![\"\"](\"https:\/\/uees.edu.ec\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC4151-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Santay Island, a protected area of 2,179 hectares in the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador<\/strong>, has been the scene of an important environmental finding. The UEES research professor Natalia Molina Moreira identified the presence of the Asian mangrove Heritiera fomes Banks<\/strong>, a rare species typically found in tropical and subtropical areas of Asia. This discovery, made in 2022, was confirmed by Dr. Laurence Dorr of the Smithsonian Institution, and highlights the relevance of Santay Island as a reference in environmental studies.<\/p>\n During fieldwork, conducted in collaboration with park ranger \u00c1lvaro Torres-Dom\u00ednguez and biologists Roberto Rom\u00e1n and Efra\u00edn Freire of the National Herbarium-INABIO, several populations of H. fomes were documented in the northern part of the island. With a total of 81 trees, this species appears to be naturalized, flowering and producing fruit at least twice a year, and growing alongside native mangrove and dry forest species.<\/p>\n However, how the species was introduced remains a mystery, although maritime transport related to trade between Ecuador and Asia is considered the most likely means.<\/p>\n La Isla Santay, un \u00e1rea protegida de 2.179 hect\u00e1reas en el Golfo de Guayaquil, Ecuador, ha sido el escenario de un importante hallazgo ambiental. La docente investigadora de la UEES, Natalia Molina Moreira identific\u00f3 la presencia del manglar asi\u00e1tico Heritiera fomes Banks, especie rara que se encuentra t\u00edpicamente en zonas tropicales y subtropicales de Asia. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10000093,"featured_media":27630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[480,552,75],"tags":[516,729,670,728],"class_list":["post-27626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-centro-de-investigacion","category-centro-de-investigaciones","category-noticias","tag-ambiental","tag-golfo-de-guayaquil","tag-manglares","tag-mangle-asiatico"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/uees.edu.ec\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC4178-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/uees.edu.ec\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DSC08819-1-1024x683.jpg\")
\nThe finding of Heritiera fomes raises concerns about its invasive potential in the local ecosystem, given that the environmental conditions of Santay Island are similar to its natural habitat. This discovery opens the door to the need for future studies to evaluate the impact of this species on local biodiversity and to develop appropriate management strategies to protect the ecological richness of the island.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"