A checklist of fauna and flora of Buenavista coastal wetland, La Guajira, Colombia

Abstract

The department of Guajira is one of the 32 departments of Colombia included in the Caribbean region. It is constituted in its center by a low plain, to the south by the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the gentle slope of the Rancheria and Cesar rivers. In Guajira all the thermal floors of the intertropical zone are marked with average temperatures between 35° and 40°C. In terms of hydrology, there are water deposits such as aquifers and lagoons, which are the main supply for the communities' consumption. Among the ecosystems in La Guajira is the Buenavista coastal wetland, located in the municipality of Manaure, which represents a source of health and wealth since it guarantees food supply, provides fresh water and helps us conserve the biodiversity of the planet. Therefore, this work aims to contribute to the knowledge of the fauna and flora of the department of La Guajira, provide information and serve as a baseline for the formulation of strategies in the management and conservation of coastal wetlands in the Caribbean region. Twenty-seven species of plants were dated, being the Fabales order the most representative, 94 species of birds in which Charadriiformes was the most abundant, 18 species of mammals being Didelphidae the family with the highest number of species, 18 species for herpetofauna with the highest diversity in the Colubridae family, and 27 plant species grouped in 16 families, being Fabaceae the most diverse.