Vegetation and Wildlife

Vegetation inventories estimate that La Conejera is home to 115 species of plants groupes in 46 different families.

photo credit: Jairo Molina, Bogotá

La Conejera's aquatic vegetation is dominated by sedge plants,
primarily the Southern bulrush (Scirpus californicus). A perennial plant, the bulrush has a strong underwater rootstalk that anchors the plant to the soft marshy soil, where the tall, cylindrical green arching stems emerge. Native Colombians used to weave these stems into mats. Multiple florets with pistils and stamens in a single cluster of more than 5 brownish-red spikelets develop toward the top, and are a source of food for the yellow-hooded bird.

In more open areas, the sedgy vegetation is replaced by rooted herbaceous emergent plants, mostly :

Curled dock (Rumex crispus): Member of the buckwheat family, it is edible. Its habitat include fields, highway ditches, waste grounds, and disturbed soils. Its tiny green flowers grow in dense heads up a spire. Each flower has six sepals that are light green/white/pink in color. Curly dock is a biennial plant, which means it takes two years to reach the flowering stage.

The leaves have a coarse texture and wavy leaf margins with noticeably curled edges. Small veins curve out towards the edge of the leaf and then back in towards the central vein. Older leaves have a red primary vein. At the base of the stalk there is a basal rosette of leaves. The leaves grow in a circular pattern and are long (up to 2 ft) and narrow (3 1/2 in wide). There is a papery sheath that covers the seed and the leaf axil, a common characteristic of the Buckwheat family.

Its winged seeds are dark brown. The plant grows 3-5 feet tall. The new plant is green, 12 - 18 inches high with wavy green leaves. Taproots are long, stout, and yellow. A plant can regenerate from only the roots.

photo credit: Lauretian Environmental center

photo credit:Jairo Molina, Bogotá

Burr marigold (Bidens laevis): an annual plant, native to North American wetlands. Grow in saturated or inundated soils and are perennial where no killing frosts occur. The genus was named Bidens, 'two-toothed' for the two barbed awns of the achenes (hard dry fruits). Each achene holds a single seed. Burr marigold seeds will germinate either on moist soil or under water. If buried in acidic mucky soils, the seeds go dormant until the soil is disturbed. It appears that seed dormancy is induced by a lack of oxygen (hypoxia). The seeds remain viable and are believed to persist for years.

photo credit: La Conejera Fundation

Marsh daisy (Senecio carbonelli): A flowering plant

         endemic to the Bogotá Savannah. Having been declared extinct,
         the La Conejera foundation found a couple of specimes in 1999,
         and it is now considered endangered.

As for bushes, vegetation patches are dominated by blackberry (Rubus sp), A member of the Rose family. various
species of wild blackberry spread rapidly, often through bird droppings. Its leaves are alternate compound,
late deciduous; 5-foliolate on primocanes (first year canes), 3-foliolate on floricanes; armed rachis. Its flowers are white,
1 inch diameter, one per peduncle (blackberries have many flowers per cluster), 5 petals, clawed; found on floricanes
(2-year-old canes). Berries make a tasty treat for rails and other birds.

photo credit: FloridaNature.org

There are still some patches of the
endangered, endemic Gratiola bogotensis,
an herb with decumbent stem, stem base is
succulent (thick, fleshy) and covered with
minute hairs; lance-shaped leaves with
serrated edges, 1.5-2.5 cm long; yellow
flowers and capsular fruit.

photo credit: The New York Botanical Garden

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Arboreous, upland vegetation is composed of a mixture of native
and exotic species. Among the former, the most abundant are:

Arboloco (Polymnia pyramidalis):A free and rapid-growing, half-hardy, arborescent perennial. Flower heads have a yellow ray and a dark brown disk, disposed in cymes. Its leaves are cordate-ovate, 12in. long by 16in. broad, with decurrent petioles. This tree grows up to 10ft.

(No image available)

Andean alder (Alnus acuminata):

photo credit: Missouri Botanical Garden

A tall, broad-leaved deciduous to semi-evergreen tree of up to 35 m height and 1 m in diameter. More frequently it attains heights of 10-15 m with 30-40 cm diameter. In dense stands, trees are self-pruning, leading to well formed smooth trunks. They have large (8-14 x 10-18 cm) coarse leaves with serrate margins. Flowers are borne in catkin-like structures with separate male and female inflorescences. Fruit is similar to a miniature pine cone, shedding small, winged seed. Trees have deep roots which establish a symbiotic relationship with Frankia or Actinomycetes alni actinomycetes. This symbiosis fixes nitrogen and allows phosphate to be made available in poor soils. The deep roots also retrieve water (in dry situations) and nutrients, and deposit them on the surface in the form of leaf and branch litter, creating rapidly improving fertility and soil.

Humboldt's willow (Salix humboldtiana):

Willows belong to the willow family, Salicaceae, along with cottonwood (Populus deltiodes ) and aspen (Populus tremuloides ). Willow leaves are generally 2 to 6 inches (5 to 15 cm) long, deciduous, alternate, and commonly lanceolate and serrated or smooth. Willow trees have separate male and female
flowers, that are minute, yellowish or greenish and in erect catkins . Fruits are 2 to 4-valved capsules containing small seeds. The seeds must land in a moist location and germinate quickly or they dry out and soon die. Twigs are slender
and often very flexible. The bark is very scaly and dark.

photo credit: Mario Piaggio

Arrayan (Luma apiculata)

An evergreen shrub growing to 6m by 4m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from July to October, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. It requires moist, well-drained soils, and it will not grow in the shade.

photo credit: Woodstock Gardens and Arboretum

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Exotic species include:

Wattle (Acacia spp.)

Wattles are evergreen shrubs or trees that generally grow to a height of up to 8m with a spread of up to 6m. Many Australian Acacias have phyllodes instead of leaves, others have fine bipinnate foliage. The flowers are large yellow balls or yellow racemes. The mostly black seeds develop in brown pods. Acacias species found in La Conejera are native to Australia. They are often adaptable to many soils and conditions, and are mostly drought and frost resistant.

photo credit: ASGAP, Australia

Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.)

photo credit: Ecuadortravel.net

Part of the Myrtaceae family, this tree originated in Australia. It now grows in almost all tropical and subtropical areas and is cultivated in many other climates. Evergreen trees with alternate or opposite, simple, smooth-margined leaves; flowers in small clusters, top- or bell-shaped, 4-petaled with many stamens; fruit a many-seeded capsule. If ingested in large quantities, eucalyptus oil is extremely toxic for humans.

Eucalyptus fruit

photo credit: Ecuadortravel.net

Cypress (Cupressus sp)

This is an evergreen tree. Branchlets terete or quadrangular, in decussate arrays in most species. Leaves opposite decussate in 4 ranks, rarely in alternating whorls of 3 in 6 ranks. Adult leaves appressed to divergent, scalelike, rhomboid, free portion of long-shoot leaves to 4 mm; abaxial gland present or absent. Pollen cones with 4-10 pairs of sporophylls, each sporophyll with 3-10 pollen sacs.

photo credit: time to track Inc.

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La conejera is a wildlife refuge, a natural jewel for its mighty neighbor: a
city of seven million people. Inventories conducted by the La Conejera
Foundation have found 98 species of vertabrates and 26 invertabrates.
The sheer bulk of fauna information available is about birds, because
they make up a large proportion of this marsh's fauna. This high-elevation
wetland features many endemic birds, mainly:

photo credit: Audubon society

Bogota Rail (Rallus semiplumbeus): They are territorial birds. The male
strongly defends its territory from other individuals and also from other
species of rails by singing and fighting with the intruders. The male is also
the one that builds the nest spending approximately a week in this labor. Its
favorite place to build the nests is in the base of reeds of Sourthern bulrush,
yellow-hooded bird.

Apolinar's Marsh-Wren (Cistothorus apolinari): Very vocal species. It frecuently sings from exposed braches, otherwise it hides behind the sedges, which makes it hard to spot. It is very active, leaping around the bulrushes. It sometimes forms colonies. It feeds on spiders and insects
found by fallen sedges.

photo credit: Jairo Molina

Spot-flanked Gallinule (Gallinula melanops): Characteristic of quiet waters. Very good swimmer and diver, not a very good flyer though. It feeds on floating vegetation . Its nest is either buyoant or built on soft land, gathering grasses and stems of bulrushes. The female gallinule lays 4 to 6 eggs, white with brown spots, smaller than coot's eggs. The bird found in La Conejera is an endemic subspecies, Gallinula melanops bogotensis. They are monogamous, and the couple mutually builds the nest, incubates the eggs, and feeds the chicks.

Other birds local to La Conejera include:

Yellow-hooded black bird (Agelaius icterocephalus): This handsome 9-inch blackbird is unmistakable with his bright yellow head and breast, black body and white wing patch. The female is charcoal brown and lacks the wing patch. Yellowheads frequent freshwater marshes or reedy lakes and are often seen foraging in open farmlands and grainfields. This blackbird's song is a series of low raspy notes that ends in a descending buzz. The call is a hoarse croak. They nest in colonies. The nest is a basket woven around the marsh stalks. The female lays 3 to 5 white eggs speckled with brown.

photo credit: Jairo Molina, Bogotá

Some migratory birds use this marsh as wintering ground, including:

photo credit: Peter Latourrete

Canadian lesser yellowlegs (tringa flavipes): Their breeding range is northwestern Canada. During migration it can be seen along the shores of almost any waterbody, including slow-moving streams the birds feed in shallow water, often running to catch small fish, tadpoles and aquatic insects. They also feed on crustacea. The nest is an earthy depression, lined with grass and leaves, in open woods near wetlands. The four eggs are brooded by both sexes for up to 23 days. The young leave the nest soon after hatching, and apparently are tended by both parents

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La Conejera is also home to a wide array of mammals.White-tailed deer(Odocoileus virginianus) and spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) used to roam the forest surrounding the marsh, but excess hunting has pushed them far into the deeper woods No deer or bear has been observed in La Conejera in many years.

photo credit; WI dept. of Natural Resources

photo credit: Conservation International-Colombia

However, many more have managed to survived extensive, illegal hunting amd currently live in La Conejera.

Red-Tailed squirrel (Sciurus granatensis): Medium-sized tree squirrels with glossy red-brown to yellow-brown fur on the body and a rufous-orange tail usually tipped in black. The bright orange belly is often streaked or spotted with white or sometimes with a large patch of white on the belly. They can be noisy, making soft barking or loud squawking sounds. Diurnal in habits, these squirrels are very active in early morning, less active in mid-day, usually taking a siesta, and have a late afternoon activity period. They are most abundant in second growth forest, on ridgetops, and in forests with abundant Dipteryx and/or palms.

photo credit: Dept. of Environment, Bogotá

photo credit: Thw World Conservation Union

Colombian Weasel (Mustela felipei): It is found in open areas like meadows, grasslands, and river bottoms with high rodent population. Their dens are usually found in rock piles, junk heaps, abandoned buildings, and burrows dug by mice, ground squirrels, moles, or chipmunks. They sometimes line their nest chambers with grass or fur and feathers from their prey, mostly on mice and is small enough to pursue them into their burrows. It is most active by night but will hunt in the day-time. One or two litters a year, of 4 or 5 young each, are born in an underground nest.

Bogota's Marsh Rice Rat (Microxus bogotensis): Endemic species to the Bogotá savannah, lives in marshy areas where grasses and sedges offer an adequate food supply and protective cover. Semiacuatic. The globular nest is composed of grasses, sedges, or weeds and frequently is placed under debris above high water in the emergent vegetation.It is omnivorous, with about equal amounts of plant and animal matter making up its diet. Plant foods include green vegetation, fungus, and the seeds of sedges, marsh grasses, and rice. Animal foods include insects and snails.

photo credit: Luis Angel Arango Library-Colombia

photo credit: The last Noah's ark-Brazil

Geoffroy's tailless bat (Anoura geoffroyi): It is found from central Mexico to central South America and in Trinidad and Grenada. It has a dull-brown color when viewed from above and a gray-brown color when viewed from below. No tail is present. A dexterous flier, this bat is able to hover. Members of this species may roost alone or in groups. Roosting groups may include both sexes or may seasonally include colonies of different sexes. eats insects, fruit, nectar and pollen.

Paca (Agouti paca): This small mammal occurs from east-central Mexico south to Paraguay in forested habitats near small streams. Its fur is coarse and lacks underfur. It is solitary and quiet. Pacas are nocturnal, leaving the burrow at night along pathways to water and feeding grounds. Pacas are good swimmers and will usually try to escape danger via water. Being herbivorous, their diet includes leaves, stems, roots, seeds, and fruit.

photo credit: National Geopraphic

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Reptiles are prehistorical animals, legacy of the giant dinosours. Although found around the globe,
they prefer the tropics because they are cold-blooded and take on the temperature of their
surroundings. La Conejera features two endemic species of lizards and one snake species.

Lizard 1 (Anadia bogotensis): This small lizard is endemic to the hills east of the city. Elongated, cylindrical body, limbs are relatively short. Males have a larger head than females. Brown-grayish body color. Adults reach 6 cm in body length, with a tail as long as the body. This lizard builds communal nests under rocks and decaying tree logs. It feeds on insects and spiders

photo credit: Dept. of Environment, Bogotá

photo credit: Dept. of Environment, Bogotá

Lizard 2 (Proctoporus striatus): This small one is a very tolerant species, found in abandoned lots, pastures, and in the marsh. Its body dimensions are similar to lizard 1, but can reach 7 cm in length, and it is reddish-brown with vertical dark brown lines. It is a diurnal species, also building communal nests. Eats small insects.

Savannah snake (Atractus crassicaudatus): Lives in the Colombian states of Boyacá and Cundinamarca (elevation: 2000 to 3200 m a.s.l) This snake has a very small head and a short tale. Body scales are smooth and shiny. Body color can vary greatly within the same location, from red to black with yellow spots. Adults reach 40 cm in length. When disturbed, the savannah snake expels fecal matter and musk. Feeds upon earthworms. Muisca mithology associates this snake with fertility and sex.

photo credit: Dept. of Environment, Bogotá

Amphibians are vertebrates that spend part of their lives under water (breathing with gills) and the
remainder on land (breathing with lungs). La conejera has one known species of toads and two of frogs.

photo credit: Dept. of Environment, Bogotá

Toad ( Buffo marinus): It is native to South America, Central America, and the southernmost parts of Texas. Female toads are larger, and have more patterns on them than male toads. Male toads also have small spines, and are more active than females. Giant toads have a triangular parotoid gland on the sides of their heads. They have rows of brown-tipped warts. Giant toads range in color from brown to red- may have spots of different shades. Their tadpoles are laid in the water, eating mostly algae, aquatic plants. The larger tadpoles will even eat other toad eggs.

Bogotá Rocket Frog (Phyllobates subpunctatus): It lives along the interandean slopes of the Eastern Andes in northern Colombia (Boyacá, Meta, and Cundinamarca), at 2100 to 3500 m a.s.l. Being tolerant of habitat disturbance, it is found in pastures and city parks near standing water. This is a small frog, only 2 cm in length. Unwebbed toes. Its back is brown with a pair of off white vertical lines, and its belly has a yellow spot. Females deposit eggs on humid land, under rocks or tree logs. Males take care of the eggs during embryonic stage. Once the tadpoles are born, they hop onto the males' back, who later drops them off in a puddle or slow creek.

photo credit: Dept. of Environment, Bogotá

photo credit: Dept. of Environment, Bogotá

Andean Frog (Hyla labialis): This species shows great variation in size and color. Smaller individuals (4 cm) live at lower elevations, around 1600 m a.s.l., while larger ones (7 cm) are found in the paramo, over 3000 a.s.l. Most Andean frogs are entirely green while others have brown spots, yet some are entirely brown. Unwebbed toes. This frog is commonly seen in the city, especially after heavy rains form puddles. It is more active during the night. Females deposit eggs in water, where the black tadpoles hide among aquatic vegetation during the day and go out to feed at night. Its numbers are dwindling due to the contamination or drying of creeks in Bogotá's wetlands. The Muiscas considered this frog sacred since it indicated presence of water.

Insects are an essencial group in La Conejera ecosystem, as they are preyed upon by many others- from mammals to amphibians to reptiles. Only two groups are well documented: butterflies and dragonflies.

Mexican Silverspot (Dione moneta): Native to North America, this butterfly flies to the tropics throughout the year Upperside orange with brown at the wing bases, its veins are thick and dark. Underside hindwing brown with large silver spots. Eggs are laid singly or in clusters on the host plant. Caterpillars eat slots into the leaves and sometimes feed together in groups. Adults sometimes roost in groups near the ground on short vegetation, feeding on flower nectar. The specimen in the picture is roosting on the leaf of an arrayan tree.

photo credit: Dept. of Environment, Bogotá

photo credit: flutterbuys creative

Dragonflies (Odonata: Libelullidae): Dragonflies range from the arctic to the tropics and are even found in desert regions where water is present.undergo incomplete metamorphosis (egg-nymph-adult). The eggs are laid in water or in water plants and hatch into an aquatic nymph, or naiad. Depending on the species, the naiad stage lasts for a few weeks to almost five years naiads live in water and often have preferences for a specific kind of aquatic habitat, some preferring streams and others ponds or lakes. Adults insects will eat about anything small enough for them to handle, including flies, wasps, moths, and beetles. which they catch while flying.

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