Aracuri-Esmeralda Ecological Station ( pt, Estação Ecológica de Aracuri-Esmeralda) is an ecological station in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is in the Atlantic Forest biome.

Location

The ecological station in the Atlantic Forest biome, which covers , was created on 2 June 1981 by Federal Decree No. 86 061. It is administered by the

Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (Portuguese: ''Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade'', ICMBio) is the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's administrative arm."Brazilian Federal Law 11.516/2007 (Por ...

. It is located in the municipality of Muitos Capões in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Environment

Annual rainfall is . Temperatures range from with an average of . Altitude ranges from . The land surface is broken, with steep slopes. The ESEC has a small sample of the vegetation of the region. The tall Araucaria angustifolia is found here, as is the Baccharis articulata bush, which covers most of the area. There are small patches of meadows and some marshes. Endangered plant species include Alstroemeria isabellana, Alternanthera micrantha, Oreopanax fulvum, Butia eriosphata, Trichocline catharinensis, Weinmannia paulliniifolia,

Dorstenia brasiliensis ''Dorstenia brasiliensis'' is a species of herbaceous plant in the family Moraceae of the order Rosales. Distribution The plant is native to northeastern and central South America, across most of Brazil,Hexachlamys humilis ,

Fuchsia regia ''Fuchsia regia'' is a plant species in the genus ''Fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, '' Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the C ...

, Agrostis lenis,

Drimys brasiliensis ''Drimys brasiliensis'' is a broadleaf evergreen tree of family Winteraceae. it is native to Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil, western Paraguay, and northwestern Argentina, and to Bolivia.Dicksonia sellowiana and

Araucaria angustifólia ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen Conifer, coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 20 extant taxon, extant species in New Caledonia (where 14 species are endemism, ende ...

. Migratory bird species include

plumbeous kite The plumbeous kite (''Ictinia plumbea'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae that is resident in much of northern South America. It is migratory in the northern part of its range which extends north to Mexico. It feeds on insects which it ...

(Ictinia plumbea),

sharp-shinned hawk The sharp-shinned hawk (''Accipiter striatus'') is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. The taxonomy is fa ...

(Accipiter striatus),

pale-vented pigeon The pale-vented pigeon (''Patagioenas cayennensis'') is a large pigeon (family Columbidae) found in the tropical Americas. Formerly often placed in '' Columba'', it actually belongs to a clade of the older New World genus ''Patagioenas''. With i ...

(Columba cayennensis),

dark-billed cuckoo The dark-billed cuckoo (''Coccyzus melacoryphus'') is a species of bird in the tribe Phaenicophaeini, subfamily Cuculinae of the cuckoo family Cuculidae.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife Intern ...

(Coccyzus melacoryphus),

(Nctibius griseus),

short-tailed nighthawk The short-tailed nighthawk (''Lurocalis semitorquatus'') is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Mexico, in every Central American country except El Salvador, in Trinidad and Tobago, and in every mainland South Ame ...

(Lurocalis semitorquatus),

rufous nightjar The rufous nightjar (''Antrostomus rufus'') is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tob ...

(Caprimulgus rufus),

planalto tyrannulet The planalto tyrannulet (''Phyllomyias fasciatus'') is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is widespread in wooded habitats of eastern Brazil, extreme north-eastern Bolivia, eastern Paraguay, and far north-eastern Argentina. It is gene ...

(phyllomyias fasciatus), small-billed elaenia (Elaenia parvirostris), olivaceous elaenia (Elaenia mesoleuca), fulvous-crowned scrub tyrant (Euscarthmus meloryphus), bran-colored flycatcher (Myiophobus fasciatus), Euler's flycatcher (Lathrotriccus euleri),

Swainson's flycatcher Swainson's flycatcher (''Myiarchus swainsoni'') is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezue ...

(Myiarchus swainsoni), boat-billed flycatcher (Megarynchus pitangua), streaked flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus),

tropical kingbird The tropical kingbird (''Tyrannus melancholicus'') is a large tyrant flycatcher. This bird breeds from southern Arizona and the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States through Central America, South America as far as south as centra ...

(Tyrannus melancholicus),

fork-tailed flycatcher The fork-tailed flycatcher (''Tyrannus savana'') is a passerine bird of the tyrant flycatcher family, and is the member of a genus typically referred to as kingbirds. Named for their distinguishingly long, forked tail, fork-tailed flycatchers are ...

(Tyrannus savana),

white-winged becard The white-winged becard (''Pachyramphus polychopterus'') is a species of bird in the family Tityridae. It has traditionally been placed in Cotingidae or Tyrannidae, but evidence strongly suggest it is better placed in Tityridae,Articlewww.ib.usp ...

(Pachyramphus polychopterus),

grey-breasted martin The grey-breasted martin (''Progne chalybea'') is a large swallow from Central and South America. Taxonomy and etymology The subspecies and their distributions are: * ''P. c. chalybea'' – ( Gmelin, 1789): nominate, breeds from Mexico through C ...

(Progne chalybea), brown-chested martin (Progne tapera), eastern slaty thrush (Turdus subalaris), swallow tanager (Tersina viridis) and

red-eyed vireo The red-eyed vireo (''Vireo olivaceus'') is a small American songbird. It is somewhat warbler-like but not closely related to the New World warblers (Parulidae). Common across its vast range, this species is not considered threatened by the IUCN. ...

(Vireo olivaceus).

Conservation

The Ecological Station is a "strict nature reserve" under

IUCN protected area category IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is par ...

Ia. The purpose is to preserve the environment and support scientific research. Protected species include the

red-spectacled amazon The red-spectacled amazon (''Amazona pretrei'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowla ...

(Amazona pretrei).

References

Sources

* * {{Ecological station (Brazil) Ecological stations of Brazil Protected areas of Rio Grande do Sul Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest 1981 establishments in Brazil Protected areas established in 1981