Rafael Ángel Moreno Arias

Conservation Status of Highland Lizards from Sabana de Bogotá

Measuring lizards.

Anadia bogotensis.

General aspect of Myrciantho leucoxilae Miconion squamulosae scrubland.

Anolis heterodermus from Tabio-Cundinamarca (up Male down Female).

Town/RegionCountryCategoriesDate
Madrid
Tabio
Tenjo
Bogotá
Colombia		Biodiversity, Central and Latin America, Habitat, Reptiles24 Jul 2008

The Tropical Andes is the ecoregion with the largest number of endemic species and more concentration of species in the world. But In Colombian Andes especially in the Cordillera Oriental due to high human population density and the expansion of urban and agricultural frontier only remain about one third of the Andean ecosystems. In the Sabana de Bogotá and the surrounding area these same activities are responsible of the loss of more than half plant communities.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are the main threats to biodiversity because they alter demographic processes that affect the stability and persistence of animal wild populations. However the reptiles have been barely studied with relation to the effects of the habitat loss and fragmentation on their populations. Despite their restricted distribution and the threatened status of their habitats Colombian Andean lizard populations are poorly known.

I will study the population dynamics of three lizards (Anolis heterodermus, Stenocercus trachycephalus and Anadia bogotensis) at scrubland forest fragments in the Sabana de Bogotá. First I will characterize each fragment according its size, shape and vegetation structure. Second, I will capture-mark and release lizards then I will estimate size, survival and population dynamics. Finally, I will design educational materials and make workshops to spread information about population status, main threats and habitat needs of each lizard.

I will document the population status of these lizards and the consequences of the habitat loss and/or fragmentation in their demographics processes, persistence and future trajectories. This information in turn can help plan conservation strategies based on the maintenance of the most relevant demographics processes of each one population. Trough spread the results it will build awareness in local people about its active role in highland lizards and their habitat conservation for the future generations. I hope this project will be the baseline for long-term monitoring of these lizards.

For more information contact rafamorearias@gmail.com

Project Update: January 2009

In three municipalities, Madrid, Tabio and Bogotá, I characterized three small fragments of scrubland (Madrid 10.52 ha, Bogotá 5.14 ha and Tabio 0.31 ha) and two large ones (Madrid 144.33 ha and Tabio 52.73 ha). I chose a large fragment in Bogotá but due to security problems I was not allowed to perform the vegetation survey. The fragments by group (small and large) were different in perimeter and shape (Mann-Whitney U 0.0 p = 0.05).

Also I characterized the vegetation in three strata: Grassing (0.00 - 0.30 m), Herbaceous (0.31 - 1.5 m) and Shrub (>1.5 m). The vegetation's height in small fragments was 3 m and in large fragments 3.5 m. I was found no differences in vegetation cover per stratum and the shrub stratum had the higher average coverage in all fragments (69%) The dominant scrubland species was Myrciantho leucoxilae-Miconion squamulosae (Cortés et al., 1999) and the dominant species were shrubs Miconia squamulosa, Myrchiantes leucoxyla, Dodonea viscosae and Xiloma spiculifera.

Project Update: April 2009

To date, I have sampled nine lizard populations and I have analyzed 85 % of the field data. Preliminary results show a differential response of each species to habitat quality. Although, a generalized pattern is that the habitat area reduction affects especially arboreal and bush lizards as Anolis heterodermus and Stenocercus trachycephalus. For the first species, I found drastic demographic changes when the habitat patch size is small and for the second species, I found that its presence is related with a particularly vegetation type in large habitat patches.

Regarding the social aspect project activities related with the conservation awareness, I have already made contact with the communities and we have defined the places and dates where the workshops will be conducted. The workshops will be focused to children at several rural and town schools.

Final Report

Read about the activities undertaken and findings of this project in the final report below.

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Final Report.doc777.5 KB

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