ASSEMBLAGES OF BIRD AND MAMMAL COMMUNITIES IN TWO MAJOR ECOLOGICAL UNITS OF THE ANDEAN HIGHLAND PLATEAU OF SOUTHERN PERU

Resumo

Grasslands in the Andean highlands plateau of southern Peru have been considered as a single and homogeneous dry habitat also known as Puna. However, in some regions, a highest rainfall regimen is found, and the name of wet puna has begun to be used by some authors. Since no studies have been carrying out specifically to test if dry and wet puna are different ecological units, we chose two representative localities of each one of these habitat to evaluate assemblages of bird and mammal communities and their continuity or independence between these apparently similar habitats. Our results suggest that wet puna has different mammal diversity than dry puna, and a heterogeneous bird community with species that have been previously reported exclusively in paramo or exclusively in puna. In spite of the apparent uniform flora in the Andean highlands of South Peru, data suggest that rainfall regimens produce a mosaic of habitats that will be determining ecological barriers for terrestrial mammals, in particular for small mammals.