March 3, 2025: To wrap up 2024 on a positive note, the Dr. Enrique Lara (RJB-CSIC), the Dr. Belén Estébanez (University Autonoma of Madrid), the Dr. Italo Treviño (Techological University of Peru) and the RJB-CSIC PhD students Fernando Useros and Nura El Khouri Vidarte carried out a field expedition in the Kosñipata Valley in Peru.  

The sampling took place along an elevational gradient, going from 500 m to 3000 m above sea level. They sampled myxomycetes, bryophytes and testate amoebae. The fieldwork was carried out along a scrubland, passing though both sclerophyllous and humid montane forests until they almost reached the edge of the jungle.

Over the ten days of fieldwork, they collected hundreds of samples and gathered information about the ecosystem’s state. Every night, the samples were processed and dried, preparing them to be analised in three different centers: the RJB-CSIC, The Autónoma University of Madrid and the Technological University of Arequipa.

During the next few months, we hope to assess the full diversity of these organisms in the samples collected in Peru, a highly diverse country, and to investigate how the communities are structured in each habitat.