Troglodytes monticola

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PASSERIFORMES	TROGLODYTIDAE

Scientific Name:

Troglodytes monticola

Species Authority:

Bangs, 1899

Common Name/s:

English

–

Santa Marta Wren

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Critically Endangered A3c+4c ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Cortes, O., Krabbe, N. & Strewe, R.

Justification:
This species is considered Critically Endangered because it is suspected that it will undergo an extremely rapid decline over the next three generations. It is thought to have experienced a very rapid decline over the last three generations, as its habitats continue to be extensively cleared and heavily degraded in its very small range, in which it is known from only one location.

History:

2011	–	Critically Endangered
2008	–	Vulnerable
2005	–	Vulnerable
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Troglodytes monticola is endemic to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, where it is known from collections made in 1922 and from one recent record in the upper río Frío Valley, at 3,600 m, where a pair was observed and tape-recorded in a small montane forest patch (c.2 ha) amidst heavily burned and overgrazed páramo (R. Strewe in litt. 2003). Searches on the southern slopes and at the only other intact forest patch in the area have failed to locate the species (R. Strewe in litt. 2003, Fundación ProAves de Colombia 2011). As a consequence, there are currently no known viable populations (Fundación ProAves de Colombia 2011). However, the lack of recent reports may reflect the fact that the species is not found in the only area of the Santa Marta massif regularly visited (Ridgely and Tudor 1989).
Countries:	Native: Colombia
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The species's population size has not been formally estimated and, in the absence of sufficient data, it is preliminarily estimated to number 50-249 mature individuals; however detailed research is urgently required. This estimate equates to 75-379 individuals in total, rounded here to 70-400 individuals.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	The species is reportedly found in low, thick shrubbery at the timberline and in sheltered spots high in the páramo zone, from 3,200 to 4,600 m (Ridgely and Tudor 1989). It may actually be restricted to the timberline ecotone, rather than being a páramo specialist (Fundación ProAves de Colombia 2011).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Less than 15% of the original forest cover remains within the massif, and despite substantive protection status on paper, in reality high rates of habitat loss continue owing to human colonisation and cultivation. In some areas deforestation has reached the species's elevation range (O. Cortes in litt. 2011) and streamside vegetation is unsustainably cut for firewood in some places (N. Krabbe in litt. 2010). The wren's habitat within Río Frío valley is extremely isolated, owing to burning and overgrazing, and more information is required concerning the habitat condition of other páramo and high montane forests elsewhere on the massif (Strewe and Navarro 2004).

Major Threat(s):

Less than 15% of the original forest cover remains within the massif, and despite substantive protection status on paper, in reality high rates of habitat loss continue owing to human colonisation and cultivation. In some areas deforestation has reached the species's elevation range (O. Cortes in litt. 2011) and streamside vegetation is unsustainably cut for firewood in some places (N. Krabbe in litt. 2010). The wren's habitat within Río Frío valley is extremely isolated, owing to burning and overgrazing, and more information is required concerning the habitat condition of other páramo and high montane forests elsewhere on the massif (Strewe and Navarro 2004).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway The species's range lies within indigenous reserves and some protection may be provided by the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park. Further efforts to search for the species on the most intact western slopes were being pursued in early 2011 (Fundación ProAves de Colombia 2011). Conservation Actions Proposed There is an urgent need to conduct surveys to assess the range and abundance of this species in order to generate a population estimate. Improve the level of habitat protection throughout its range, particularly within Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park. Monitor changes in population size in relation to continuing habitat degradation. Immediately seek to supply local people with firewood, in order to avoid further habitat destruction (N. Krabbe in litt. 2012).

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
The species's range lies within indigenous reserves and some protection may be provided by the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park. Further efforts to search for the species on the most intact western slopes were being pursued in early 2011 (Fundación ProAves de Colombia 2011).

Conservation Actions Proposed
There is an urgent need to conduct surveys to assess the range and abundance of this species in order to generate a population estimate. Improve the level of habitat protection throughout its range, particularly within Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park. Monitor changes in population size in relation to continuing habitat degradation. Immediately seek to supply local people with firewood, in order to avoid further habitat destruction (N. Krabbe in litt. 2012).

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Troglodytes monticola. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 18 May 2013.
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