressures of Covid-19 lockdowns result in increased timber extraction within a critically endangered region: A case study from the Pacific Forest of Ecuador.
- Publication: Variation in avian morphology along a short tropical elevational gradient.
- Publication: Aquatic biodiversity assessment of the Rio Camarones watershed
Amphibian Disease Ecology: Dr. David Rodriguez and Mar Moretta (Texas State University) have been studying the relationship of amphibian populations and the amphibian-killing fungus known as Chytrid in the Jama-Coaque Reserve since 2014.
- The genetics of disease in the forests of Ecuador (video)
Avian diversity in cacao agroforests: Rebecca Davis and the Dr. Shawn McCracken lab at Texas A&M Corpus Christi used acoustic recorders (AudioMoths) to study the presence of 25 bird species in cacao farms that are part of TMA’s Regenerative Agroforestry Program. The study aimed to understand the potential benefits cacao agroforestry offers local wildlife in a fragmented landscape neighboring the Jama-Coaque Reserve.
- Publication: What birds tell us: Monitoring birds in cacao agroforests of western Ecuador using bioacoustics
Bird banding specialist Holly Garrod and her team at work in JCR.
Reforestation & Agroforestry
Active reforestation vs passive natural forest restoration: TMA joined forces with esteemed restoration ecologists Dr. Rebecca Cole and Dr. Leland Werden, from the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich, on a long-term reforestation study that compare the efficacy of active tree-planting versus natural restoration. The study is being conducted in nineteen sites across Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. One of those sites is the Jama-Coaque Reserve.
Cacao-Based Agroforestry Demonstration Site: TMA has been experimenting with cacao varieties and growing methods since 2008. JCR currently contains the single largest repository of DNA-verified pure Ancient Nacional cacao in Ecuador—featured in Smithsonian Magazine. We actively manage 9 experimental cacao plots with 5 different types of Nacional cacao, and we closely track the genetics of every single plot. This work was the precursor to TMA’s Regenerative Cacao program with over 100 farmers in the region.
Biodiversity of agroforestry systems: Sophie Roberts from Yale University used remote sensing techniques to assess farm-level diversity metrics in JCR and across 30 regenerative cacao farms in the region.
Professor Shawn McCracken with a research team member sorting through canopy camera gear in the Bamboo House.
Carbon & Climate Change
Aboveground Biomass Inventory: Researchers from the Universidad Técnica de Manabí and Macalester College conducted aboveground biomass inventories by combining ground-based tree species plot data with allometric equations, drone and satellite imagery, and machine learning algorithms.
Carbon assessment: The Landscapes and Livelihoods Group (TLLG) used satellite imagery to perform a land cover assessment and then applied the data from the aboveground biomass inventories (referenced above) to estimate the carbon value of the Jama-Coaque Reserve and the entire Capuchin Corridor.
Forest Carbon Ledger: After being treated to a front-row seat to the limitations of REDD+ carbon accounting, TMA developed an alternative forest carbon accounting methodology called the Forest Carbon Ledger (FCL). FCL avoids the biggest pitfalls of REDD+. Namely, it uses objective data rather than speculative projections and subjective counter-facturals. It calls for performance-based PES payments according to the total amount of CO2 stored in the forest, which is amortized in annual increments and paid ex-post.
Future Research Opportunities
Margay (Leopardus wiedii) captured on a camera trap in JCR.
