The tropical Andes are recognised as one of the world’s most important centres of biological diversity and endemism. This project will study the ecological importance of Mountain tapir in structuring the plant communities of tropical Andean forest and how hunting of large mammal populations affects the ecological role of these herbivores.

In the proposed project Diego will study the plant-animal interactions of Mountain tapir in the tropical Andean forest ecosystem. He is particularly interested in the study of diet and herbivory effects of this species and causes and consequences of hunting on the large mammal populations in the Central Andes of Colombia. This project will provide new data on plant animal interactions underlining the importance of large mammals as an important and crucial component of the tropical Andean forest.