The Magdalena–Urabá moist forests (NT0137) is an ecoregion in the north of Colombia. The terrain is largely flat or undulating, but includes mountainous areas in the south. It contains moist forests and large wetlands that are important to resident and migratory birds. The ecoregion forms a bridge between the Pacific coast ecoregions of Colombia and Central America, and the ecoregions of the Andes and Amazon. It is surrounded by the more populated parts of Colombia and is threatened by farming, ranching, logging, oil exploitation and water pollution in the main rivers.

Geography

Location

The ecoregion is in the north of Colombia, with an area of . It includes the flat landscape along the lower course of the

Magdalena River The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of ...

, and extends west over the coastal plain to the

Gulf of Urabá The Gulf of Urabá is a gulf on the northern coast of Colombia. It is part of the Caribbean Sea. It is a long, wide inlet located on the coast of Colombia, close to the connection of the continent to the Isthmus of Panama. The town of Turbo, ...

. To the north the ecoregion transitions into the

Sinú Valley dry forests The Sinú Valley dry forests (NT0229) is an ecoregion in the north of Colombia. Geography Location The Sinú Valley is an area of . located within the zone of parallel, north-northeast trending hills that lies between the low-point Magdalena ...

and Guajira–Barranquilla xeric scrub ecoregions. To the west it meets the

Chocó–Darién moist forests The Chocó–Darién moist forests (NT0115) is an ecoregion in the west of Colombia and east of Panama. The region has extremely high rainfall, and the forests hold great biodiversity. The northern and southern parts of the ecoregion have been cons ...

, and to the south merges into the

Northwestern Andean montane forests The Northwestern Andean montane forests (NT0145) is an ecoregion on the Andes mountains in the west of Colombia and Ecuador. Both flora and fauna are highly diverse due to effect of ice ages when the warmer climate zones were separated and the cool ...

Cauca Valley montane forests The Cauca Valley montane forests (NT0109) is an ecoregion in western Colombia. It covers the sides of the Cauca Valley, which runs from south to north between the Central and Western Ranges (''cordilleras'') of the Colombian Andes. The ecoregion i ...

and

Magdalena Valley montane forests The Magdalena Valley montane forests (NT0136) is an ecoregion in the Andes mountains of central Colombia. Geography Location The ecoregion covers the higher land on both sides of the valley of the Magdalena River in the Colombian Andes. The ri ...

. The ecoregion transitions into the

Magdalena Valley dry forests The Magdalena Valley dry forests (NT0221) is an ecoregion in Colombia along the upper Magdalena River, a large river that runs from south to north between the two main ''cordilleras'' of the Andes. There are many endemic species, but much of the or ...

in the extreme south.

Terrain

The

Eastern Ranges The Eastern Ranges is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. The club is a founding member of the competition (1992) and has produced several players for the Australian Football Leagu ...

and

Central Ranges Central Ranges (code CER) is an Australian bioregion, with an area of 101,640.44 square kilometres (39,244 sq mi) spreading across two states and one territory: South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.Western Ranges borders the western part, which extends to the

and the

Chocó Department Choco Department is a department of Western Colombia known for its large Afro-Colombian population. It is in the west of the country, and is the only Colombian department to have coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It ...

. A series of ranges run along the southern part of the region, the Serranía de Abibe, Serranía de San Jerónimo, Serranía de Ayapel and

Serranía de San Lucas The Serranía de San Lucas is a forested massif in the Bolívar Department of northern Colombia that reaches heights of 2,600m above sea level. It is part of the Magdalena-Urabá moist forests ecoregion, with a rainforest ecology that includes larg ...

, which rises to over above sea level. Other than these ranges and some isolated mountains, the terrain is undulating. The center of the region is flat. The main river in the ecoregion is the

. Other important rivers include the lower Cauca,

Nechí Nechi is a town and municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Climate Nechí has a tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually fo ...

, San Jorge, Sinú and

Atrato Atrato is a municipality and town in the Chocó Department near the Pacific Ocean, Colombia. Climate Atrato has an extremely wet tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a trop ...

. In the center of the ecoregion the rivers form the ''ciénagas'' (wetlands), a large system of marshes, lakes and ponds, of great importance to resident and migratory birds.

Climate

The ecoregion has a seasonal climate, with dry periods in January–March, when strong winds carry clouds from the Caribbean to the southern serranías, and in July–August. There is more rainfall around the Serranía de San Lucas, in the center of the region, and in the upper valleys of the Sinú, San Jorge and Nechí rivers. Mean annual rainfall in the lower areas is . As much as may fall in the upper river valleys and canyons. At a sample location at coordinates the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

is "Am": equatorial, monsoonal. The mean temperature ranges from in October to in March. Yearly total rainfall is about . Monthly rainfall is under in January and February, rising to in August.

Ecology

The ecoregion is in the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

, in the

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

biome. The Magdalena–Urabá moist forests ecoregion links the Central American and Chocó ecoregions with the ecoregions of the Andes and the Amazon basin. It has high diversity of species and a high level of endemism. The ecoregion is sometimes seen as the eastern part of the Chocó, but it has different characteristics and different endemic species.

Flora

In the flooded areas vegetation is palmettos and wetland flora. In the drier areas the vegetation is dense, high rainforest with a rich understory, with great diversity of flora. Large trees include ''

Anacardium excelsum ''Anacardium excelsum'', the wild cashew or ''espavé'', is a tree in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The tree is common in the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests of Pacific and Atlantic watersheds of Central and South Amer ...

'', ''

Cariniana pyriformis ''Cariniana pyriformis'' (known as Colombian mahogany or abarco) is a species of woody plant in the family Lecythidaceae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Venezuela. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (als ...

'', ''

Caryocar amygdaliferum ''Caryocar amygdaliferum'' is a plant native to the rain forests of the Choco region of Colombia and Panama. Its fruit consists of a spiny husk inside which a seed about three times the size of an almond develops. It has been used for similar ...

'', ''

Caryocar glabrum ''Caryocar glabrum'' is a species of tree in the family Caryocaraceae. It is native to South America. Chemical compounds Dihydroisocoumarin Dihydroisocoumarins are phenolic compounds related to isocoumarin. Dihydroisocoumarin glucosides can ...

'', ''

Cedrela odorata ''Cedrela odorata'' is a commercially important species of tree in the chinaberry family, Meliaceae, commonly known as Spanish cedar or Cuban cedar; it is also known as cedro in Spanish. Classification The genus ''Cedrela'' has undergone two m ...

'', ''

Ceiba pentandra ''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety ''C. pentandr ...

'', ''

Cordia gerascanthus ''Cordia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 300 species of shrubs and trees, that are found worldwide, mostly in warmer regions. Many of the species are commonly called manjack, while ''bocote ...

'', ''

Hymenaea courbaril ''Hymenaea courbaril'', the courbaril or West Indian locust, is a tree common in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. It is a hardwood that is used for furniture, flooring, and decoration. Its hard fruit pods have edible dry pulp ...

'', ''

Myroxylon balsamum ''Myroxylon balsamum'', Santos mahogany, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to tropical forests from Southern Mexico through the Amazon regions of Peru and Brazil at elevations of . Plants are found growing in well d ...

'', ''

Ochroma lagopus ''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma''. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking, with the name ''balsa'' being ...

'', '' Schizolobium parahybum'' and ''

Tabebuia rosea ''Tabebuia rosea'', also called pink poui, and rosy trumpet tree is a neotropical tree that grows up to and can reach a diameter at breast height of up to . The Spanish name ''roble de sabana'', meaning "savannah oak", is widely used in Costa Ri ...

''. The forest contains large vines that support creepers, ''

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

'' and ''

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain o ...

''. There are more than 150 species of orchid, including '' Cattleya warscewiczii'', '' Cycnoches chlorochilon'', ''

Peristeria elata ''Peristeria elata'' is a species of orchid occurring from Central America to Panamá, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It is the type species of its genus. It is commonly referred to as the Holy Ghost orchid, dove orchid, or flower of the Holy Spirit in ...

'' and ''

Psychopsis papilio ''Psychopsis'' is a genus of four known species of orchids native to northern South America, Central America and Trinidad. The genus name is abbreviated ''Pyp.'' in the horticultural trade.Alphabetical List of Standard Abbreviations for Natural ...

''. Endemic flora include '' Heliconia laxa'', '' Heliconia lentiginosa'', '' Heliconia rigida'' and '' Heliconia sanctae-theresae''.

Fauna

Large mammals found in the rain forests or wetlands include Geoffroy's spider monkey (''Ateles geoffroyi''),

cotton-top tamarin The cotton-top tamarin (''Saguinus oedipus'') is a small New World monkey weighing less than . This New World monkey can live up to 24 years, but most of them die by 13 years. One of the smallest primates, the cotton-top tamarin is easily recogn ...

(''Saguinus oedipus''),

white-footed tamarin The white-footed tamarin (''Saguinus leucopus'') is a tamarin species endemic to Colombia. It is a silvery brown colour with pale streaks and russet underparts, and is very similar in appearance to the cotton-top tamarin, from which it is separat ...

(''Saguinus leucopus''),

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

(''Panthera onca''),

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

(''Puma concolor''),

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwes ...

(''Leopardus pardalis''),

jaguarundi The jaguarundi (''Herpailurus yagouaroundi'') is a wild cat native to the Americas. Its range extends from central Argentina in the south to northern Mexico, through Central and South America east of the Andes. The jaguarundi is a medium-sized ...

(''Puma yagouaroundi''), crab-eating raccoon (''Procyon cancrivorus''),

giant anteater The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which it is the largest member. The only extant member of the genus ''Myrmecopha ...

(''Myrmecophaga tridactyla''),

South American tapir The South American tapir (''Tapirus terrestris''), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi ''tapi'ira''), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, the ''anta'' (Portuguese), and ''la sachavaca'' (literally "bushcow ...

(''Tapirus terrestris colombianus''),

red brocket The red brocket (''Mazama americana'') is a species of brocket deer from forests in South America, ranging from northern Argentina to Colombia and the Guianas. It also occurs on the Caribbean island of Trinidad (it also occurred on the island of ...

(''Mazama americana''),

gray brocket The gray brocket (''Mazama gouazoubira''), also known as the brown brocket, is a species of brocket deer from northern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Peru, eastern and southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It formerly included the Amazonian br ...

(''Mazama gouazoubira''),

capybara The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...

(''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') and

West Indian manatee The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on un ...

(''Trichechus manatus''). Endangered mammals include black-headed spider monkey (''Ateles fusciceps''), Geoffroy's spider monkey (''Ateles geoffroyi''),

red-crested tree-rat The red-crested tree-rat or Santa Marta toro (''Santamartamys rufodorsalis'') is a species of tree-rat found in the monotypic genus ''Santamartamys'' in the family Echimyidae. It is nocturnal and is believed to feed on plant matter, and is mainly ...

(''Santamartamys rufodorsalis''),

(''Saguinus leucopus'') and

(''Saguinus oedipus''). The ecoregion is a wintering place or feeding place for many species of birds. It provides the main winter habitat for species such as

northern pintail The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding ra ...

(''Anas acuta''),

American wigeon The American wigeon (''Mareca americana''), also known as the baldpate, is a species of dabbling duck found in North America. Formerly assigned to ''Anas'', this species is classified with the other wigeons in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. ...

(''Anas americana''),

northern shoveler The northern shoveler (; ''Spatula clypeata''), known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, wintering in southern Euro ...

(''Anas clypeata''),

cinnamon teal The cinnamon teal (''Spatula cyanoptera'') is a species of duck found in western North and South America. It is a small dabbling duck, with bright reddish plumage on the male and duller brown plumage on the female. It lives in marshes and ponds, ...

(''Anas cyanoptera''),

blue-winged teal The blue-winged teal (''Spatula discors'') is a species of bird in the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. One of the smaller members of the dabbling duck group, it occurs in North America, where it breeds from southern Alaska to Nova Scotia ...

(''Anas discors''), and

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

(''Pandion haliaetus''). Native species include

great green macaw The great green macaw (''Ara ambiguus''), also known as Buffon's macaw or the great military macaw, is a Central and South American parrot found in Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. Two allopatric subspecies are rec ...

(''Ara ambiguus''),

military macaw The military macaw (''Ara militaris'') is a large parrot and a medium-sized macaw that gets its name from its predominantly green plumage resembling a military parade uniform. It is native to forests of Mexico and South America and though conside ...

(''Ara militaris''),

blue-and-yellow macaw The blue-and-yellow macaw (''Ara ararauna''), also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large South American parrot with mostly blue top parts and light orange underparts, with gradient hues of green on top of its head. It is a member of the la ...

(Ara ararauna),

scarlet macaw The scarlet macaw (''Ara macao'') is a large red, yellow, and blue Central and South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws. It is native to humid evergreen forests of the Neotropics. Its range extends from ...

(''Ara macao''),

red-and-green macaw The red-and-green macaw (''Ara chloropterus''), also known as the green-winged macaw, is a large, mostly-red macaw of the genus ''Ara''. This is the largest of the genus ''Ara'', widespread in the forests and woodlands of northern and central ...

(''Ara chloroptera'')

chestnut-fronted macaw The chestnut-fronted macaw or severe macaw (''Ara severus'') is one of the largest of the mini-macaws. It reaches a size of around of which around half is the length of the tail. They can be found over a large part of Northern South America fro ...

(''Ara severus''),

northern screamer The northern screamer (''Chauna chavaria'') is a Near Threatened species of bird in family Anhimidae of the waterfowl order Anseriformes. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. Taxonomy and systematics The northern screamer shares genus ''Ch ...

(''Chauna chavaria''),

Muscovy duck The Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') is a large duck native to the Americas, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United Sta ...

(''Cairina moschata''),

knob-billed duck The knob-billed duck (''Sarkidiornis melanotos''), or African comb duck, is a duck found in tropical wetlands in Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar and the Indian Subcontinent from northern India to Laos and extreme southern China. Most taxonomic au ...

(''Sarkidiornis melanotos''),

black-bellied whistling duck The black-bellied whistling duck (''Dendrocygna autumnalis''), formerly called the black-bellied tree duck, is a whistling duck that breeds from the southernmost United States, Mexico, and tropical Central to south-central South America. In the ...

(''Dendrocygna autumnalis''), white-faced whistling duck (''Dendrocygna viduata''),

fulvous whistling duck The fulvous whistling duck or fulvous tree duck (''Dendrocygna bicolor'') is a species of whistling duck that breeds across the world's tropical regions in much of Mexico and South America, the West Indies, the southern United States, sub-Sahar ...

(''Dendrocygna bicolor''),

black hawk-eagle The black hawk-eagle (), also known as the tyrant hawk-eagle, is a species of eagle found from central Mexico through Central America into the south of Brazil to Colombia, eastern Peru, and as far as northern Argentina. There are two known subspe ...

(''Spizaetus tyrannus''),

crested eagle The crested eagle (''Morphnus guianensis'') is a large Neotropical eagle. It is the only member of the genus ''Morphnus''. The crested eagle can grow up to long, with a wingspan up to , and weigh up to . The plumage varies between a light br ...

(''Morphnus guianensis''),

harpy eagle The harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja'') is a neotropical species of eagle. It is also called the American harpy eagle to distinguish it from the Papuan eagle, which is sometimes known as the New Guinea harpy eagle or Papuan harpy eagle. It is the ...

(''Harpia harpyja'') and

blue-billed curassow The blue-billed curassow (''Crax alberti'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, Guan (bird), guans, and curassows. It is endemic to Colombia. Taxonomy and systematics The blue-billed curassow is monotypic. However, i ...

(''Crax alberti''). Endangered birds include the

recurve-billed bushbird The recurve-billed bushbird (''Clytoctantes alixii'') is an Endangered species of Thamnophilid antbird that inhabits dense stands of secondary vegetation at the northern end of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela. It is named for its extraordi ...

(''Clytoctantes alixii'') and

(''Crax alberti''). The ecoregion is home to reptiles such as

American crocodile The American crocodile (''Crocodylus acutus'') is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas, with populations present from South Florida and the coasts ...

(''Crocodylus acutus''), spectacled caiman (''Caiman crocodilus''),

Magdalena River turtle The Magdalena River turtle or Rio Magdalena river turtle (''Podocnemis lewyana'') is a species of turtle in the family Podocnemididae,red-footed tortoise The red-footed tortoise (''Chelonoidis carbonarius'') is a species of tortoise from northern South America. These medium-sized tortoises generally average as adults, but can reach over . They have dark-colored, loaf-shaped carapaces (back shell ...

(''Chelonoidis carbonaria''), bushmaster (''

Lachesis muta ''Lachesis muta'', also known as the Southern American bushmaster or Atlantic bushmaster, is a venomous pit viper species found in South America, as well as the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. Two subspecies are currently recognized, includi ...

''),

boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family B ...

(''Boa constrictor''), green iguana (''Iguana iguana'') and

gold tegu The gold tegu, also known as the golden tegu, common tegu, black tegu, Colombian black and white tegu and tiger lizard (in Trinidad), is a species of tegu. Its old scientific name (synonym) was ''Tupinambis nigropunctatus'', but it has since rena ...

('' Tupinambis teguixin''). Endangered reptiles include

Dahl's toad-headed turtle Dahl's toad-headed turtle (''Mesoclemmys dahli'') is a medium-sized species of Pleurodira, side-necked turle in the Family (biology), family Chelidae. This critically endangered freshwater turtle is Endemism, endemic to northern Colombia, where ...

(''Mesoclemmys dahli''). Endangered amphibians include the frog '' Sachatamia punctulata''. The wetlands provide a nursery for a variety of freshwater and salt water fish species.

Status

The

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

gives the ecoregion the status of "Critical/Endangered". It is surrounded by most of the population of Colombia. Pressures come from large-scale farming, ranching, gold mining, oil wells and logging. It has suffered from warfare related to illegal narcotics. The largest rivers, the Magdalena and Cauca, are highly polluted. However, there are sizeable areas where there has been little human impact, the largest being the area round the Serranía de San Lucas. Several internationally-funded projects are trying to save important wetlands in the region.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magdalena-Uraba moist forests Ecoregions of Colombia Neotropical tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests