Diversidad de briófitos y líquenes asociados a nidos de aves de bosques tropicales

Abstract

Abstract: Bird nests constitute fascinating environments composed of various species of bryophytes and lichens. They play a crucial role by providing thermal insulation to the nest, enhancing water retention, and contributing to the optimal development of chicks through microbial activity. The diversity of bryophytes and lichens present in bird nests collected in the tropical forests of the provinces of Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe was described. An analysis of bryophyte and lichen richness was conducted in 12 nests of different bird species. A total of 35 species were identified, including 27 bryophytes (9 mosses and 18 liverworts) and 8 lichens, where the richness and species composition remained consistent across bird species. The most frequent species included the mosses Rynchotegiopsis flexuosa and Squamidium macrocarpum, the liverworts Omphalantus filiformis, and the lichen species Heterodermia leucomela. This study reports, for the first time in Ecuador, the presence of lichen species in bird nests. This research provides foundational information on the diversity of bryophytes and lichens in tropical forest nests, thus serving as a guide facilitating the identification of bryophyte and lichen genera associated with bird nests.