THIS REPORT HAS BEEN PRODUCED IN COLLABORATION WITH: REPORT GUIANAS 2017 Biodiversity Assessment Survey of the Kaieteur Plateau and Upper Potaro, Guyana Leeanne E. Alonso, Juliana Persaud, and Aiesha Williams (Editors) BAT Survey Report No. 2 © Andrew Snyder Unexpected encounter! Herpetologist Andrew Snyder encountered a rotting tree stump with numerous holes while out on a night hike in primary rainforest along the upper Potaro River. Shining his flashlight into a large hole revealed this possibly undescribed tarantula (Subfamily: Ischnocolinae). Other tarantulas of the same species occupied various other small holes, implying that this may be a communal species, which is an uncommon behaviour in tarantulas. Tarantulas in the subfamily Ischnocolinae lack urticating, or irritating, hairs, which are often the first line of defence for New World tarantulas. This BAT Survey and Report were made possible through a collaboration of: WWF-Guianas WWF is one of the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation organizations, with over five million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. WWF has been active in the Guianas since the 1960s, starting with conservation work on marine turtles. The Guianas office opened in 1998. The mission of WWF-Guianas is to conserve distinct natural communities, ecological phenomena, and maintain viable populations of the species of the Guianas in order to sustain important ecological processes and services that maintain biodiversity, while supporting the region’s socio-economic development. Global Wildlife Conservation Global Wildlife Conservation’s mission is to protect endangered species and habitats through science-based field action. GWC is dedicated to ensuring that the species on the verge of extinction are not lost, but prosper well into the future. GWC brings together scientists, conservationists, policy-makers, industry leaders and individuals to ensure a truly collaborative approach to species conservation and to meeting its goals of saving species, protecting wildlands and building capacity. WWF-Guianas - Guyana Office Global Wildlife Conservation 285 Irving Street, Queenstown PO Box 129 Georgetown, Guyana Austin, TX 78767 USA www.wwfguianas.org [email protected] Editorial Services: ROXANA KAWALL Designer: KRITI Maps: ORONDE DRAKES Cover Photo: Kaieteur golden rocket frog - Anomaloglossus beebei © Pete Oxford The designations of geographical entities in this publication, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WWF-Guianas or its supporting organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Any opinions expressed in this BAT Survey Report are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of WWF-Guianas or its co-publishers. Suggested Citation: Alonso, L.E., J. Persaud and A. Williams (eds). 2017. Biodiversity Assessment Survey of the Kaieteur Plateau and Upper Potaro, Guyana. BAT Survey Report No. 2. World Wildlife Fund, Guyana. Georgetown, Guyana. This BAT Survey and the publication of this BAT Report were made possible by generous financial support from WWF- Netherlands and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Suriname. The WWF-Guianas Conservation Programme is co-funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Suriname, WWF-Netherlands, WWF-Belgium, WWF-France, WWF-US and WWF International. BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT TEAM SURVEY Biodiversity Assessment Survey of the Kaieteur Plateau and Upper Potaro Guyana Field surveys were carried out from 2 to 31 March 2014 Leeanne E. Alonso, Juliana Persaud, and Aiesha Williams (Editors) BAT Survey Report No. 2 A publication of WWF-Guianas and Global Wildlife Conservation 2017 Contents Preface 6 Acknowledgements 7 Participants and Authors 9 The BAT Expedition 12 Objectives Survey Sites Map - Location of survey sites Context: Ecological Importance of the Kaieteur Plateau and Upper Potaro Region 19 The BAT Expedition - Findings in Brief 25 BAT Recommendations for Conservation and Management of the Kaieteur Plateau – Upper Potaro Region, Guyana 32 Chapters 1. Plants of the Potaro Plateau, Guyana 37 Fabián A. Michelangeli, Zola Narine, Isaac Johnson, Phillip Lewis, Nick Carter, Paul Benjamin 2. Medium and Large Mammals of the Pakaraima Mountains 60 Evi A.D. Paemelaere, Nick Carter, Frank Carter and Rupert Williams 3. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Kaieteur Plateau and the Upper Potaro River, Guyana 73 Andrew Snyder, Timothy J. Colston, Lewis Skybar, Maxwell Basil, Rufford Ngala and Danny Gordon 4. Additions to the Avifauna of the Upper Potaro Plateau and Kaieteur National Park, Guyana 92 Brian J. O’Shea and Jonathan Wrights 5. Crustaceans and Other Aquatic Invertebrates of the Potaro Plateau, Guyana 108 Cleverson Rannieri Meira dos Santos, Chetwynd Osborne and Paul Benjamin 6. Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies) of the Kaieteur Plateau and Upper Potaro Area, Guyana 114 Natalia von Ellenri 7. Aquatic Beetles of the Upper Potaro Region, Guyana 132 Andrew Short, Shari Salisbury and Nelanie La Cruz 8. Fishes of the Upper Potaro River, Guyana 142 Donald C. Taphorn, Jonathan Armbruster, Diana Fernandes, Matthew Kolmann, Elford Liverpool, Hernán López Fernández and David Werneke 9. Ants 155 Michael G. Branstetter and Leeanne E. Alonso WWF Biodiversity Assessment Survey of the Kaieteur Plateau and Upper Potaro, Guyana page 4 APPENDICES Appendix 1 165 Complete list of specimens collected during the WWF-Guianas BAT 2 survey in 2014 of the Potaro plateau with determination and locality data Appendix 2 183 List of medium- and large-sized mammal species found at the Chenapau site Appendix 3 184 Amphibians and reptiles recorded during the BAT Survey Appendix 4 188 Bird List for Potaro-Kaieteur BAT II Survey, 10-23 March 2014 Appendix 5 197 Preliminary list of freshwater macrocrustaceans and other aquatic invertebrates from three regions of Kaieteur National Park Appendix 6 199 Checklist of Odonates recorded during the Kaieteur Plateau –Upper Potaro Biodiversity Assessment Team (BAT) Survey in 2014 Appendix 7 206 List of water beetles collected during the 2014 BAT survey of the Kaieteur Plateau-Upper Potaro region of Guyana Appendix 8 209 List of fish species collected during the Upper Potaro and Kaieteur National Park Biodiversity Assessment Team 2014 expedition Appendix 9 210 Complete list of ant genera WWF Biodiversity Assessment Survey of the Kaieteur Plateau and Upper Potaro, Guyana page 5 Preface Guyana’s landscape is distinct in many ways, but most remarkable is that more THIS WWF (2017) than 85 per cent of it is still covered by rainforests, (the second highest proportion in the world, in terms of percentage of forest coverage relative to a country’s PUBLication total land mass), at a time when other countries are experiencing large-scale biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. At the same time, Guyana’s REPRESENTS A biodiversity remains largely undocumented and poorly studied, leaving its national and regional governments and indigenous communities with a paucity of data on BROAD-BASED which to base land-use planning decisions. documentation This WWF (2017) publication represents a broad-based documentation OF FLORAL AND of floral and faunal diversity in the Kaieteur Plateau and Upper Potaro region of Guyana, an area characterised by high levels of faunaL DIVERSITY species endemism and unique highland habitats. The Biodiversity Assessment Team (BAT) surveys which were carried out in 2014 collected new IN THE KAIETEUR data on terrestrial and freshwater taxonomic groups and also evaluated water PLateau AND quality to provide a comprehensive picture of biodiversity and habitats in the area. The BAT survey methods utilized internationally recognized sampling UPPER Potaro protocols and undertook limited specimen collection for future identification and/or archival purposes, both local and foreign. This BAT survey was initiated REGION OF by the Guyana office of WWF-Guianas, with the close collaboration of Global Wildlife Conservation, the Guyana Protected Areas Commission and the Village of Guyana, AN AREA Chenapau. CHaracterised The team of experienced field biologists, taxonomists and student and local by HIGH LEVELS community research counterparts worked through challenging field conditions to survey flora and fauna, and worked just as diligently to interpret and present the OF SPECIES findings in a meaningful way to government agencies involved in conservation and land-use planning, academics, NGOs and wider civil society. We have by no ENDEMISM AND means captured in full the rich diversity and truly unique species of this ancient highland landscape. However, these results allowed us to put forward several UNIQUE HIGHLAND recommendations for conservation and management, not only of the Kaieteur Habitats National Park, but also of the wider region. These are elaborated in the BAT Recommendations section as well as in each chapter, and we hope that in Guyana and more broadly, these stimulate important discussions on the protection of tropical forests and freshwater ecosystems, foster collaboration and mobilize strong, meaningful conservation actions. WWF-Guianas and Global Wildlife Conservation are committed to ensuring that conservation and development objectives are achieved in a way which allows ecosystems and species to persist, and people to enjoy the benefits afforded by functioning ecosystems