The Chocó Rainforest is a global biodiversity hotspot located along the western slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes, where a few hectares of forest can contain more tree species than all of North America. Despite its exceptional biodiversity, the region is critically threatened, with less than 2% of intact forest remaining due to extensive deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and cattle pasture. The Fundación para la Conservación de los Andes Tropicales (FCAT; https://fcat-ecuador.org/) is a community-led organization working to restore this ecosystem through an innovative restoration strategy that uses planted seed islands designed to expand naturally via animal-mediated seed dispersal. These seed islands are composed of fast-growing, fruiting plant species that attract frugivorous animals, which transport seeds both into and beyond restoration sites, facilitating forest regeneration across degraded landscapes. My current research as a postdoctoral fellow at MSU supports this effort by identifying how different seed-dispersing animal species contribute to restoration outcomes, and which species play disproportionately important roles in accelerating forest recovery.

Another aspect of my research focuses on biodiversity conservation in the Chocó Rainforest through long-term monitoring of wildlife communities across disturbed and recovering forest landscapes. I study both avian and mammalian communities, as these groups play critical roles in ecosystem functioning as seed dispersers, predators, and indicators of forest condition. Using approaches such as mist-netting, camera trapping, and field-based observational surveys, I assess how species composition, functional diversity, and community structure change in response to habitat loss, fragmentation, and restoration. These data allow me to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration interventions, identify species most sensitive to environmental change, and inform adaptive conservation strategies. By integrating species monitoring with restoration science, my work supports evidence-based approaches to conserving biodiversity and maintaining key ecological processes in one of the world’s most threatened tropical forests.