MATERIALS AND METHODS

Field work was carried out from September 2014 to January 2015 in the Machalilla National Park (1º 32’ S, 80º 40’ O) and its boundaries (Fig. 1). The Machalilla National Park was created in 1979, and is located in the province of Manabí, south-west Ecuador. The area encompasses more than 70.000 ha, where 56.184 ha are terrestrial and 14.430 ha are marine. CLIMA And mean annual temperature is 24ºC (Fiallo & Jacobson 1995). Mean annual precipitation is 424mm, yet it varies greatly, with an average of 300mm between December and May (rainy season), and 20mm between June and November (dry season) (Cisneros-heredia 2000).

Vegetation types in the Machalilla National Park vary drastically in relation to the altitudinal and moisture ranges, and include coastal dry scrub in the lowlands; tropical dry forest, between approximately 150 and 300 m; transitional forest, in a small strip between approximately 300 and 350 m; and tropical fog forest, from 350 to the upper height of 840 m \cite{parker1992status, ceron1997estudio, inefan1998plan}. Although the vegetation presents a high degree of endemic species, specially in the tropical dry forest, with a 20% rate of endemic species, there is an important lack of ecological and structural information of these forests and, moreover, there is a strong anthropogenic pressure related to urbanism, agriculture, cattle and timber extraction, that endangers the Machalilla National Park ecosystems and, thus, its fauna \cite{aguirre2006woody, espinosa2012bosques, parker1992status, ceron1997estudio}.