High Andean Forest Research Articles

Caracterización biológica en la zona de transición bosque-páramo del Complejo de Páramos Chingaza, Colombia

The Chingaza paramo complex is located in the Colombian eastern Cordillera, in the departments of Cundinamarca, Boyaca and Meta. Most of our current knowledge about this complex comes from studies conducted near Bogota and some focal sectors in the National Natural Park Chingaza. The goal of this study was to characterize the treeline transition zone through five elevational transects. As a result, we report 11,588 occurrences and 1382 data of functional traits for plants, edaphic fauna, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. In addition, we report occurrences from two vulnerable (VU) plant species ( Hedyosmum parvifolium and Centronia brachycera ) and a new endemic species ( Puya loca ). Preliminary analyses show natural variation in the landscape, community composition and altitudinal location of transition zones along the gradient and between locations. Using this dataset, it is possible to recognize defined transitions between high Andean forests and paramo ecosystems, and their elevation turnover through their physiognomic, floristic, ecological and chorological attributes.

Interception and Runoff of High Andean Forest in the Protective Forest Reserve "El Malmo"

Interception and Runoff of High Andean Forest in the Protective Forest Reserve "El Malmo"

A morphological database for Colombian anuran species from conservation-priority ecosystems.

Species traits provide a strong link between an organism's fitness and processes at community and ecosystem levels. However, such data remain scarce for amphibians in the Neotropics. Colombia is the country with the highest number of threatened amphibians and the second greatest number of amphibian species worldwide. We present a data set containing eight morphological traits for 4,623 museum specimens of the seven largest collections in the country corresponding to 293 species of 14 families. The number of measured specimens per species ranged from 1 to 118 individuals with a median of 8 individuals per species. Overall, this database gathered morphological information for 37.6% of Colombian anuran diversity. Species measured were mainly distributed in the high Andean forest, the páramo, and wetland ecosystems, and was part of a national initiative led by the Instituto Alexander von Humboldt. The morphological traits were selected on the basis of their role in species' responses to environmental variability and their contributions to ecosystem processes. These traits were related to habitat use, (forearm length, tibia length, femur length, foot length, and foot webbing), predation and food chains (head width and mouth width), and nutrient recycling (snout-vent length). We expect this data set will be used in studies on functional diversity in amphibians and the development of conservation planning for these taxa. No copyright or proprietary restrictions are associated with the use of this data set other than citation of this Data Paper.

Interceptación y escorrentía del bosque altoandino en la reserva forestal protectora “El Malmo”

Los bosques tropicales son importantes a nivel mundial por su biodiversidad y los servicios ecosistémicos que proveen, son claves en el ciclo global del agua. Los cambios y presiones de origen antrópico que afectan a los bosques tropicales inciden en el papel fundamental de estos en la provisión de agua. En este trabajo se evalúa la relación de las coberturas vegetales presentes en el Bosque altoandino de la Reserva Forestal Protectora “El Malmo” con la calidad y cantidad de interceptación y escorrentía; la zona de vida analizada comprende cuatro tipos de coberturas: bosque denso altoandino, vegetación secundaria baja, plantación de latifoliadas y mosaico de pastos con espacios naturales. Se instalaron ocho montajes (dos por cobertura) compuestos cada uno de una parcela de escorrentía y un medidor de precipitación bajo el dosel; el levantamiento de datos se efectúo cada ocho días durante 24 semanas. Los resultados indican que la interceptación de la precipitación no difiere en cada cubierta, mientras que si se ve afectada la escorrentía superficial y su calidad respecto a sedimentos, cambios que obedecen fuertemente a las diferencias en las condiciones físicas del suelo. La cobertura que permite las mejores dimensiones de calidad y cantidad de agua es el bosque denso altoandino. La influencia de la intervención antrópica en el área y la presencia de invasoras afectan negativamente estas variables. Este trabajo aporta conocimiento sobre el comportamiento hidrológico de la Reserva, para su uso en la gestión forestal. Así mismo, genera información, hasta el momento inexistente, sobre la relación interceptación/escorrentía en bosques de la región Cundiboyacense, convirtiéndose en punto inicial de comparación para nuevas investigaciones en ecosistemas altoandinos.

A New Species of Eumanota Edwards (Diptera: Mycetophilidae: Manotine) from Colombia: Evidence for a Pseudogondwanan Pattern

Eumanota wolffae, sp. nov., is described from the high Andean forests of Colombia. This is the first Neotropical species of the clade of non-Manota genera of the mycetophilid subfamily Manotinae—to date known entirely from the Oriental and the northwestern Australasian regions, and in Baltic amber. With the other species of Eumanota Edwards, this species shares, among other features, a largely developed third maxillary palpomere, projecting beyond the base of fourth palpomere, with a wide sensorial pit, a flat inner face, and the last palpomere at least 4× the length of the fourth palpomere. The systematic position of the Colombian species within the Manotinae is addressed. The biogeographic significance of Eumanota in the Neotropical region is discussed, interpreted here as a concurrent incidence of a circumtropical pattern and Gondwanan distributions, in other words, a particular pattern of biogeographic pseudocongruence, referred to here as a “pseudogondwanan pattern.” This pattern is associated with an early Cenozoic tropical biota over Laurasian terranes that expanded its distribution to the south (in the Americas, Africa, and Australasia), followed by large-scale extinction of Nearctic and Palearctic representatives due to global cooling in the Neogene. A discussion is provided about the correlation between these patterns and evidence of Late Cretaceous-Paleogene tropical floras over Laurasian terranes.

The highest altitudinal record of the Mountain coati Nasuella olivacea (Gray, 1865) for Ecuador.

The Mountain coati Nasuella olivacea is a species of carnivorous mammal, several aspects of its ecology and natural history remain unknown. In Ecuador, its presence is reported in high Andean forest and paramo between 1,300 and 3,700 m a.s.l., being rare over 3,200 m. In this work, I present the extension of its altitudinal limit for Ecuador to 3,862 m a.s.l.; in addition, I report an event of a possible interaction between Tremarctos ornatus and N. olivacea.

Effects of fragmentation on functional diversity associated with aboveground biomass in a high Andean forest in Colombia

Forest fragmentation alters the composition, structure and function of ecosystems and affects ecological processes that are fundamental for the provision of ecosystem services where functional diversity is sensitive to its effects. Analyzing the functional responses of the plant community to fragmentation can provide new approaches to its conservation and management. We analyzed whether the functional diversity of woody individuals associated with aboveground biomass (AGB) in a high Andean forest in Colombia is affected by fragmentation. Based on three fragmentation categories identified using landscape metrics, we selected ten forest fragments. Multitrait and monotrait functional diversity indexes (foliar and wood) weighted by aboveground biomass were calculated in plots of 0.1 ha in each fragment. Analysis of variance was performed, and simple linear regressions were quantified to identify the relationships between functional diversity and fragmentation. The category of large fragments had a higher average AGB than did the medium and small fragments. Fragmentation had effects on the variance of some foliar and stem traits but not on functional dominance. For the multitraits indexes, the edge contrast was negatively related with functional dispersion. The categories analyzed have similar responses in terms of functionality associated with AGB. We highlight the importance of small fragments in the maintenance of plant functional diversity and as reservoirs of AGB. We underline that small fragments are important to consider in the development of conservation and connectivity strategies.

A new species of Hyloxalus Jiménez De La Espada, 1871 ''1870'' (Anura: Dendrobatidae: Hyloxalinae) from a cloud forest near Bogotá, Colombia, with comments on the subpunctatus clade

A new species of frog of the genus Hyloxalus from a high Andean forest of the central parts of the Cordillera Oriental, Colombia is recognized and described using integrative taxonomy. Using phylogenetic analyses of 2590 base pairs (bp) of mitochondrial DNA, Hyloxalus felixcoperari sp. nov. was shown to belong to a lineage of the subpunctatus clade, part of a subgroup that comprises high altitude-occurring lineages (subgroup I) and sister taxa of H. subpunctatus sensu stricto from the Bogotá plateau region. The genetic distance between both taxa is 2.1% and 5.1% for the 16S and cytochrome b gene fragments respectively. Hyloxalus felixcoperari sp. nov. is a medium-sized frog, which can be distinguished morphologically from H. subpunctatus by having dark throat and chest and unwebbed toes, and bioacoustically by emitting an advertisement call consisting of trill-like calls repeated at a rate of 50 – 104 repititions/min, with a dominant frequency ranging from 3028.9 – 3861.2 Hz. Molecular dating analysis revealed that the already known lineages of the subpunctatus clade subgroup I from the middle Cordillera Oriental of Colombia, recently diverged during the lower Pleistocene – Upper Pliocene, most probably due to environmental fluctuations. Threats and main aspects of the natural history of this new species including breeding and habitat are reported in this article.

A morphological database for 606 Colombian bird species

Colombia is the country with the highest bird diversity in the world. Despite active research in ornithology, compelling morphological information of most bird species is still sparse. However, morphological information is the baseline to understand how species respond to environmental variation and how ecosystems respond to species loss. As part of a national initiative, the Instituto Alexander von Humboldt in collaboration with 12 Colombian institutions and seven biological collections, measured up to 15 morphological traits of 9,892 individuals corresponding to 606 species: 3,492 from individuals captured in field and 6,400 from museum specimens. Species measured are mainly distributed in high Andean forest, páramo, and wetland ecosystems. Seven ornithological collections in Colombia and 18 páramo complexes throughout Colombia were visited from 2013 to 2015. The morphological traits involved measurements from bill (total and exposed culmen, bill width and depth), wing (length, area, wingspan, and the distance between longest primary and longest secondary), tail (length and shape), tarsus (length), hallux (length and claw hallux), and mass. The number of measured specimens per species was variable, ranging from 1 to 321 individuals with a median of four individuals per species. Overall, this database gathered morphological information for >30% of Colombian bird diversity. No copyright, proprietary, or cost restrictions apply; the data should be cited appropriately when used.

Reinstatement of the Genus Piofontia: A Phylogenomic-based Study Reveals the Biphyletic Nature of Diplostephium (Asteraceae: Astereae)

A recent phylogenomic study has shown that Diplostephium in its broad sense is biphyletic. While one of the clades comprises 60 species distributed mainly in the Northern Andes, the clade that contains the generic type, Diplostephium ericoides, contains 48 species, and primarily inhabits the Central Andes. Here, I propose to reinstate the generic name Piofontia and transfer to it the species of Diplostephium in the Northern Andean clade. Piofontia consists, then, of 60 species of woody subshrubs, shrubs, and small trees inhabiting high Andean forests and paramos of Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. A morphological description is provided for the genus Piofontia along with a species list with 60 new combinations. Dysaster cajamarcensis is shown to be a synonym of Diplostephium serratifolium. Finally, a brief discussion about themorphological evolution of South American Astereae is provided.

New records and estimation of the potential distribution of the stump-tailed porcupine Coendou rufescens

The stump-tailed porcupine (Coendou rufescens) is a medium-sized species that inhabits subtropical, temperate and High-Andean forests of the northern Andes, at 800 to 3,650 m asl. This species is characterized by a short non-prehensile tail and a distinctive reddish color. Here, we report new localities for Coendou rufescens in Ecuador based on direct field sightings and the revision of mammal collections. In addition, we conducted a review of literature records of C. rufescens throughout its distribution range. A total of 52 georeferenced records were modeled for the potential distribution at the regional level (Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru) based on 19 bioclimatic variables. Finally, we overlaid the layers of vegetation remnants and state protected areas. We report 10 new localities for Coendou rufescens in Ecuador; these records are concentrated to southern Ecuador between 1,120 to 4,387 masl. Fifty two records found that the bioclimatic variables Temperature Seasonality (BIO4) and Minimum Temperature of the Coldest Month (BIO6) associated with the type of habitat made the greatest significant contribution to the distribution model of C. rufescens. The suitable habitat for the species spans across ~ 448,820 km2, with 50.4 % in Colombia. These findings indicate that the locality Camino del Inca in Sangay National Park, at 4,387 m asl, is considered the highest-elevation record for C. rufescens and the family Erethizontidae. Colombia and Peru include the highest proportion of potential habitat across its range (40.2 % and 32.7 %) based on remnant vegetation; however, Ecuador maintains the largest proportion of the porcupine distribution within protected areas (35.5%), with a larger extent of landscape connectivity, essential for the conservation of C. rufescens.

Ethnobotany of the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy-G\xfcic\xe1n: climate change and conservation strategies in the Colombian Andes

BackgroundThe Sierra Nevada del Cocuy-Güicán in the Colombian Andes is protected as a National Natural Park since 1977 because of its fragile páramo ecosystems, extraordinary biodiversity, high plant endemism, and function as water reservoir. The vegetation on this mountain is threatened by expanding agriculture, deforestation, tourism, and climate change. We present an ethnobotanical inventory among local farmer communities and discuss the effects of vegetation change on the availability of useful plants.MethodsWe used 76 semi-structured, 4 in-depth interviews, and 247 botanical collections to record the ethnoflora of the farmers and surveyed from the high Andean forest to the super-páramo, including native and introduced species. We organized 3 participative workshops with local children, high school students, and campesinos’ women to share the data we acquired in the field and empower local plant conservation awareness.ResultsWe encountered 174 useful plants, most of them native to the area (68%) and almost one third introduced (32%). The Compositae was the most species-rich family, followed by Lamiaceae, Poaceae, and Rosaceae. The majority of plant species were used as medicine, followed by food, firewood, and domestic tools. Local farmers reported declining numbers of páramo species, which were now only found at higher altitudes than before. Although our informants were worried about the preservation of their natural resources and noticed the effects of climate change, for several commercial species, unsustainable land use and overharvesting seemed to be the direct cause of declining medicinal plant resources rather than climate change.ConclusionsWe recommend conservation plans that include vegetation monitoring, people’s perceptions on climate change, and participative actions with the communities of the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy-Güicán.

Zinowiewia sebastianii (Celastraceae), a new high-Andean species from the Colombian Eastern Cordillera

Zinowiewia sebastianii, una nueva especie del bosque altoandino de la Cordillera Oriental de Colombia, en el departamento de Boyacá (Colombia) es descrita e ilustrada, y sus afinidades taxonómicas son discutidas. Los individuos de la nueva especie son arbustos hasta de 5 m alto, con estípulas interpeciolares laciniadas, lámina foliar con 8-11 pares de venas laterales y margen plano, entero, dicasios 2-ramificados hasta de 1 × 1 cm, formados en las axilas de las hojas distales, cáliz, corola y androceo pentámeros o tetrámeros, y sámaras biloculares, uniseminadas de 18-20 × 5-7 mm. Basados en el bajo número de individuos de Z. sebastianii observados dentro de un área de ocupación < 10 km2, en bosques extremadamente fragmentados, proponemos que la nueva especie sea considerada en Peligro Crítico (CR), ya que enfrenta un alto riesgo de extinción en estado silvestre.

Miconia curvitheca (Melastomataceae), una nueva especie nativa de los bosques altoandinos y subparamos de los Andes centrales, Colombia

Miconia curvitheca (Melastomataceae) is described and the name is validated. This species is restricted to high Andean forests and subparamos and is distributed in the southern and central part of the Central Colombian Cordillera of the Andes between 2900 and 3700 m elevation from the department of Cauca to the limits of the departments of Quindio, Tolima and Valle del Cauca. It is characterized by the curved shape of its anthers and differs from the most similar species, M. cuatrecasae, by the following combination of characters: smaller leaves, always bisexual flowers and ovary always four-celled.

Relación fenología-clima de cuatro especies de orquídeas en un bosque altoandino de Colombia

El objetivo de esta investigación fue caracterizar, durante un ciclo anual, la relación fenología-clima de cuatro especies comunes de orquídeas en un bosque altoandino de la Cordillera Oriental colombiana. Se monitoreó mensualmente la floración y la fructificación de 30 individuos adultos de Cyrtochilum revolutum, Malaxis excavata, Ponthieva diptera y Stelis pulchella. El número de flores en botón, flores abiertas, frutos inmaduros (cápsula cerrada) y el número de frutos maduros (cápsula abierta) se correlacionaron con las variables climáticas precipitación media mensual, temperatura media, mínima y máxima mensuales y humedad relativa mensual del mismo período de estudio. Los resultados mostraron que las cuatro especies de orquídeas presentaron actividad reproductiva durante el año de seguimiento. C. revolutum sólo floreció y se correlacionó de forma positiva con la precipitación. El pico de floración de S. pulchella, ocurrió en los meses más fríos y con menor humedad relativa. En contraste, la producción de frutos verdes se presentó en los momentos de mayor humedad y mayor temperatura, mientras que la apertura de las cápsulas ocurrió en los meses más secos. M. excavata presentó un patrón de floración y de fructificación extendido y el mayor número de flores abiertas se correlacionó de forma positiva con la precipitación. La producción de frutos verdes se correlacionó con la humedad relativa y la precipitación de dos meses atrás. Aunque P. diptera mostró pocos individuos en flor y en fruto, la actividad reproductiva se correlacionó con la precipitación y con la temperatura. A pesar de que la relación entre las variables climáticas y la fenología es diferente entre las especies, para tres de las cuatro especies estudiadas (C. revolutum, M. excavata y P. diptera) fue consistente la ocurrencia de la mayor floración durante la época de lluvias con correlaciones positivas significativas, aspecto que se discute a la luz de estudios previos.

Lista de aves de alta montaña de la serranía de Los Picachos, San Vicente del Caguán, Caquetá (Colombia)

Within the framework of the project “Inputs for the delimitation of strategic ecosystems: paramos and wetlands”, was carried out the characterization of bird life of the paramo complex “Los Picachos”. This complex makes part of the more isolated high-Andean forest and paramo ecosystems in the southern of the eastern mountain range in Colombia. The high-mountain birdlife of the “serrania de los Picachos” it has maintained unexplored mainly for public order difficulties that made hard to get information belonging to these areas. This study is the first to achieve the exploration of the area in San Vicente del Caguan municipality, located between 2900 - 3100 m a.s.l. therefore, it represents the first findings about birdlife composition of high mountain of the mountain system. 97 species were identified, of which four are included in any category of danger and three are new records for south of eastern Andes. This allows the knowledge of geographic distribution of reported species in this part of the country.

New records of tardigrades from Colombia (Guatavita, Cundinamarca Department)

The water bears (Tardigrada) from Colombia are rather poorly known; thus, the aim of this research was to study the composition of tardigrade fauna inhabiting epiphytic and rock mosses in a high Andean forest in Guatavita. A 25-m2 plot was delimited and 6 randomly chosen trees with epiphytic mosses were sampled. Twelve samples of epiphytic mosses and 6 of rock mosses were collected and examined. A total of 277 specimens and 6 eggs of 8 tardigrade taxa were found in these samples. All taxa are new records for Guatavita and 5-Hypsibius dujardini (DoyA¨re, 1840); Milnesium katarzynae Kaczmarek et al., 2004; Milnesium krzysztofi Kaczmarek & Michalczyk, 2007; Milnesium granulatum Ramazzotti 1962; and Paramacrobiotus danielae (Pilato et al., 2001)-are also new for Colombia.

Assessment of cellulolytic microorganisms in soils of Nevados Park, Colombia.

A systematized survey was conducted to find soil-borne microbes that degrade cellulose in soils from unique ecosystems, such as the Superpáramo, Páramo, and the High Andean Forest in the Nevados National Natural Park (NNNP), Colombia. These high mountain ecosystems represent extreme environments, such as high levels of solar radiation, low atmospheric pressure, and extreme daily changes in temperature. Cellulolytic activity of the microorganisms was evaluated using qualitative tests, such as growth in selective media followed by staining with congo red and iodine, and quantitative tests to determine the activity of endoglucanase, β-glucosidase, exoglucanase, and total cellulase. Microorganisms were identified using molecular markers, such as the 16S rRNA gene for bacteria and the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of ribosomal DNA for fungi. Multivariate statistical analysis (MVA) was used to select microorganisms with high cellulolytic capacity. A total of 108 microorganisms were isolated from the soils and, in general, the enzymatic activities of fungi were higher than those of bacteria. Our results also found that none of the organisms studied were able to degrade all the components of the cellulose and it is therefore suggested that a combination of bacteria and/or fungi with various enzymatic activities be used to obtain high total cellulolytic activity. This study gives an overview of the potential microorganism that could be used for cellulose degradation in various biotechnological applications and for sustainable agricultural waste treatment.

Diversidad de anfibios y reptiles en hábitats altoandinos y paramunos de la cuenca del río Fúquene, Cundinamarca, Colombia

Nowadays, the high-Andean and paramo ecosystems from Colombia are threatened as a result of habitat degradation, which has caused that some groups, like amphibians and reptiles, are under some threat category. It was done the first analysis of species richness in the Fuquene river basin, in the department of Cundinamarca, in different habitats in transects between 2600 and 3100 m a.s.l. It was performed a systematic sampling, during the day and at night, looking for amphibians and reptiles in three characteristic habitats: paramo, riparian forest and high-Andean forest. There were found two species of frogs and five of reptiles in the study area, It was reached a sample representation of 100% in each habitat. Although there are not previous records of amphibian and reptiles in the study area, the results were compared with a check list for near localities in similar elevations. The habitat degradation and contamination, caused by agricultural activity and livestock, may be related with the low diversity of amphibians and reptiles in the region.

Conservation of forest biodiversity and ecosystem properties in a pastoral landscape of the Ecuadorian Andes

High Andean cloud forests are home to a diversity of unique wildlife and are important provid- ers of ecosystem services to people in the Andean regions. The extent of these cloud forests has been widely reduced through conversion to pasture for livestock, which threatens the forests' ability to support biodiversity and provide ecosystem services. This paper explores whether impacts on woody plant biodiversity and four ecosystem properties (woody plant species richness, juvenile timber tree abundance, soil organic matter content and soil moisture) from converting forest to pasture can be mitigated if some woody forest vegetation is maintained within pastures. Woody vegetation in pastures was found to conserve those woody plant species that are more tolerant to exposure and grazing, but conservation of the high montane cloud forest community required areas of forest from which livestock were restricted. The sampled sites clustered according to woody plant species cover; these clusters represented a gradient from pasture with patches of shrubs to mature forest. Clusters differed in both woody plant species richness and number of juvenile timber trees whereas soil organic matter and soil moisture were observed to be similar among all clusters. This suggests that the different habitats may have some equivalent ecosystem properties. We conclude that the presence of woody vegetation in pastures may reduce some of the impacts of converting forest to pasture, but should not be considered a substitute for protecting large areas of forest, which are essential for maintaining woody plant species diversity in high Andean cloud forest.