Morichal, Río Rita, Vichada, Colombia

Environment

Environment

Affected by human activity

Affected by human activity

Deforestation

Deforestation

Initial

Surrounding area

The llanos is the floodplain of the Orinoco. It spreads along the lowlands of Venezuela and Colombia. The llanos are completely covered in grass and sagges, and small streams and a few rivers run through it. It is very flat in most parts. In the dry season the llanos is dry. In the rainy season most parts flood and become a new habitat for fish.

Fish use the flooded llanos to migrate and breed. The llanos is home to a lot of animals. Some mammals that can be found in the llanos are: Odocoileus virginiatus, Myrmecophaga tridactyla and Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (capybara). The capibara occur in huge numbers and are one of the most common mammals in the llanos.

Also reptiles like: the orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius), Caiman crocodilus and Eunectus murinus. and ofcourse many bird species like: Cerbibis oxycerca and Phelpsia inornata. The reptiles and birds live near the gallery forests. The capibaras live near the flooted land. Indigenous people in the llanos include the guahibo and the yaruro.

Underwater landscape

Morichals have a diverse habitat. Some are blackwater, and some are clear waters. Morichals have water year-round, so fish and vegetation can stay in the dry season and will not dry out.

Morichals often have a dense amount of aquatic vegetation, but not always. Aquatic plants found here are Cabomba, Elodea, Najas, Eleocharis, Sagittaria, Paepalanthus fluviatilis and Mayaca fluviatillis. Some morichals have stronger currents than others. This depends if it’s an isolated lagoon or if it’s connected to a river.

Some fish that are very typical to find in Morichals in Colombia and Venezuela are Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, Apistogramma hongsloi, Hemigrammus stictus, Hoplisoma osteocarus and Corydoras septentrionalis. the size of a morichal is very widespread.

Some are small pools of only 1-2m in diameter, and some lagoons are 50m wide. The depth of a Morichal is between 5-150cm.

The temperatures are high in the llanos. Average temperature is around 27°C. The warmest and coolest temperatures are a few degrees different than the average temperature. The water will also be high in temperature, between 26 and 29.

Fish list:

• Apistogramma hongsloi (Cichlidae)
• Apistogramma guttata (Cichlidae)
• Apistogramma viejita (Cichlidae)
• Corydoras aeneus (Callichthyidae)
• Corydoras brevisotris (Callichthyidae)
• Corydoras habrosus (Callichthyidae)
• Corydoras osteocarus (Callichthyidae)
• Corydoras simulatus (Callichthyidae)
• Corydoras septentironalis (Callichthyidae)
• Axelrodia riesei (Acestrorhamphidae)
• Paracheirodon simulans (Acestrorhamphidae)
• Hemigrammus rodwayi (Acestrorhamphidae)
• Farlowella vitatta (Loricariidae)
• Nannostomus eques (Lebiasinidae)

Plant list:

• Cabomba sp. (Cabombaceae)
• Eleocharis sp. (Cyperaceae)
• Najas sp. (Hydrocharitaceae)
• Elodea najas (Hydrocharitaceae)
• Nymphaea sp. (Nymphaeaceae)
• Nymphoides sp. (Nymphaeaceae)

Threats to ecology

The Llanos have quite a lot of threads. The first one is agriculture. Grasslands and savannas are frequently burned to make them suitable for grazing. The llanos is increasingly converted to pastureland for cattle raising. About 13000km² of habitat in Colombia and 40000km² in Venezuela are being used as pastureland. This is the same for corn and rice crop fields, which are replacing much of the natural vegetation and removing habitats available for native fauna.

Deforestation fuelled by the timber industry targets the few patches of forested habitat in this large savanna ecoregion. The profitable oil industry is producing a wide spectrum of disturbances as well. Things that can be done to stop this would be to encourage grazing rotation for cattle to reduce environmental impact and encourage education and awareness workshops throughout rural areas to promote biodiversity awareness of the area.

Riparian zone

Trees near the aquatic habitat

Few -