Ecocamp - Perito Moreno Glacier
Natural environment
Examination of the area

In the last days of February a group of mountain guides made a deep investigation of the Eco Camp bounderies that is located in front of the Perito Moreno Glacier. It can be noticed on the surface the traces of the different glaciations eras. Walking through the hilly area, you can easily enjoy the characteristics of the Magallanic wood. In place, now transformed in a natural island, several of the most representative spices of the area can be found. Some of them that can be mentioned as regard the forest are Nothofagus Antarctica (Ñire), Nothofagus Pumilio (Lengas) and in some isolated places it can be found the only kind of tree that belongs to our “always green” forest, Betuloides (Cohiue de Magallanes). In these trees it is also possible to find different spices that are directly related with them like liquens, hemi parasites plants and parasite mushrooms. FOTOGRAPHS.

To begin with Usnea Usnea (old man’s bear), liquen that lives on these trees keeping the air and the humidity that needs for living, this is a clear example of the air purity. Continuing with the hemiparasites plants we can also mention the Mizodendrum Punctulatum or Chinese Streetlight that takes from the tree the salvia to feed itself but making totally independent the photothinthesis process, living in that way in a perfect symbiosis. Last but not least, in the branches of these trees, it can be find another parasite mushroom that lives in them called Cyttaria Darwinii (Indian Dread). This mushroom feeds itself by a hiperproduccion of hormones that the tree makes. This process is called hipherplasia and it can be easily find in the trees’ branches with wrinkle knot shape.

The birds that were seen and that can be mentioned are:

Author: GABRIELA NAGER - MARCELO AVENDAÑO

- Fio - fio (Elaenia albiceps)
- Pitio (Colaptes pitius)
- Tordo patagónico (Caraeus caraeus)
- Rayadito (Apharastura spinicauda)
- Carancho (Caracara plancus)
- Diucon (Xolmis pyrope)
- Chingolo (Zonotrichia capensis)
- Ratona (Troglodytes aedon)
- Halconcito colorado (Falco sparverius)
- Sobrepuesto (Lessonia rufa)
- Tero (Vanellus chilensis)
- Golondrina (Thachycineta melenita)
- Flamenco austral (Phoenicopterus chilensis)