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The mangrove biome is a highly productive system globally, with flora and fauna adapted to significant saline influence, where salt flats coexist alongside these systems, emerging over sands and muds with high salinity and sparse vegetation. The objective of this research is to describe, for the first time in Ecuador, the diversity of epiphytic lichens in salt flats in the southern region of Ecuador. Two salt flats were selected where Avicennia germinans and Laguncularia racemosa were the dominant trees with the shrub Batis maritima. A total of 30 species of epiphytic lichens were recorded, with the families Arthoniaceae, Graphidaceae, and Ramalinaceae having the highest number of species, and crustose lichens with photobiont type Trentepohlia showed high richness. The salt flats in the southern region of Ecuador have a high richness of epiphytic lichen species, and the species composition is similar to mangroves, highlighting the importance of their conservation as biodiversity refuges for lichens and consequently other flora and fauna groups. Therefore, epiphytic lichens in salt flats can be used as model organisms to assess their conservation in tropical areas.

Ecuador has a high diversity of orchids, but little is known about levels of genetic diversity for the great majority of species. Understanding how orchids might adapt to changes is crucial as deforestation and fragmentation of forest ecosystems threaten the survival of many epiphytic orchids that depend on other species, such as fungi and their host trees, for germination, growth, and establishment. Overcollection and the illegal trade are also major concerns for the survival of wild populations of orchids. Despite increasing awareness, effective interventions are often limited by a lack of data concerning the impacts that overexploitation might have. To fill this gap, we tested the effects of overcollection in the genetic diversity and structure of Masdevallia rosea, a narrow distributed epiphytic orchid historically collected in Ecuador, in comparison with the widely distributed Pleurothallis lilijae. Genotyping based on AFLPs showed reduced levels of diversity in wild populations but most especially in the overcollected, M. rosea. Overall, genetic admixture was high in P. lilijae segregating populations by altitude levels while fewer genetic groups were found in M. rosea. Genetic differentiation was low in both species. A spatial genetic structure was found in P. lilijae depending on altitude levels, while no spatial genetic structure was found in M. rosea. These results suggest different scenarios for the two species: while gene flow over long distance is possible in P. lilijae, the same seems to be unlikely in M. rosea possibly due to the low levels of individuals in the known populations. In situ and ex situ conservation strategies should be applied to protect the genetic pool in these epiphytic orchid species, and to promote the connectivity between wild populations. Adopting measures to reduce overexploitation and to understand the impacts of harvesting in wild populations are necessary to strengthen the legal trade of orchids.

Patients with hyperthyroidism or thyrotoxicosis present with an unspecific constellation of signs or symptoms such as palpitations, tremors, weight loss, or diarrhea. In some severe cases, hyperthyroidism can predispose patients to metabolic abnormalities and arrhythmias. Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TTP) is a rare, life-threatening complication or variant of hyperthyroidism associated with hypokalemia and muscle weakness that affects young Asian or Hispanic males between 20–40 years. TTP is reversible, and the management consists of beta-blockers, antithyroid therapy, and conservative potassium correction to prevent severe cardiovascular events such as ventricular arrhythmias with the improvement of transient muscle paralysis. We present a case of a 21-year-old Hispanic male complaining with symptoms of thyrotoxicosis, marked hypokalemia, and severe generalized muscle weakness. Physicians must be aware of this uncommon complication of thyrotoxicosis called thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TTP) to avoid potassium overcorrection and all the endocrine associations with this pathology.