located_in_the_administrative_territorial_entity isla de la plata
In biology , a species ( abbreviated sp ., with the plural form species abbreviated spp .) is the basic unit ___MASK27___ biological classification and a taxonomic rank . A species is often defined as the largest group ___MASK27___ organisms in which two individuals can produce fertile offspring , typically by sexual reproduction . While this definition is often adequate , looked at more closely it is often problematic . For example , in a species complex , the boundaries between closely related species become unclear or disappear altogether . Other ways ___MASK27___ defining species include similarity ___MASK27___ DNA , morphology , or ecological niche . The presence ___MASK27___ locally adaptive traits may further subdivide species into infraspecific taxa such as subspecies . ___MASK54___ , officially the Oriental Republic of ___MASK54___ , is a country in the southeastern region of South America . It borders ___MASK29___ to its west and Brazil to its north and east , with the Río de la Plata ( River of Silver ) to the south and with the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast . ___MASK54___ is home to an estimated 3 . 42 million people , of whom 1 . 8 million live in the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city , Montevideo . With an area of approximately , ___MASK54___ is geographically the second - smallest nation in South America , only larger in size than Suriname . The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies . Collectively called sulids , they are medium - large coastal seabirds that plunge - dive for fish and similar prey . The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources , placing all in the genus " ___MASK80___ ". However , " ___MASK80___ " ( true boobies ) and " Morus " ( gannets ) can be readily distinguished by morphological and behavioral and DNA sequence characters . Abbott ' s booby (" Papasula ") is given its own genus as it stands apart from both in these respects . It appears to be a distinct and ancient lineage , maybe closer to the gannets than to the true boobies . ___MASK30___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK30___ ( which literally translates as " Republic of the Equator "), is a representative democratic republic in northwestern South America , bordered by Colombia on the north , Peru on the east and south , and the Pacific Ocean to the west . ___MASK30___ also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific , about west of the ___MASK25___ . The lion (" Panthera leo ") is one ___MASK27___ the big cats in the genus " Panthera " and a member ___MASK27___ the family Felidae . The commonly used term African lion collectively denotes the several subspecies in Africa . With some males exceeding in weight , it is the second - largest living cat after the tiger . Wild lions currently exist in sub - Saharan Africa and in ___MASK17___ ( where an endangered remnant population resides in Gir Forest National Park ). In ancient historic times , their range was in most ___MASK27___ Africa , including North Africa , and across Eurasia from Greece and southeastern Europe to ___MASK17___ . In the late Pleistocene , about 10 , 000 years ago , the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans : " Panthera leo spelaea " lived in northern and western Europe and " Panthera leo atrox " lived in the Americas from the ___MASK12___ to Peru . The lion is classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation ___MASK27___ Nature ( IUCN ), having seen a major population decline in its African range ___MASK27___ 30  50 % over two decades during the second half ___MASK27___ the twentieth century . Lion populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks . Although the cause ___MASK27___ the decline is not fully understood , habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes ___MASK27___ concern . Within Africa , the West African lion population is particularly endangered . Manabí is a province in ___MASK30___ . Its capital is Portoviejo . The province is named after the Manabí people . A fishing village is a village , usually located near a fishing ground , with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood . The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356 , 000 kilometres ( 221 , 000 mi ). From Neolithic times , these coastlines , as well as the shorelines ___MASK27___ inland ___MASK31___ and the banks ___MASK27___ rivers , have been punctuated with fishing villages . Most surviving fishing villages are traditional . ___MASK69___ America is a continent located in the western hemisphere , mostly in the southern hemisphere , with a relatively small portion in the ___MASK45___ hemisphere . It is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas , which is the model used in nations that speak Romance languages . The reference to ___MASK69___ America instead of other regions ( like Latin America or the Southern Cone ) has increased in the last decades due to changing geopolitical dynamics ( in particular , the rise of ___MASK98___ ). Machalilla ___MASK20___ is a preserve in the Ecuadorian ___MASK28___ near Puerto López and the rural parish of Machalilla , a small fishing village in the vicinity of the park . ___MASK90___ is a sparsely populated region located at the southern end ___MASK27___ South America , shared by ___MASK29___ and Chile . The region comprises the southern section ___MASK27___ the Andes mountains as well as the deserts , steppes and grasslands east ___MASK27___ this southern portion ___MASK27___ the Andes . ___MASK90___ has two coasts ; a western one towards the Pacific Ocean and an eastern one towards the Atlantic Ocean . A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini , a sub - grouping ___MASK27___ the mackerel family ( Scombridae )  which together with the tunas , also includes the bonitos , mackerels , and Spanish mackerels . Thunnini comprises fifteen species across five genera , the sizes ___MASK27___ which vary greatly , ranging from the bullet tuna ( max . length : , weight : ) up to the Atlantic bluefin tuna ( max . length : , weight : ). The bluefin averages , and is believed to live for up to 50 years . The red - footed booby (" ___MASK80___ sula ") is a large seabird of the booby family , Sulidae . As suggested by the name , adults always have red feet , but the colour of the plumage varies . They are powerful and agile fliers , but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings . They are found widely in the tropics , and breed colonially in coastal regions , especially islands . Dolphins are a widely distributed and diverse group ___MASK27___ aquatic mammals . They are an informal grouping within the order Cetacea , excluding whales and porpoises , so to zoologists the grouping is paraphyletic . The dolphins comprise the extant families Delphinidae ( the oceanic dolphins ), Platanistidae ( the ___MASK51___ river dolphins ), Iniidae ( the new world river dolphins ), and Pontoporiidae ( the brackish dolphins ), and the extinct Lipotidae ( baiji or Chinese river dolphin ). There are 40 extant species ___MASK27___ dolphins . Dolphins , alongside other cetaceans , belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla with even - toed ungulates . Their closest living relatives are the hippopotamuses , having diverged about 40 million years ago . Ecotourism is a form ___MASK27___ tourism involving visiting fragile , pristine , and relatively undisturbed natural areas , intended as a low - impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial ( mass ) tourism . It means responsible travel to natural areas conserving the environment and improving the well being ___MASK27___ the local people . Its purpose may be to educate the traveler , to provide funds for ecological conservation , to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment ___MASK27___ local communities , or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights . Since the 1980s , ecotourism has been considered a critical endeavor by environmentalists , so that future generations may experience destinations relatively untouched by human intervention . Several ___MASK61___ programs use this description as the working definition ___MASK27___ ecotourism . Generally , ecotourism deals with interaction with biotic components ___MASK27___ the natural environments . Ecotourism focuses on socially responsible travel , personal growth , and environmental sustainability . Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations where ___MASK58___ , fauna , and cultural heritage are the primary attractions . Ecotourism is intended to offer tourists insight into the impact ___MASK27___ human beings on the environment , and to foster a greater appreciation ___MASK27___ our natural habitats . Puerto López ( 16 , 000 inhabitants ) is a small fishing village set in an arched bay on the Pacific coast in the Ecuadorian ___MASK28___ . Puerto Lopéz is the Machalilla National Park headquarters . The main industries include fishing and ecotourism . The street closest to the beach has many restaurants , cabanas that provide drinks , and some nightclubs . The blue - footed booby (" ___MASK80___ nebouxii ") is a marine bird native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Pacific Ocean . It is one of six species of the genus " ___MASK80___ "  known as boobies . It is easily recognizable by its distinctive bright blue feet , which is a sexually selected trait . Males display their feet in an elaborate mating ritual by lifting them up and down while strutting before the female . The female is slightly larger than the male and can measure up to long with a wingspan of up to . The Equator usually refers to an imaginary line on the ___MASK23___ ' s surface equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole , dividing the ___MASK23___ into the ___MASK45___ Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere . The Equator is about long ; some 78 . 7 % lies across water and 21 . 3 % over land . Plumage (" feather ") refers both to the layer ___MASK27___ feathers that cover a bird and the pattern , colour , and arrangement ___MASK27___ those feathers . The pattern and colours ___MASK27___ plumage differ between species and subspecies , and may vary with age classes . Within species there can be different colour morphs . ___MASK11___ ( or ), officially the Republic ___MASK27___ ___MASK11___ , is a transcontinental country largely situated in the ___MASK74___ ___MASK27___ South America , with territories in Central America . ___MASK11___ shares a border to the ___MASK74___ with Panama , to the east with Venezuela and ___MASK98___ and to the south with Ecuador and Peru . It shares its maritime limits with Costa Rica , ___MASK4___ , Honduras , Jamaica , the Dominican Republic and Haiti . It is a unitary , constitutional republic comprising thirty - two departments . The territory ___MASK27___ what is now ___MASK11___ was originally inhabited by indigenous peoples including the Muisca , the Quimbaya and the Tairona . The ___MASK40___ is the largest ___MASK27___ the Earth ' s oceanic divisions . It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean ( or , depending on definition , to Antarctica ) in the south and is bounded by Asia and ___MASK10___ in the west and the Americas in the ___MASK49___ . The pantropical spotted dolphin (" Stenella attenuata ") is a species ___MASK27___ dolphin found in all the world ' s temperate and tropical oceans . The species was beginning to come under threat due to the killing ___MASK27___ millions ___MASK27___ individuals in tuna purse seines . In the 1980s , the rise ___MASK27___ " dolphin - friendly " tuna capture methods saved millions ___MASK27___ the species in the eastern Pacific Ocean and it is now one ___MASK27___ the ___MASK70___ abundant dolphin species in the world . The Nazca booby (" ___MASK80___ granti ") is a colonial seabird in the family Sulidae , native to the eastern Pacific . The ___MASK69___ American sea lion (" Otaria flavescens ", formerly " Otaria byronia "), also called the southern sea lion and the Patagonian sea lion , is a sea lion found on the Chilean , ___MASK30___ , Peruvian , Uruguayan , Argentine and Southern Brazilian coasts . It is the only member of the genus " Otaria ". Its scientific name was subject to controversy , with some taxonomists referring to it as " Otaria flavescens " and others referring to it as " Otaria byronia ". The former eventually won out , although that may still be overturned . Locally , it is known by several names , most commonly lobo marino ( es )/ lobo marinho ( pt ) ( sea wolf ) and león marino ( es )/ leão marinho ( pt ) ( sea lion ). The ___MASK5___ ( official name : " Archipiélago de ___MASK67___ ", other Spanish name : " Islas Galápagos ") are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed on either side of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere , west of continental Ecuador , of which they are a part . The islands are known for their vast number of endemic species and were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the " Beagle ", as his observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin ' s theory of evolution by natural selection . Isla de ___MASK68___ is a small island off the coast of Manabí , ___MASK30___ , and is part of Parque Nacional Machalilla . It can be reached by boat from the city of Puerto López , which is 40 kilometers away . On the island , there is a large diversity of animal species . For example , several species of booby , including the blue - footed booby , red - footed booby , and the Nazca booby . Another species found here is the South American sea lion . Dolphins , like the pantropical spotted dolphin can be found in the water near the island . Guided tours are given on a couple of different hiking trails . There are many nice beaches on the island where you can see many forms of wildlife and plant species . There is a shrine from Inca times located in the island . ___MASK48___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK48___ , is a country in western South America . It is bordered in the north by ___MASK30___ and Colombia , in the east by ___MASK98___ , in the southeast by ___MASK88___ , in the south by Chile , and in the west by the Pacific Ocean . ___MASK48___ is an extremely biodiverse country with habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west to the peaks of the Andes mountains vertically extending from the north to the southeast of the country to the tropical Amazon Basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon river . ___MASK79___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK79___ , is a South American country occupying a long , narrow strip of land between the Andes to the ___MASK49___ and the Pacific Ocean to the west . It borders ___MASK48___ to the north , ___MASK88___ to the northeast , Argentina to the ___MASK49___ , and the Drake Passage in the far south . Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández , Salas y Gómez , Desventuradas , and Easter Island in Oceania . ___MASK79___ also claims about of Antarctica , although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty . A booby is a seabird in the genus ___MASK80___ , part of the Sulidae family . Boobies are closely related to the gannets (" Morus "), which were formerly included in " ___MASK80___ ". Sea lions are sea mammals characterized by external ear flaps , long foreflippers , the ability to walk on all fours , and short , thick hair , big chest and belly . Together with the fur seals , they comprise the family Otariidae , eared seals , which contains six extant and one extinct species ( the Japanese sea lion ) in five genera . Their range extends from the subarctic to tropical waters ___MASK27___ the global ocean in both the ___MASK45___ and Southern Hemispheres , with the notable exception ___MASK27___ the ___MASK45___ ___MASK65___ . They have an average lifespan ___MASK27___ 20  30 years . A male California sea lion weighs on average about and is about long , while the female sea lion weighs and is long . The largest sea lion is Steller ' s sea lion , which can weigh and grow to a length ___MASK27___ . Sea lions consume large quantities ___MASK27___ food at a ___MASK34___ and are known to eat about 5  8 % ___MASK27___ their body weight ( about ) at a single feeding .