Clear water stream, Acacías, Meta, Colombia

Environment

Environment

Affected by human activity

Affected by human activity

Agriculture

Agriculture

Advanced

Surrounding area

These streams are located near the foothills of the Andes and the beginning of the llannos, which are floodplains in Colombia and Venezuela. The landscape is flat, with more hills as you get closer to the Andes. The surrounding landscape is covered in fields, streams, farms and small gallery forests.

The infrastructure is good compared to other parts of Colombia. The fields are covered in sages and grasses such as Trachypogon spicatus and Paspalum sp. And trees such as Mauritia flexuosa and Byrsonima crassifolia. Some common mammals from this area are: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (Capybara), Sylvilagus floridanus and Odocoileus virginianus. Also, some beautiful water birds are found here, such as Eudocimus rubber and Phelpsia inornata.

Underwater landscape

The streams here are not very big. They are between 1-3m wide. Of course, there are some exceptions. They have a fine sandy bottom and are often covered with fist-sized peables. Some slower-moving streams have leaves on the bottom and near the banks. Aquatic vegetation can also be found in the streams, even in fast-flowing water. The banks are often covered with aquatic, semi-aquatic and terrestrial vegetation.

Small fish like small tetras and pencilfish will seek cover between the vegetation. Smaller cichlids such as Apistogramma make their habitat around the rocks and leaves. Osteogaster play among the leaves, and bigger tetras, such as Bryconops, hunt on the surface for small insects. Wood can also be found, but not in big numbers – mainly branches, driftwood and roots.

In the rainy season, the streams in this area have a strong current with a lot of aquatic vegetation. In the peak dry season, only small puddles are left of most streams. These puddles have no vegetation due to the high temperature, and a high amount of fish. Some fish, like corydoras, will survive in these puddles since they are air beathers.

Fish list:

• Corydoras melanotaenia (Callichthyidae)
• Corydoras metae (Callichthyidae)
• Corydoras melini (Callichthyidae)
• Corydoras axelrodi (Callichthyidae)
• Axelrodia risei (Acestrorhamphidae)
• Apistogramma macmasteri (Cichlidae)
• Apistogramma viejita (Cichlidae)
• Apistogramma alacrina (Cichlidae)
• Aequidens metae (Cichlidae)

Plant list:

• Cabomba aquatica (Cabombaceae)
• Elodea sp. (Hydrocharitaceae)
• Najas sp. (Hydrocharitaceae)
• Heteranthera sp. (Pontederiaceae)
• Eleocharis sp. (Cyperaceae)
• Sagittaria sp. (Alismataceae)
• Nymphaea sp. (Nymphaeaceae)
• Nymphoides sp. (Nymphaeaceae)

Threats to ecology

The main threat to the flora and founa here is agriculture. There are mainly cattle farms, but also plantations. They use pesticides that will end up in the water and kill the fish. Also, cattle waste contains a lot of nitrogen that will pollute the water.

Riparian zone

Trees near the aquatic habitat

Few -