The researcher Jaime Pizarro-Araya spoke at the Second Science Seminar in the Protected Wild Areas of Atacama.

The Atacama is valuable in terms of biodiversity because it is a transition zone between the deep desert and the areas of greater vegetation. Due to these characteristics, it has a greater diversity of species of both animals and plants than other regions of the country, which is called Hot Spot or hot zones.

An example of the above is provided by arthropods (insects and arachnids). Thanks to the work of the research group led by Jaime Pizarro-Araya, researcher and academic at the University of La Serena and specialist in arthropods from arid and semi-arid areas of Chile (who has described more than 20 species and postulated more than 10 in conservation category), it has been determined that in Atacama 95% of these are endemic. There are 305 species, of which 248 are present in protected wild areas managed by Conaf.

The work carried out by the University of La Serena has made it possible to draw up an inventory of biodiversity that also includes the first Chilean insects and arachnids that have conservation status, such as the Choros Island vaquita (Gyriosomus granulipennis), the Cepeda scorpion (Brachistosternus cepedai) or the Chañaral island spider (Cyrioctea islachanaral), which could be close to extinction if measures are not taken.

As Jaime Pizarro-Araya points out, “extinction is the loss of the biological, genetic and cultural heritage of the country, if one places it in the context of biodiversity, it is a loss without return, once extinct in the wild we can only observe them in museum collections; Here that cliché phrase that our children will not know them alive makes sense.”

The presentation by the ULS academic, “Advances in the study of insects and arachnids and their impact on the conservation of biodiversity,” was part of the Second Science Seminar in the Protected Wild Areas of Atacama that was organized by the National Forestry Corporation. (Conaf) and the University of Atacama (UDA), and took place at the Copiapó Cultural Center with the presence of more than 200 people. On the occasion, nine presentations were presented with scientific research developed in the areas guarded by the corporation and that account for the biological and geographical wealth of the region.

In this regard, the regional director of Conaf Atacama, Héctor Soto, pointed out that “this seminar seeks to make the Atacama Region known as a region with important ecological niches in protected areas and with an interesting richness of species. It is an invitation to both public service professionals, as well as the university community, tourist services, industry and the general community to know what is happening in terms of conservation within our national parks.”

Source: Conaf Atacama