Abstract

RAMIREZ-URREA, LAURA MILENA; ARBELAEZ CORTES, ENRIQUE; MARIN GOMEZ, OSCAR HUMBERTO  and  DUQUE MONTOYA, DIEGO. Composition Patterns of Waterbirds from La Vieja River, Geographic Valley of Cauca River, Colombia. Acta biol.Colomb. [online]. 2014, vol.19, n.2, pp.155-166. ISSN 0120-548X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/abc.v19n2.40101.

We compiled and analyzed data gathered from observations during the period 2001-2013 in three sectors along La Vieja river, located in the Cauca river valley, Colombia. We describe spatial and temporal aspects of such dataset, focusing in indentify patterns of species' composition and abundance. We recorded 28 waterbird species in 33 transects, being 22 species observed in more than 50 % of these transects. The species richness among transects did not shows significant differences. However, two cluster analyses, considering both presence/absence and abundance data, showed that there is spatial structure in the species composition along the river. In contrast, although observations were conducted during more than ten years there is no evidence of temporal changes in species composition. Still, some species showed increase or decrease trends in their frequency. We present a new record for one species (Chloroceryle aenea) for the region. Despite that the landscape surrounding La Vieja river have faced a high anthropogenic impact, the river still presents a significant diversity of waterbirds, which could add value to the conservation plans in the zone.

Keywords : Andes; biodiversity; ornithology; Quindío; Valle del Cauca.

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