An international group of botanists has discovered that there is no evidence of extinctions in Centinela, and instead found plenty of signs that the region’s plants are still thriving in the fragmented forests of coastal Ecuador.
The Centinela region in coastal Ecuador was the site of one of the most infamous mass extinction events in recent history during the 1980s. Around ninety unique plant species – many of which were newly discovered and not yet officially named – disappeared when the last of the cloud forests in the Centinela range were cleared for farming. This tragic narrative has been a powerful motivator in the global movement to protect rainforests. But did it really occur?
A recent study published in Nature Plants reveals that the story of extinction in Centinela is misleading. The research team, which dedicated years to investigating natural history collections, biodiversity databases, and the Centinela landscape, found no evidence of these extinctions. Instead, they discovered that the flora of Centinela continues to exist in the fragmented coastal Ecuadorian forests.
“It’s a miracle,” stated Dawson White, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard. “Many of Centinela’s plants are still at risk of extinction, but thankfully, reports of their demise were overstated. We still have the opportunity to save them and change this narrative.”
The researchers identified that earlier studies may have exaggerated the risk of extinction in Centinela because those researchers were busy gathering numerous new and unnamed species, lacking detailed information about the plant species’ habitats in the world’s richest forests. Since then, more than 50 new species have been identified through these early collections. Additionally, botanists have been exploring extensively, and as natural history museums digitized their collections, plants thought to be extinct at Centinela have been rediscovered at other locations in South America. Only one of the original 90 species believed to have vanished has not yet been found or confirmed to exist elsewhere.
“Identifying which plants are present in specific Andean cloud forests is an enormous challenge because new species are frequently uncovered,” explained White. “Our research underscores that it takes decades of effort from taxonomic specialists to catalog new species in such environments. Only once we can accurately name these species in our scientific networks can we grasp where else they thrive and their potential extinction risk.”
Despite its small size, Ecuador is remarkably diverse, showcasing the difficulties scientists face in monitoring and conserving tropical biodiversity. It hosts over 20,000 plant species, 4,000 of which are found nowhere else, with countless species lacking official names, and none thoroughly mapped. This study emphasizes the critical importance of herbarium collections.
“Herbaria provide the essential ‘what’ and ‘where’ of plant biodiversity,” said Juan Guevara, a co-author from the Universidad de Las Américas in Quito. “They were vital for unraveling this mystery. They form the foundation of our knowledge regarding which plants are at risk of extinction.”
The researchers also discovered that Centinela’s forests are more resilient than previously believed. Recent fieldwork revealed several fragments of original forests that had been ignored due to their small sizes and isolated positions. These tiny remnants, often less than an acre large, contained many species once thought extinct, including Gasteranthus extinctus, a wildflower named because it was presumed extinct, rediscovered by the team in 2021.
“In the past two years, we have surveyed numerous fragments in the area,” shared co-author Andrea Fernández from Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden. “Though tiny islands amidst plantations, they are rich with incredible plant life.”
The researchers were not only surprised to find much of the original Centinela flora preserved but were also astonished to discover several new and previously undocumented species. Over the last five years, they have identified or described eight new species, ranging from tiny wildflowers to magnificent canopy trees.
“One of our most remarkable discoveries is an entirely new canopy tree species in the Cotton family,” said Fernández. “It’s among the tallest we have encountered but is extremely rare, possibly with only 15 individuals still alive in Centinela. It is currently being targeted by local loggers, so we are working quickly to describe this new tree species and begin growing its seeds in botanical gardens.”
Once avoided due to its unfortunate history, Centinela is now a hub of activity for scientists who see great potential for research and conservation within its damaged forests. In Ecuador, botanical gardens are developing collections to preserve the region’s rarest and most endangered plants, while conservationists are gathering seeds for future reforestation efforts and seeking long-term solutions to protect the remaining fragments. On a global scale, the revival of Centinela has inspired a new conservation initiative from Earth imaging company Planet Labs, which aims to enhance conservation projects with high-quality satellite imagery.
While the recent study clarifies the situation regarding one mass extinction event, it does not diminish the ongoing biodiversity crisis worldwide. The IUCN Red List indicates that more than 45,000 species are currently threatened with extinction, including nearly half of all amphibians, a third of all corals, and a quarter of all mammals. Scientists at Kew Botanical Gardens have compiled a list of over 800 plant species that are presumed extinct to date.
“Plants in coastal Ecuador and many other regions severely impacted in the tropics are managing to survive in their final refuges,” noted co-author Nigel Pitman from the Field Museum of Natural History. “They may not last much longer under these circumstances, but we still have time to take action before they disappear forever.”
