• Peru
  • Bolivia
  • Visit
  • Donate
Skip to content
  • Home
  • Who
    We Are
    • Mission and Vision
    • Approach
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Supporters
    • Partners
    • Financials & Reports
    • Careers & Internships
    • Contact Us
  • The
    Challenge
    • Why Protect The Amazon
    • Threats to the Amazon
  • Our
    Approach
    • Protect Wild Places
    • Empower People
    • Put Science and Technology to Work
    • Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP)
    • 2020-2030 Strategy
    • Our Results
  • Where
    We Work
    • On the Ground
    • Across the Amazon
    • Research & Biological Stations
      • Los Amigos Biological Station
      • Wayqecha Cloud Forest Biological Station
      • Manu (Villa Carmen) Biological Station
      • Tahuamanu Biological Station
  • Visit
    the Amazon
    • Our Ecolodges
    • For Researchers
      • Los Amigos Biological Station
      • Manu (Villa Carmen) Biological Station
      • Wayqecha Cloud Forest Biological Station
      • Tahuamanu Biological Station
    • For Students and Universities
  • News
    & Events
    • Recent News
    • Pressroom
    • Events
  • Take
    Action
    • Donate
    • Your Impact
    • Ways to Give
    • Join Wild Keepers
    • Become a Business Supporter
  • Peru
  • Bolivia
  • Visit
  • Donate

For Researchers

If you're a scientist looking for the perfect place to conduct your next research project in the tropics, you're in the right place. Our three conservation hubs in Peru are your gateway to studying the Amazon.

Where the Andes Mountains meet the Amazon rainforest in Peru, the Earth’s world's richest biological communities thrive.

 

Our three conservation hubs offer a unique opportunity to explore and discover the outstanding biological and cultural diversity of this region. Spanning an altitudinal gradient from 820 to 9,880 feet (270 to 3,100 meters) along the eastern border of Manu National Park in southeastern Peru, our hubs are active centers of learning and discovery, attracting researchers, university courses, volunteers, and visitors from around the world.

 

Why do we have these hubs? They provide Amazon Conservation an on the ground presence where we conduct our conservation work, and where the work of researchers contributes to the local scientific community, raises awareness about tropical ecology and conservation, and informs our conservation decisions.

 

Learn more about each of our conservation hubs:

Andean Cloud Forest:
Wayqecha Cloud Forest Conservation Hub

Andean Foothills:
Villa Carmen Conservation Hub

Lowland Amazonian Forest:
Los Amigos Conservation Hub

Why conduct your field research at our conservation hubs?

Our first conservation hub, Los Amigos, was established in 2000 on the conviction that the greatest forest on earth deserves the best research centers in the world.

Collectively, our three research stations are the single largest facility for field research in the Amazon, enjoying a unique altitudinal gradient that makes them perfect for biological and climate research. Every year, we facilitate science for over 50 researchers from prestigious universities in Peru and around the world, including Wake Forest, Duke, Oxford, British Columbia, and others.

“Amazon Conservation’s field stations are our laboratories and windows into the future of Earth’s highest biodiversity area. They are important not only to understand biodiversity now, but how it will survive in the future.”

– Dr. Miles Silman, Professor and Director at the Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability at Wake Forest University

We are a leading institution in research on forest ecosystems and wildlife.

Our trained scientists are there to support you in your project, and promote excellence in research by providing premier facilities and logistical support, and facilitating communication and collaboration among researchers, communities, decision-makers, and other actors.

Research conducted at these centers for research informs conservation work on the ground, which has included species monitoring, conservation corridor design, protected area establishment, community engagement, reforestation, agroforestry, and more.

Our conservation hubs:

  • Host an average of 25 research projects a year
  • Have cataloged over 6,900 species, including over 840 birds and 11 primates
  • Have had over 550 peer-reviewed articles published on research conducted there

Considering our conservation hubs for your next research project?

If you are thinking of conducting research at one or multiple of our conservation hubs, begin by reviewing our Researcher Guide, which provides an overview of how to prepare to conduct research at research stations, including information on pre-fieldwork planning and research application procedures, what to expect during your stay, health and safety considerations, as well as post research follow-up information.

The following are additional documents and forms you will need to conduct research at our stations (please submit at least three months in advance of your anticipated arrival):

  • Summary of Process for Obtaining Research Permits in Peru
  • Research Application
  • Capture Plan (if applicable)
  • Register of Research Assistants (if applicable)
  • Periodic Report Form
  • Visitor Code of Conduct
  • Liability Waiver

Our conservation hubs are ideal for conducting research, and include comfortable dorms, restrooms, labs, limited internet, and the option for three hearty meals a day. Visit each station page to find more about what our unique facilities have to offer.

If you have any questions regarding research at our stations, please contact our Director of Science, Judith Westveer.

Research Study: Are interspecific relationships of mixed-species flocks determinate or context-dependent?

The interpretation of the behavior of flocks as having leader and follower roles has profound consequences for the understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of flock participation. This study hypothesizes that the leader and follower roles of antshrikes and antwrens are context-dependent. Experiments were made by walking transects along trails at Los Amigos Biological Station, detecting flocks by vocalizations and then approaching the flock to determine its species and individual composition by sight and sound. Purported leaders and followers were always attracted to conspecific vocalizations. Purported followers were almost always attracted to purported leader vocalizations and purported leaders were attracted to purported follower vocalizations about half the time. The fact that purported leaders were attracted to purported follower vocalizations was unexpected and contrary to all previous assumptions about the relationship between the so-called “leader” antshrikes and “follower” antwrens. The data suggest that antshrikes follow antwrens and vice versa, suggesting that the relationship between antshrikes and antwrens has mutual benefits.

-PhD project by Sean Williams from Michigan State University, U.S.A. 

“I can think of few places that offer the diversity of highland birds found at Wayqecha Biological Station. Their extensive trail system gives researchers access to a variety of elevations and habitats that would otherwise be nearly inaccessible. Top it all off with accommodations and staff that make you feel right at home.”

– Micah Scholer, PhD Candidate, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia at Vancouver

 

Not a researcher or scientists? We welcome birders and ecotourists to experience the beauty of the Amazon firsthand, while contributing to conservation.

Learn More Here >

Help keep the Amazon wild.

Become a Wildkeeper
Donate
Visit the Amazon

Follow us @AmazonConservation on Instagram

Loading...
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    1012 14th Street NW · Suite 625 · Washington DC 20005 · USA
    202-234-2356 / info@amazonconservation.org

The Amazon is essential for our survival, help us protect it:

  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2025 Amazon Conservation Association. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy  |  Terms of Use
  • Great Nonprofits
  • Guidestar
  • Charity Navigator