Ecological Region

The Greater Antilles mangrove ecoregion is comprised of the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Jamaica. These mangroves support relatively high levels of endemic flora and fauna and are often part of complex assemblages of habitats.

The Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub ecoregion, along the Caribbean Sea in Venezuela and Colombia, is a unique xerophytic area in the neotropics. Proposed as a bird center of endemism, this arid habitat is dominated by thorn scrub and succulents.

Situated primarily in southeastern Venezuela, the Guayanan Highlands moist forest ecoregion is distinct from other ecoregions in Amazonia due to its montane physiography. It hosts vast expanses of tall primary rain forest and open, treeless savannas interrupted by gallery forests.

Located on the northeast coast of South America, the Guianan moist forests are one of the largest continuous tracts of relatively pristine lowland tropical rain forest in the world. It holds a wide variety of regional biodiversity with high levels of species endemism and richness.

The Guianan savanna is an ecoregion in the south of Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname and the north of Brazil. The savanna covers an area of rolling upland plains on the Guiana Shield between the Amazon and Orinoco basins.

The Hispaniolan moist forests ecoregion is a tropical broadleaf forest on the island of Hispaniola. These wet forests maintain distinct flora and fauna, with many unique species. Originally, these forests covered about 60% of the original vegetation on the island.

The Hispaniolan pine forests are found on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles. This ecoregion is today, mainly in mountainous areas of the Cordillera Central and the Sierra de Bahoruco as well as other small patches in both countries.

The humid pampas occupy the plains in the east of Argentina and as well as one of the highest human-populated areas in Argentina, taking up most of the province of Buenos Aires. Horizontal plains and very soft undulations with low peaks, characterize the relief of this area.

The Lesser Antilles mangrove ecoregion is comprised of a chain of islands at the southeastern edge of the Caribbean Sea from Anguilla in the north to Grenada in the south. The largest areas of mangrove are found on Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Martinique and the US Virgin Islands.

The Magdalena Valley dry forests ecoregion is located in Colombia along the upper Magdalena River. There are many endemic species, but much of the original habitat has been destroyed by agriculture and over-grazing.