WILDLIFE ASSOCIATED WITH A COFFEE PLANTATION IN CORDOBA, VERACRUZ, MEXICO

Resumen

The coffee plantations have been considered refuges of biological diversity, the faunistic studies in this type of agroecosystems are of great importance for the knowledge and conservation of the fauna. The objective of the present study was to know the wild fauna and the status of conservation of the species present in the farm "El Chorrito". Sixty-one species were recorded, 24 corresponding to avifauna, 20 to herpetofauna and 17 to mastofauna; this represents 3.4% of the avifauna reported for the Estado de Veracruz, 11.11% of the herpetofauna reported for the country's coffee plantations and 3.21% of the 529 species of mammals reported for Mexico; 18 of these are found in the NOM-059, seven in the IUCN red list and 18 in the CITES appendix. The presence of species with some sensitivity to disturbance is similar in an undisturbed habitat and a farm. The coffee plantations are an excellent habitat because the animals find shelter and constant food, which suggests a high degree of conservation of the place. Small mammals and birds are part of the biological groups that are considered ecological indicators of the role that coffee plantations play in the protection of habitat biodiversity, as a result of different management or degree of conservation. Four species were observed on the farm that can be considered as detector species since they can provide information on habitat quality. It can be concluded that there is a similarity with the surrounding forest in terms of fauna.