Fauna of Puerto Rico

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A common coquí (Eleutherodactylus coqui), arguably the most recognizable species of Puerto Rico's fauna

The fauna of Puerto Rico is similar to other island archipelago

extant native terrestrial mammals in Puerto Rico. All other terrestrial mammals in the area were introduced by humans, and include species such as cats, goats, sheep, the small Indian mongoose, and escaped monkeys. Marine mammals include dolphins, manatees, and whales. Of the 349 bird
species, about 120 breed in the archipelago, and 47.5% are accidental or rare.

The most recognizable and famous animal of Puerto Rico is probably the

Puerto Rico's herpetofauna. Some native freshwater fish inhabit Puerto Rico, but some species, introduced by humans, have established populations in reservoirs and rivers. The low richness-high diversity pattern is also apparent among invertebrates
, which constitutes most of the archipelago's fauna.

The arrival of the first people about 4,000 years ago and of

IUCN, as of 2002, there were 21 threatened species in Puerto Rico: two mammals, eight breeding birds, eight reptiles, and three amphibians.[3]

Origin of Puerto Rican fauna

Geographic location of Puerto Rico

The

St. Croix, was formed from volcanism in the Cretaceous Period.[6] Rock samples from Sierra Bermeja in southwestern Puerto Rico, dated to the late Jurassic/early Cretaceous period, confirm this theory.[7]

There is ongoing debate over when and how the ancestors of

Solenodon marcanoi and others) and freshwater fish appear to have colonized the West Indies earlier through other means.[8] Woods provides evidence to support this hypothesis by analyzing the arrival of ancestors of the Antillean capromyids and echimyids, concluding that an ancient echimyid must have arrived on the Greater Antilles from South America either by island-hopping through the Lesser Antilles or by rafting either to Puerto Rico or Hispaniola.[9]

MacPhee and Iturralde provide an alternate hypothesis that the initiators of land mammal clades arrived on the Proto-Antilles by the mid-Tertiary period, approximately at the Eocene–Oligocene boundary. A short-lived (~1 Ma) landmass named "GAARlandia" (Greater Antilles + Aves Ridge land) connected northwestern South America with three of the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico) during this period.[10] Afterwards, during the fragmentation of the Proto-Antilles, divergence of vacariated lines would have begun.[11]

The last major changes in Puerto Rican fauna occurred about 10,000 years ago as a result of the post-

St. Maarten.[6]

Mammals

Puerto Rican shrew

The richness of

Heteropsomys insulans, and Puertoricomys corozalus).[16] Woods suggests a reason for their extinction: "Taxa evolving in isolation on oceanic islands without competition or predators may not be able to adapt to rapidly changing conditions, such as the extensive climatic fluctuations of the Ice Ages or sudden competition or predation from introduced animals".[17]

Other terrestrial mammals have been introduced throughout the history of Puerto Rico. Indigenous settlers first introduced dogs and guinea pigs from South or Central America. Afterwards,

elfin-woods warbler
.

Rhesus macaques, a mammal introduced to Puerto Rico

As part of a study on

Desecheo and other southern off-shore islands and cays in 1967.[18] Prior to the introduction, Desecheo was the largest nesting colony of the brown booby, but mainly as a result of egg predation by the introduced macaques, no bird species presently nests in the island. Efforts to trap and remove the species have been unsuccessful and it has expanded its range to southwestern Puerto Rico. Other primates also have established populations in Puerto Rico. As a result of vandalism, 107 squirrel monkeys escaped from a research station at Sabana Seca in the late 1970s. The latest estimate for this population is 35 individuals.[18]

West Indian manatee, an aquatic mammal of Puerto Rico

Arguably the best known of aquatic mammals occurring in Puerto Rican waters is the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) which is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. The archipelago's waters are one of the species' main breeding areas. Manatees gathered local media attention when a two-month manatee nicknamed Moisés was rescued and raised for 27 months by the Caribbean Stranding Network (CSN). Moisés was the first successful release of an orphaned, captive-raised manatee to the marine environment in the Caribbean.[19] The animal became a Puerto Rican cultural, as well as scientific, icon when Tony Croatto wrote a song titled "Moisés". A municipality of Puerto Rico, Manatí is believed to be named after the species.

Puerto Rico's waters are also an important breeding site for the humpback whale during the Northern Hemisphere's winter. Humpback whale watching is a popular tourist attraction in the municipality of Rincón in western Puerto Rico.

Bats

Molossidae) and include a total of 13 species, of which six subspecies are endemic to the archipelago. Seven of the 13 species are insectivores, four can be considered frugivores, one species feeds on nectar and another on fish. The species total is a relatively low number in comparison to the other Greater Antilles. Jamaica
, for example, with an area approximately 1.2 times that of Puerto Rico, has 21 species (1.6 times that of Puerto Rico). A possible explanation for this is the comparatively large distance between the archipelago and the mainland dispersion areas. Jamaica, for example, is closer to Cuba and Hispaniola which are themselves closer to the mainland dispersion areas of North and Central America.

Bats play an important role in forest and cave ecology in Puerto Rico and help control mosquito populations. Most species (10 of 13) are cave-dwellers with low reproductive rates; the area with the highest species richness is the

Caribbean National Forest, where eleven species occur.[20] The red fig-eating bat (red fruit bat), endemic to the Puerto Rican Bank, plays an important role in the ecology of tabonuco[21] forest in the Luquillo Mountains since it is believed to be the only seed disperser of bulletwood (Manilkara bidentata). Cave ecosystems are enhanced by bat feces (guano) since many of the invertebrate cave fauna are either guano scavengers, detritivores
or predators of the former two.

The bat species that occur in the archipelago of Puerto Rico are:

Antillean fruit bat (Brachyphylla cavernarum), buffy flower bat (Erophylla sezekorni bombifrons), Leach's single leaf bat (Monophyllus redmani), red fruit bat (Stenoderma rufum), big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis), velvety free-tailed bat (Molossus molossus), and Mexican free-tailed bat
(Tadarida brasiliensis).

Birds

Main article: List of birds of Puerto Rico
Bananaquit, the most abundant bird in Puerto Rico[22]

The

endemic to the archipelago. Almost half of the species (166) are accidental, meaning that they have been sighted only once or twice, and 42 of the species have been introduced, either directly or indirectly (mainly through habitat alteration), by humans. Approximately 120 species, including both native and introduced, breed regularly in the archipelago.[23]

The avifauna of the West Indies is predominantly of tropical North American (southern North America and Central America) origin with aggressive South American species having colonized the area only recently.[24] The South American families occurring in the Greater Antilles are the hummingbirds (Trochilidae), tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae), bananaquit (Coerebidae) and tanagers (Thraupidae), all of which are represented in Puerto Rico. The prevailing theory suggests that bird fauna colonized the West Indies by transoceanic dispersal during the glacial periods of the Pleistocene. The most primitive West Indies birds are the todies which have an endemic representative in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican tody.[24]

Yellow-shouldered blackbird, one of the 16 endemic birds of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico's avifauna has diminished due to extinction and extirpation, either by natural forces or human intervention. For example, fossil evidence was discovered for a species of

critically endangered birds in the world. Four Puerto Rican birds, the Hispaniolan parakeet, the white-necked crow, the Cuban crow, and the limpkin, became extirpated after Puerto Rico's population expansion in the latter half of the nineteenth century and three more species, the black-bellied whistling duck, the black rail, and the American flamingo
, no longer breed in the archipelago.

Amphibians and reptiles

Puerto Rican crested toad, an endemic amphibian species of Puerto Rico
Main article: List of amphibians of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico's herpetofauna consists of 25

worm lizards, snakes and a caiman
.

All species of Ranidae and Hylidae occurring in Puerto Rico are introduced. One species from the family Bufonidae, the

Puerto Rican culture. Since 14 of the 17 coquís are endemic to the archipelago, a common phrase used by Puerto Ricans to assert their national pride is "De aquí como el coquí" (From here Puerto Rico
like the coquí).

Hawksbill turtle
, a critically endangered species

Puerto Rico's turtle fauna includes both freshwater (5 species, including two extinct species) and marine turtles (5). Two of these species, the

hawksbill turtle and the leatherback sea turtle, are critically endangered. Threats to these species include habitat destruction and illegal capture of eggs and individuals. The spectacled caiman
, an introduced species, is the only representative of the order Crocodilia in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rican boa, Puerto Rico's largest snake

The 11 snake species occurring in Puerto Rico are generally considered non-venomous, although research has concluded that at least one species, the Puerto Rican racer (

Alsophis portoricensis), secretes venom.[29] These species belong to 3 families and 4 genera: Typhlopidae (genus Typhlops), Boidae (Epicrates) and Colubridae (Alsophis and Arrhyton). The largest snake in Puerto Rico is the endemic Puerto Rican boa
(Epicrates inornatus) with a maximum length of 12 ft (3.7 m). The diet of snakes in Puerto Rico consists of reptiles (Ameiva, Anolis, geckos), coquís and other frogs, and, to a lesser extent, mice, birds and bats (exclusively by the Puerto Rican Boa).

The largest terrestrial lizard of the archipelago of Puerto Rico is the

anole lizards of Puerto Rico, and the Greater Antilles in general, represent an interesting case of adaptive radiation. Anole lizards in the Greater Antilles are more closely related to other species within the same island than to species of adjacent islands. Surprisingly, even though species divergence occurred independently on each island, the same set of ecomorphs (habitat specialists) have evolved on each island.[31]

Fish

White grunt (Haemulon plumieri), one of the most common reef fish in the Caribbean

The first fish descriptions from Puerto Rico were compiled by

Maricao. About 25,000 fish, including largemouth bass, peacock bass, and channel catfish, and some turtle species are raised annually to stock Puerto Rico's reservoirs and rivers.[35]

Three types of habitats,

Carcharhinidae).[38] Sea breams (Archosargus rhomboidalis) and yellowfin mojarras (Gerres cinereus) are some of the species commonly found in mangrove habitats.[38] Other species of interest include flatfishes, with 21 recorded species,[39] and sharks, with more than 20 species. Oceanic whitetip sharks and silky sharks
are common in the Mona Passage.

Invertebrates

The

neotropical
faunas of similar size and habitat diversity. Puerto Rico, in comparison to other Antillean islands, is the most extensively studied in regards to invertebrates.

CHIKV viruses

Puerto Rico's

Microcoryphia, Grylloblattaria, Plecoptera, and Mecoptera. The largest insect depository in Puerto Rico resides at the Museo de Entomología y Biodiversidad Tropical (Museum of Entomology and Tropical Biodiversity), part of the Agricultural Experimental Station of the University of Puerto Rico.[42]

parthenogenetic, meaning that it reproduces without fertilization by a male.[45]

Other terrestrial invertebrates described from Puerto Rico include

troglobites, or restricted to caves. Forty-five percent of the species are predators while the remaining 55% are guano scavengers, detritivores and herbivores. It is believed that most of this fauna arrived at Puerto Rico in the Pleistocene.[48]

Elkhorn coral, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2006

The marine invertebrate fauna of Puerto Rico is composed of 61

hydrocorals.[13][49] Coral species found in Puerto Rican reefs are representative of the general Caribbean fauna. Commonly occurring corals include boulder star coral (Montrastaea annularis), finger coral (Porites porites), and elkhorn coral
(Acropora palmata).

Invertebrate introductions have had an observable effect on Puerto Rican fauna. Native freshwater snails such as

honeybee. This animal competes with the endangered Puerto Rican parrot for secondary nesting cavities at the Caribbean National Forest. Africanized bees, which pose an even greater threat for secondary cavity nesters, have recently extended their range to Puerto Rico. Other introductions include 18 species of ant, one of the most abundant taxa in leaf litter habitats.[51]

Human effect and conservation

The fauna of Puerto Rico has been subjected to human influence since the arrival of the Ortoiroid, Puerto Rico's first settlers, approximately 4,000 years ago. The native fauna was used by the island's indigenous population as a source of food, while others were used for skins and trade. Significant declines in the populations and diversity of the islands fauna are believed to have begun after the arrival of European settlers in the sixteenth century. Habitat destruction, primarily as a result of forest clearing for sugar cane plantations, had a devastating effect on Puerto Rican fauna during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, human-introduced species such as rats, cats, the small Asian mongoose, and the cane toad have had a profound effect on the native fauna of Puerto Rico. Rats on Monito Island are believed to be a limiting factor on the abundance of the endemic Monito gecko,[52] feral cats on Mona Island have been documented attacking common ground doves and endemic reptiles, and have been associated with the reduction of Mona ground iguana juveniles,[53] and mongooses have been documented preying on Puerto Rican parrot fledglings.[54]

Conservation efforts include both land and species protection. Approximately 8.95 km2 (equal to 3.4% of total land area) divided among 34 reserves are protected in Puerto Rico.

Endangered Species Act. The Puerto Rican government, through the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), produces its own threatened species list which includes 18 critically endangered species (3 amphibians, 7 birds, 3 reptiles, 2 fish and 3 invertebrates), and 14 endangered species.[55]
The DNER follows the IUCN classification scheme for species' priority assignment.

Puerto Rican parrot
. Conservation efforts have saved this species from extinction.

Birds currently receive the greatest attention in regards to conservation. Arguably the most successful fauna recovery plan in Puerto Rico was the Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Plan. Initiated in 1968, its main objective was to downlist the Puerto Rican parrot's status from critical to threatened by 2020. Other objectives include the establishment of two separate, effective, wild populations (500 or more individuals for 5 years), the protection of habitat for those populations and the control of predators, parasites and competitors of the species. Currently, the total wild parrot population is estimated at 44 individuals, and 105 birds are in captivity.[56] This program was fundamental in raising ecological awareness in Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rico Breeding Bird Survey (PRBBS), established in 1997, is a program with the purpose of monitoring the status and trends of Puerto Rican breeding bird populations.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to assess bird conservation priorities. Other conservation programs by the USFWS include the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Migratory Bird Conservation and the maintenance of 5 wildlife refuges at Cabo Rojo, Laguna Cartagena, Vieques, Culebra
and Desecheo. Other institutions supporting bird conservation in Puerto Rico are the Puerto Rican Ornithological Society and the Puerto Rico National History Association.

Marine conservation has recently garnered support in Puerto Rico. The archipelago has an estimated 700 miles (1,126.5 km) of coastline and 1,300 mi2 (3,370 km2) of coral reef communities.[58] The Department of Natural Resources of Puerto Rico maintains 25 areas with marine components but only two of these (11 km2) are designated as no-take zones. All turtle species occurring in Puerto Rico's waters are classified as either endangered or threatened. Earthwatch-supported turtle conservation programs and U.S. federal programs have raised local awareness and have contributed to the decline of egg-poaching and turtle meat consumption.

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Caribbean – Human impacts". Biodiversity Hotspots. Conservation International. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2006-09-19.
  3. ^ a b "Biodiversity and protected areas – Puerto Rico" (PDF). EarthTrend. 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2009. Retrieved 2006-09-14.
  4. ^ Martin Meschede; Wolfgang Frisch. "The evolution of the Caribbean Plate and its relation to global plate motion vectors: geometric constraints for an inter-American origin". Transactions of the Fifteenth Caribbean Geological Conference: 1.
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  6. ^ a b c Heatwole, H.; Levins, R. & Byer, M.D. (July 1981). "Biogeography of the Puerto Rican Bank" (PDF). Atoll Research Bulletin (251): 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2008. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
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  9. ^ Woods, C. A. (1989). "A new capromyid rodent from Haiti:the origin, evolution, and extinction of West Indian rodents, and their bearing on the origin of New World hystricognaths". In C. C. Black and M. R. Dawson (eds.), Papers on fossil rodents in honor of Albert Elmer Wood. Nat Hist. Mus. Los Angeles County Sci. Ser. 33:59–90.
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  12. ^ a b Storrs L. Olson (April 1982). "A new species of Palm Swift (Tachornis:Apodidae) from the Pleistocene of Puerto Rico". The Auk. 99: 230–35. Retrieved 2006-08-03.
  13. ^ a b c Ernesto Weil. "Marine Biodiversity of Puerto Rico: Current Status" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
  14. ^ Some authorities recognize two species of sloths occurring in Puerto Rico, the greater Puerto Rican sloth (Acratocnus major) and the lesser Puerto Rican sloth (Acratocnus odontrigonus).
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  17. ^ Woods, C. A. (1990). "The fossil and recent land mammals of the West Indies: an analysis of the origin, evolution, and extinction of an insular fauna", pp. 641–680 in International symposium on biogeographical aspects of insularity. Rome, Italy.
  18. ^ a b c d Wiley, James W.; Vilella, Francisco J. "Caribbean Islands". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on September 23, 2006. Retrieved July 27, 2006.
  19. ^ Antonio A. Mignucci Giannoni (1998). "Marine Mammal Captivity in the Northeastern Caribbean, with Notes on the Rehabilitation of Stranded Whales, Dolphins, and Manatees" (PDF). Caribbean Journal of Science. 34 (3–4): 9–11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-08-24. Retrieved 2006-08-05.
  20. ^ Victor M. Cuevas. "Wildlife Facts – February 2002 – Bats". Retrieved July 27, 2006.
  21. ^ Tabonuco or Dacryodes excelsa.
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  24. ^ a b James Bond (December 1948). "Origin of the bird of the West Indies". Wilson Bulletin. 60 (4): 210–211. Retrieved 2006-08-03.
  25. ^ Evidence also suggests that the fossil may come from the Wisconsin glaciation.
  26. ^ The Antillean cave rail may have also occurred in the Virgin Islands.
  27. ^ Lindsey M. Hower; S. Blair Hedges (2003). "Molecular Phylogeny and Biogeography of West Indian Teiid Lizards of the Genus Ameiva" (PDF). Caribbean Journal of Science. 39 (3): 298–306. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-27. Retrieved 2006-08-09.
  28. PMID 11476637. Archived from the original
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  29. JSTOR 1446536. Archived from the original
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  30. ^ "Wildlife facts – Sharp-mouthed Lizard". USDA Forest Service. June 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-09.
  31. S2CID 85692761. Archived from the original
    (pdf) on 2006-09-01. Retrieved 2006-08-24.
  32. ^ "History of Ichthyology in Puerto Rico". USGS. Archived from the original on 2006-09-24. Retrieved 2006-09-10.
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  34. ^ Lucy Bunkley Williams; et al. (1994). "The South American Sailfin Armored Catfish, Liposarcus multiradiatus (Hancock), a New Exotic Established in Puerto Rican Fresh Waters" (PDF). Caribbean Journal of Science. 30 (1–2). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-08.
  35. ^ Morton N. Cohen (April 26, 1987). "The other side of Puerto Rico". The New York Times. Retrieved 2006-07-29.
  36. ^ Wilkinson, p. 438
  37. ^ An annotated shallow-water species list from the Puerto Rican Bank may be found here. Archived 2006-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
  38. ^ a b Alejandro Acosta (1997). "Use of Multi-mesh Gillnets and Trammel Nets to Estimate Fish Species Composition in Coral Reef and Mangroves in the Southwest Coast of Puerto Rico" (PDF). Caribbean Journal of Science. 33 (1–2). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2009. Retrieved 2006-09-12.
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  41. ^ "Puerto Rico's comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy" (PDF). Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. 2005. p. 1. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2006-08-24. Retrieved 2006-08-22.
  42. ^ "The "Museo de Entomología y Biodiversidad Tropical" of the Agricultural Experimental Station, University of Puerto Rico" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2006-08-11.
  43. ^ Reagan and Waide, p. 267
  44. ^ Allan F. Archer (February 1961). Records of the web spiders of the Maricao Forest (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 17, 2008. Retrieved 2006-08-04.
  45. doi:10.1636/0161-8202(2003)031[0274:OOTMAO]2.0.CO;2. Archived from the original
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  47. ^ The taxonomic classification provided in Hendrix (1995) has been revised and this article presents the current classification.
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  49. ^ Wilkinson, p. 434.
  50. ^ "Tarebia granifera (Lamarck, 1822)". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2006-08-11.
  51. ^ Reagan and Waide, pp. 159–160.
  52. ^ M. A. García; C. E. Diez; A. O. Alvarez. "The eradication of Rattus rattus from Monito Island, West Indies". In Veitch, C. R.; Clout, M. N. (eds.). Turning the tide: the eradication of invasive species (PDF). IUCN. pp. 116–119. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
  53. ^ Wiewandt, T.A. (1975). Management of Introduced Fauna: Appendix to the Department of Natural Resources Management Plan for the Mona Island Unit. USDI Bureau of. Sport Fish and Wildlife. Project W-8-18, Study III. Atlanta. Georgia.
  54. hdl:10536/DRO/DU:30116161
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  55. ^ Puerto Rico's wildlife comprehensive strategy, p. 2
  56. ^ "Technical/Agency Draft Revised Recovery Plan for the Puerto Rican Parrot (Amazona vittata)" (PDF). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. April 1999. Retrieved June 7, 2006.
  57. ^ "BBS – Puerto Rico". USGS. Archived from the original on 2006-09-27. Retrieved 2006-09-09.
  58. ^ Wilkinson, p. 435.

Bibliography

Library resources about
Fauna of Puerto Rico

External links
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