Researcher Facilities and Services

Service Overview:

ARCAmazon and its partners are committed to researching Peru’s Amazon rainforest and its rich biological and cultural diversity. Together, our teams have been collecting data in Peru’s Madre de Dios region since 1997 and we have assisted many researchers and research organizations from all over the globe. We have a fully functioning base, strategically located in the Las Piedras Watershed in Tambopata, Madre de Dios, Peru. We also have a logistics team on hand who have years of experience in taking people in and out of the deep jungle, safely.

Las Piedras is arguably one of the best places in the Amazon to undertake research at this time. This is due to the fact that the area is relatively understudied, yet comparable with the neighboring watersheds of Tambopata and Madre de Dios in terms of wildlife diversity and abundance. The area is currently under threat from logging, hunting, drug trafficking and an advancing road network. There has never been a greater need to study and protect this area as there is now.

Las Piedras Amazon Center offers researchers a number of living options, from forest expedition and camping, to rustic research center/ecolodge accommodation. There is an extensive trail and transect network through the forest which traverses 4,460 hectares of lowland Amazon rainforest in a private reserve. Agreements with our neighbors allows research to extend to over 10,000 hectares. The land near the river is dominated by floodplain forest, that occasionally (perhaps once a century) floods, with the remaining 60% dominated by higher altitude Terra Firme forest, that never floods.

The reserve has a full complement of wildlife species. There are healthy populations of Peruvian black spider monkeys. Cats such as Jaguar, Ocelot, Margay, Puma and Jaguarundi have all been recorded here, although it is unknown whether their population levels have gone up or down recently. The Gray’s bald-faced saki is a notable primate species which is present on the reserve, yet which is absent from forest on the other side of the Las Piedras River. In terms of birds, there is a full assortment of the species one would expect in this area of Madre de Dios. It is noticeable, however, the lower abundance of Razor-billed currassows (Mitu tuberosum) and Spix’s guans (Penelope jacquacu) today. They are known to be favored quarry of bush meat hunters, and direct evidence of Spix’s guans having been shot has been collected for areas within the reserve. A nest of a large eagle, perhaps a Harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) or maybe a Crested eagle (Morphnus guianensis) has also been found inside the reserve.

Logistics Services:

Additionally, ARCAmazon and its partners may be able to assist with logistics services for researchers who need to undertake research elsewhere in the Department of Madre de Dios, Peru. Our teams have close ties with the Tambopata National Reserve, Bahuaja-Sonene National Park, Los Amigos Conservation Concession, and those who work within and manage the respective reserve buffer zones. The Alliance also works with over 30 ecolodges, research stations and communities in the region. Please let us know if you would like assistance of any kind–we are here to help our fellow researchers!