Guaribas Biological Reserve ( pt, Reserva Biológica Guaribas) is a biological reserve in the state of Paraíba, Brazil.

Location

The reserve was created on 25 January 1990. It is administered by the

Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (Portuguese: ''Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade'', ICMBio) is the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment's administrative arm."Brazilian Federal Law 11.516/2007 (Por ...

. The reserve is in the municipalities of

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...

and Mamanguape in the state of Paraíba. Altitude varies from above sea level. Average annual rainfall is . Temperature varies from with an average of . The reserve is on the Borborema Plateau, with slopes that face east and south east. The terrain is flat, with gentle undulations. The reserve contains parts of the basins of the Mamanguape and Camaratuba rivers. It contains the Descanso or Caiana Lagoon, which dries up completely in the dry season.

Ecology

The reserve is in a transition zone between the Atlantic Forest,

caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...

and

cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...

biomes. The area is mostly forest-covered, although there are some patches of open

vegetation which once stretched to the coast. The area has suffered from the removal of timber in some areas, which are now in the process of regeneration. There have been frequent incursions by people removing timber and gathering fruit. Adult and sapling specimens of

Caesalpinia echinata ''Paubrasilia echinata'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. It is a Brazilian timber tree commonly known as Pernambuco wood or brazilwood ( pt, pau-de-pernambuco, ...

(Brazil wood) are common. Selective

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corruption, corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, o ...

of this species has opened large clearings in the forest, allowing establishment of pioneer species.

Conservation

The Biological Reserve is a "strict nature reserve" under

IUCN protected area category IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The enlisting of such areas is par ...

Ia. The purpose is to fully protect the biota and other natural attributes without human interference. Specifically, it is to protect one of the last well-preserved remnants of Atlantic Forest in the north east of Brazil, which may be harboring a variety of plant and animal species, and may play an important role in preserving genetic diversity. Protected species include

white-necked hawk The white-necked hawk (''Buteogallus lacernulatus'') is a Vulnerable species of bird of prey in subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is endemic to Brazil.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claram ...

(Buteogallus lacernulatus),

oncilla The oncilla (''Leopardus tigrinus''), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the popul ...

(Leopardus tigrinus), black-cheeked gnateater (Conopophaga melanops),

rufous gnateater The rufous gnateater (''Conopophaga lineata'') is a passerine bird of the gnateater family, Conopophagidae. It is found in forest understory and bushes in eastern Brazil from Rio Grande do Sul north to central Brazil. Its range also extends into ...

(Conopophaga lineata),

buff-throated purpletuft The buff-throated purpletuft (''Iodopleura pipra'') is a small species of South American bird in the family Tityridae. It has traditionally been placed in the cotinga family, but evidence strongly suggest it is better placed in Tityridae, ...

(Iodopleura pipra),

blue-crowned motmot The blue-capped motmot or blue-crowned motmot (''Momotus coeruliceps'') is a colorful near-passerine bird found in forests and woodlands of eastern Mexico. This species and the Lesson's Motmot, Whooping Motmot, Trinidad Motmot, Amazonian Motmot, ...

(Momotus momota),

scalloped antbird The scalloped antbird (''Myrmoderus ruficauda'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Thamnophilidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. ...

(Myrmeciza ruficauda),

spot-winged wood quail The spot-winged wood quail (''Odontophorus capueira'') is a species of bird in the family Odontophoridae. It is found in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, and formerly in Uruguay. In Portuguese and Spanish the bird is called uru (Corcovado Urú).

(Odontophorus capueira),

rusty-margined guan The rusty-margined guan (''Penelope superciliaris'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, which includes the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. Taxonomy and systematics The I ...

(Penelope superciliaris),

golden-spangled piculet The golden-spangled piculet (''Picumnus exilis'') is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Aret ...

(Picumnus exilis), white-throated spadebill (Platyrinchus mystaceus) and

plain xenops The plain xenops (''Xenops minutus'') is a passerine bird which breeds in moist lowland forests in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south to western Ecuador, northeastern Argentina and central Brazil. Description The plain xenops is ...

(Xenops minutus).

References

Sources

* * {{Biological reserve (Brazil) 1990 establishments in Brazil Biological reserves of Brazil Protected areas of Paraíba Protected areas established in 1990 Protected areas of the Atlantic Forest