Abstract 172 – Results of a study of presence, population density, genetics and educational outreach of the Andean bear in the Cordillera del Condor, southeast of Ecuador.

Santiago Molina, Carlos Urgiles, Darío Cueva, Ma. José Pozo, Rodrigo Cisneros,
Rebecca Zug, Gabriela Arevalo, Martin Bustamante

The Cordillera del Cóndor is a mountain range south east of Ecuador whose
geological origins are older than the formation of the Andes. This mountain range
forms unique and particular ecosystems with high diversity and endemism and
with the presence of mature foothill forests and tepuis. In the 1980s, this area
witnessed a war between Ecuador and Peru, and in the following years until today,
large-scale mining projects are being developed.
Between the years 2016-2021, a first study of the Andean bear population present
in the area was carried out. The study was implemented in two mining concessions
and a protected area. Camera traps were used with designs to determine the
presence of bears in one of the concessions and the protected area, and population
density in the other concession. A study on genetic variability was also carried out
together with an educational outreach with habitants of the village of Río Blanco.
The monitoring effort involved 18,691 camera trap/days. In the cameras, the
presence of 10 bears was recorded in one of the concessions, and 22 bears in the
other. A population density of 7.49/100 km 2 was estimated with an abundance of
45 bears for the area. During monitoring, a particular overlap in habitat use was
identified between bears and two other mammal species in particular: Lowland
Tapir and Puma, one acting as potential prey and the other as potential predator.
The genetic analysis revealed that there is a population genetic structure in
Ecuador and that its variability could be greater than previously thought. During
the study, 26 species of medium to large mammals belonging to 14 families were
also recorded, of which 4 are endangered and 13 species are in some state of
conservation. Some of the records were new contributions to the ecology of
species in the country, opening new research opportunities.
The area where this Andean bear population occurs belongs to one of the priority
areas for the conservation of the species identified in the conservation action plan
for the Andean bear in Ecuador.