The kapok tree ('' Ceiba pentandra'') just behind the station - Panguana's landmark Panguana is a biological

research station Research stations are facilities where scientific investigation, collection, analysis and experimentation occurs. A research station is a facility that is built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. There are also many types of resea ...

, founded in 1968 and since 2011 it is also a private conservation area extending over almost 10 km² of tropical primary forest in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

.Panguana web page
Retrieved on 20 July 2017

Geography and Biodiversity

Panguana is located in the low land rainforest at the western foothill of the El Sira mountain range east to the Andes. It was named after a common native

tinamou Tinamous () form an order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" come ...

species ('' Crypturellus undulatus''). The station is located at 230 m asl next to the Rio Yuyapichis, a tributary to the Rio Pachitea. It can be accessed by crossing the Pachitea at the village of Yuyapichis and a 1 1/2h foot march over pastures and through forests or a 2h boat ride upstream the Rio Yuyapichis.Gunnar Henze - "Paradies Panguana"
. Bild der Wissenschaft 08/2011. Retrieved on 20 July 2017 The research area's terrain is slightly hilly and contains various water bodies, non-flooded terra firme, swamp, alluvial and secondary forests, and also some plantations and pastures in the western border areas. In the east, the area borders the territory of the indigenous people of the Asháninka. Their area stretches to the Sira mountains, which are about 40 km away and almost 2500 m high. It is only extensively used and largely covered by primary rainforest. About 4 km east of the station is a central village of the people with a school, where the Asháninka children from the area go to. Panguana supports this school to teach the local people the value of their rainforest. The annual average temperature is 24.5 °C, but temperatures of over 40 °C or more are quite frequent during the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...

(May - September).J. Römbke, M. Verhaagh: ''About earthworm communities in a rain forest and an adjacent pasture in Peru''. Amazoniana 1992, 12:29-49, cited after Rainer Hutterer, Manfred Verhaagh, Juliane Diller, Richard Podloucky: ''An inventory of mammals observed at Panguana biological station, Amazonian Peru'' Ecotropica 1995/1 Annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

amounts to 2,000 to 3,000 mm with around 180 rain days. The

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

usually extends from October to April, followed by a

. Within the forest, there is a constant

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

of about 90% throughout the year. Large parts of the Panguana conservation area are still covered by primary Amazon rainforest, and thus show a very high

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

, which has been explored only fragmentarily. So far, 500

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

and 16 species of

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

trees were identified on an area of 2 square kilometers, and over 670 different

vertebrates Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...

, including 360

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

, 115

mammalian Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

, 78 reptile, 76 amphibian and 34

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

species were documented. In the 1980s, the head of the station studied the 52

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

species found in Panguana. Meanwhile, 57 species are known. For comparison, there are only about 27 bat species documented for

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, and only around 254 breeding birds live all over

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with an area of around 357,000 km². The

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

is extraordinarily rich in diversity and only known in the beginning. Manfred Verhaagh from th
State Museum of Natural History
in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

was able to find about 500 species of

ants Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Creta ...

in Panguana, which is one of the highest number of species recorded worldwide.Verhaagh, M. 1986 ''Panguana - Wald und Wasser im tropischen Südamerika'', About 250

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

species have been found. Moths and small butterflies that have so far hardly been explored are estimated to be between 10,000 and 12,000 species.

Research station

The aim of the

Panguana is to explore the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

and

, and study their ecological relationships. In addition, a unique

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

is protected and preserved. Through continuous scientific work, the diverse flora and fauna can be explored, systematically assigned and the different ways of life and biological relationships documented. Numerous diploma and doctoral studies were made in Panguana and many international expeditions were held there. To date, more than 180 scientific

publications To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Conv ...

have been published on the research results in this area. After consultation with the head of the station, Juliane Diller, scientists can work at the research station Panguana. For better observation, over 20 km of paths were cut into the jungle. The station has three guest houses with a laboratory for about 14 people, a round house for dining and workshops, several boats and a photovoltaic system for electricity and the operation of a well pump. By now, even an internet connection via wifi is available. It is guarded and supervised by the owner of the neighboring farm Carlos Vásquez "Moro" Módena, and his family.

History

The biological research station Panguana was founded in 1968 by the biologists Maria Koepcke and

Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke (13 June 1914 – 21 November 2000) was a German zoologist, ornithologist, and herpetologist. He was married to ornithologist Maria Koepcke, and was the father of mammalogist Juliane Koepcke. Scientific work in Peru Koepcke ...

and was originally only designed for a period of 5 years of field research. As accommodation originally served a wooden cabin, which was abandoned by locals. It was standing on stilts, with a roof of palm leaves (see picture) and an additional kitchen hut next to it. Later it was replaced by a larger house and another was added. Since 2000, her daughter, Juliane Diller, has been running the station. In her absence, the manager, Moro, is her representative. Since 2003, there has been a co-operation between the Zoological State Collection Munich, where Juliane Diller works, and the Natural History Museum in Lima, Peru.Juliane Diller, Ernst-Gerhard Burmeister, ''Panguana – ein peruanischer Vogelname für eine bayerische Urwaldforschungsstation'', aviso 2007-01, S. 46–49 Through sponsoring by the " Hofpfisterei" in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, the area of the station has been enlarged several times over the past few years by the acquisition of adjacent lands. In the 1970s,

's unsuccessfully tried to promote Panguana as a nature conservation area and in 1972 the area became an official scientific research area (zona de estudio científico del Ministerio de Agricultura, Direccíon forestal, de caza y Tierras).Rainer Hutterer, Manfred Verhaagh, Juliane Diller, Richard Podloucky: ''An inventory of mammals observed at Panguana biological station, Amazonian Peru'' Ecotropica 1995/1 Finally at the end of 2011, the newly created Peruvian Ministry of Environment declared Panguana as a private conservation area (Area de Conservación Privada) in order to protect the area permanently from clearing, hunting and colonization.RESOLUCIÓN MINISTERIAL N° 300-2011-MINAM
(PDF; 2,3 MB)

Literature

* Juliane Koepcke und Beate Rygiert: ''Als ich vom Himmel fiel''. Malik, München 2011, .

References

External links

{{Commons category, Panguana
Homepage Panguana

Homepage ZSM Munich

Brochure Hofpfisterei

Web page private conservation areas Peru
(spanisch) Biological stations 1968 establishments in South America Protected areas of Peru