Editing Guiana Shield (section)

== Ecology ==
[[File:H chimantensis2.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Heliamphora chimantensis]]'', [[endemism|endemic]] to the [[Chimantá Massif]] (a [[Venezuela]]n part of the Guiana Shield)]]
The Guiana Shield is one of the regions of highest [[biodiversity]] in the world, and has many [[endemism|endemic]] species. The region houses over 3000 [[vertebrate]] species: 1168 fresh water fish, 269 amphibians (54% endemics), 295 reptiles (29%), 1004 birds (7.7%), and 282 mammals (11%).<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Hollowell|first1= T.|first2= R.P. |last2= Reynolds|year= 2005|title= Checklist of the Terrestrial Vertebrates of the Guiana Shield|journal= Bulletin of the Biological Society of Washington|volume= 13|url= http://botany.si.edu/bdg/pdf/bswa_13_all.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last1 = Stachowicz | first1 = Izabela| last2 = Ferrer Paris | first2 = José Rafael| last3 = Quiroga-Carmona | first3 = Marcial| last4 = Moran | first4 = Lisandro| last5 = Lozano | first5 = Cecilia| date       = 2020| title      =  Baseline for monitoring and habitat use of medium to large non-volant mammals in Gran Sabana, Venezuela| journal    =  Therya| volume     =  11| issue = 2| pages      =  169–179| doi        =  10.12933/therya-20-891| doi-access = free| hdl = 1959.4/unsworks_67008| hdl-access = free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1= Vari|first1= R.P.|first2= C.J.|last2= Ferraris Jr.|first3= A.|last3= Radosavljevic|first4= V.A.|last4= Funk|year= 2009|title= Checklist of the freshwater fishes of the Guiana Shield|journal= Bulletin of the Biological Society of Washington|volume= 17|url= http://botany.si.edu/bdg/pdf/bswa_fish-chcklst_2009-complete.pdf}}</ref> Diversity of invertebrates remains largely undocumented, but there are several species of endemic butterflies and dung beetles.<ref name="IndicativeResponse">{{cite journal|last1=Ferrer-Paris|first1=José R|last2=Lozano|first2=Cecilia|last3=Cardozo-Urdaneta|first3=Arlene|last4=Thomas Cabianca|first4=Arianna|title=Indicative response of ''Oxysternon festivum'' Linné (Coleoptera: Scarabaidae) to vegetation condition in the basin of the Orinoco river, Venezuela|journal=Journal of Insect Conservation|volume=20 |issue=3|pages=527–538|doi=10.1007/s10841-016-9886-6|year=2016|s2cid=17263106}}</ref><ref name="ViloriaPantepui">{{cite journal|last1=Costa|first1=Mauro|last2=Viloria|first2=Ángel L.|last3=Hubber|first3=Otto|last4=Attal|first4=Stéphane|last5=Orellana|first5=Andrés|title=Lepidoptera del Pantepui. Parte I: Endemismo y caracterización biogeográfica|journal=Entomotropica|date=2013|volume=28|issue=3|pages=193–217|url=http://www.entomotropica.org/index.php/entomotropica/article/view/414/449|access-date=25 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827045133/http://www.entomotropica.org/index.php/entomotropica/article/view/414/449|archive-date=27 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Plant life is equally rich and 13,367 species of [[vascular plant]]s have been found, approximately 40% of which is considered endemic.<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Funk|first1= V.|first2= T.|last2= Hollowell|first3= P.|last3= Berry|first4= C.|last4= Kelloff|first5= S.N.|last5= Alexander|year= 2007|title=Checklist of the Plants of the Guiana Shield (Venezuela: Amazonas, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro; Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana)|journal= Contributions from the United States National Herbarium|volume= 55|url= http://botany.si.edu/bdg/pdf/vol55web.pdf}}</ref> The shield is overlain by the largest expanse of tropical forest on any Precambrian shield area in the world.<ref>Hammond, David S. (ed.) (2005) ''Tropical Forests of the Guiana Shield'' CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK, ISBN</ref> Guianan rain forest is similar in nature to [[Amazon Rainforest|Amazonian rain forest]] and known protected areas include the Iwokrama Forest of central Guyana, Kaieteur, [[Kanuku]] National Park of southern Guyana, the UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]] [[Central Suriname Nature Reserve]] of [[Suriname]], the [[Guiana Amazonian Park]] in [[French Guiana]] and the [[Tumucumaque National Park]] in the [[Amapá]] State of [[Brazil]]. In Venezuela the forests are protected by [[Canaima National Park|Canaima]], [[Parima Tapirapecó National Park|Parima-Tapirapeco]] and [[Serranía de la Neblina National Park|Serranía de la Neblina]] national parks. In 2014, the Government of Colombia designated a 250 hectare area of the Guiana Shield, as a Ramsar Wetland, thus becoming a protected area of international importance in accordance to the [[Ramsar Convention]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.ramsar.org/es/complejo-de-humedales-de-la-estrella-fluvial-in%C3%ADrida-efi | title=Colombia &#124; Ramsar}}</ref>

According to recent researches, although ecosystems of the Guayana Highlands remain vibrant, emerging issues (including "a well-known [[Invasive species|invasive]] plant elsewhere" ''[[Poa annua]]'' and "one of the most aggressive weeds" ''[[Polypogon elongatus]]'') and infectious faecal bacteria ''[[Helicobacter pylori]]'' have been documented.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Rull|first1= V.|last2= Vegas-Vilarrúbia|first2= T.|last3= Safont|first3= E.|date= 2016|title= The Lost World's pristinity at risk|journal= [[Diversity and Distributions]]|volume= 22|issue= 10|pages= 995–999|doi= 10.1111/ddi.12469|bibcode= 2016DivDi..22..995R|url= https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/137349/3/Rull_Diversity_and_Distributions_22_995_postprint.pdf|hdl= 10261/137349|s2cid= 23002053|hdl-access= free}}
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