Ornithological diagnose of the conservation status of three Andean watersheds in Venezuelan

Abstract

The expansion of the agricultural frontier in the Venezuelan Andes threatens the biodiversity of Páramo and highland forests. These ecosystems are already vulnerable due to their small extensions. Since birds are excellent biodiversity bioindicators, we used this for to diagnose the conservation status of the upper watersheds of the Chama, Motatán and Santo Domingo rivers, which have contrasting climatic conditions (the first two dry mountain valleys and the latter a wet mountain valley). Using a list of birds obtained from both literature and biological collection reviews, we selected 9 conservation target species. We found that species associated to the Páramo ecosystems showed the highest degree of habitat conservation, while those associated to forests and rivers were the most vulnerable. Of the three watersheds evaluated, the Santo Domingo river had the highest conservation status, followed by the River and the Chama River. We find arguments that support the classification of the species Merganetta armata as vulnerable and Hapalopsittaca amazonina as endangered in Venezuela.