Gullán scientific station received researchers from the Central University

From October 2 to 25, the Gullán scientific station, of the University of Azuay, received Estefany Guerra, a doctoral student from the University of La Trobe-Australia, and Kerly Travez and Michell Estévez, biologists from the Central University of Ecuador.

This is because a species called stenocercus festae, better known as the guagsa del Austro, necessary for a doctoral study by Estefany Guerra on the thermal ecology of the genus stenocercus.

The objective of this research, according to Guerra, is "to know and provide information that contributes to science and the knowledge of the community stenocercus to conserve it, making visible the situation of the climate with the species, since being an ectotherm it needs temperature as a source of activity, so if there is a sudden change, the number of individuals in its population may decline ”.

Guerra, Travez and Estévez are the first scientists from other institutions that the Gullán has received since the pandemic caused by Covid-19 began.

Diego González, station administrator, explains that before the health crisis a project was carried out with the directors of the School of Biology to receive the researchers in an adequate infrastructure, since by not having basic services the visitors were staying in Cuenca and traveled to the station.

“With the administration of the IERSE (Institute of Sectional Regime Studies of Ecuador), when Fernando Córdova directed the planning department, we did a project in which we renewed the entire infrastructure of the scientific station; we implemented rooms, bathrooms, a well-structured kitchen and a laundry area, ”says González.

This project is in its first stage and further improvements are still missing.

In the future, González expresses that there are plans together with Ronal Chaca, professor at the School of Tourism, "to manage an impulse together with other careers such as Marketing and Communication, to be able to sell this service to a specialist in spaces such as biology."

"We have the goal of declaring the station as a protected area, since scientific publications have been made of insects that only exist in this place, in addition to being an important point for the migration of birds," he concluded.

UDA Correspondent