Sections of floating meadows may be broken away by water currents and travel for many miles downstream, providing a mechanism for the dispersal of many organisms. Floating meadow habitats are easily and quickly accessible from the Madre Selva Biological Station. This type of habitat does not occur, or is extremely restricted, at the Paucarillo and Sabalillo reserves. The Iquitos area, located just over 3 degrees south of the Equator, is characterized by strong tropical sun and a warm and humid climate. Temperatures are cooler and humidity lower than during the remainder of the year, but due to the greater amount of sunshine, the season is locally known as 'summer'.
Humidity levels are high, and there is more continuous cloud cover.
Despite the generally higher temperatures, this time of year is known as 'winter', due to the chilling effects of prolonged rains. River levels are affected both by local rains, as well as rainfall patterns in the headwaters of the Amazon and Napo rivers, and snowmelt in the Andes Mountains. Very little biological exploration has occurred in much of the region, due to the huge area and the challenges of accessing more remote areas. Most ecological and other research in this region of the Peruvian Amazon has taken place in more accessible areas closer to Iquitos, and at sites on the north bank of the Amazon River. New species of plants and animals are being described from the region yearly, and many more certainly await discovery or formal taxonomic description.