ECOLOGIA POBLACIONAL DE LA BABILLA (Caiman crocodilus fuscus) EN EL VALLE DEL RIO MAGDALENA (CUNDINAMARCA, COLOMBIA)

Abstract

To propose a conservation plan for the spectacled caiman, we studied wild populations and their habitats in lotic and lentic environments of ten sites in the Magdalena River valley, Department of Cundinamarca. Based on night counts, we detected 464 individuals and we estimated densities up to 4.3 caimans / km in lotic environments and 11.6 caimans / ha in lentic environments. The population size structure was dominated by immature individuals and the population sex ratio was 1:1. The habitat among lotic environments varied due to differences in the number of beaches, trunks or woody brides, trees on water and the amount of litter in the riparian forest. In lentic environments we found water bodies with up to 70% of oating vegetation, 49% of the perimeter with riparian forest, 83% of the perimeter with beaches, 40 trunks or woody brides and 90 trees on water while the forest cover ranged from 60 to 80% and the amount of litter ranged between 0,013 m3 and 0,028 m3. In both environments we found a positive relationship of caiman density with the amount of riparian forest. In lotic environments most individuals were detected in open water while in lentic environments most individuals were recorded on oating vegetation. We found that caimans use some microhabitats more than others regardless of the offer that provides the habitat.