Pollination of plants through rodents, scientific article by UDA professor

Boris Tinoco, a professor at the School of Biology at the University of Azuay, published a scientific article in the Journal of Tropical Ecology on the "Pollination of plants through rodents", with the support of Santiago Cárdenas, former student of the University of Azuay.

"This article resulted from a research that we have been doing the last 3 years on the ecology of atomization of native plants, where we have discovered that the plant called Oreocallis gandiflora It attracts a wide variety of animals such as hummingbirds, bats and rodents, "said the teacher about the origin of the article.

This investigation arises as a continuation of Tinoco's PhD thesis, who had determined the importance of this native plant as a key species to maintain the diversity of hummingbirds. In carrying out this research the teacher found that these birds are not the only ones that relate to or benefit from the plant.

Speaking about the scientific article Santiago Cárdenas said: "Discovering the relationship of rodents with this plant was almost a surprise because at the beginning the research was focused on hummingbirds, but when using cameras with infrared light we found that mice also visited the plant so we decided to investigate, discovering that the plant offers resources to other types of animals and not just hummingbirds. "

This is the second article that Tinoco has taken on the subject, the previous year he made the first publication in which he compared the ecology of atomization of this plant in Ecuador with a population in Peru.

In order to make this scientific article has received the financial support of the Vice-Rector for Research of the University of Azuay.

The work is also supported by four undergraduate theses made by students of the School. "I always try to get students involved in research and learn the components that involve doing research," the professor said.       

Boris Tinoco hopes that this research continues, "we are discovering new roles of animals in ecosystems, we have only covered a small part and we hope to use this plant to restore ecosystems, learn to manage it in nurseries and then plant it in pastures or areas degraded; what would attract a lot of animals and ecosystems could be restored. "