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BIODIVERSITY APROACH
Group D: Vincent, Huy, Phu, and Ginger
Environmental Science Final Project
Outline
Introduction, Geography.
What we have:
Introduction
Have you ever heard about the artificial connection between Atlantic and Pacific Ocean?
Panama canal
Introduction
Geography
Geography of Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica comprised of the seven Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) and the five states of southeastern Mexico (Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatan)
countries
Geography of Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica hotspot includes the areas of northwest Belize, north and central Guatemala and the southern Mexican states of Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatan.
Geography of Mesoamerica
One common method of dividing Mesoamerica is classifying the region as follows:
Highlands
Lowlands
Mexican plateau and the Central American volcanic arc : home to the major cities of Mexico and Central America
Mexican Plateau:
Lower (4,000) in the north (near Juarez) and higher (8,000) in the south (near Mexico City) Home to rich deposits of silver, copper & zinc
Diverse environmental variability: lush tropical climate of lowland Veracruz to the semi-arid brush forests of northern Yucatn. Tropical forests are diverse in vegetation species Ancient Mesoamericans employed a series of agricultural adaptations (e.g. use of drainage systems) Offered a great degree of variability usable flora and fauna resources Coast facilitated transportation, interregional communication, and trade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0xsc cVQO7U
Climate
Mesoamerica Climate
Well-defined climate pattern: tropical, Special type of climate (land between two oceans), Affected by Pacific decadal oscillation and El Nio/La Nia, There is a differentiated precipitation patterns of the regions
Caribbean slope is rainy practically all year round, Pacific slope is characterized by a prolonged dry season.
Biomas of Mesoamerica
Flora
Vascular plants
8000 4423 6000 2500 7000 9500-10,500
Panama
75,990
8500-9000
1230 13.7-14.5
838
Palumbina candida
Pelliciera rhizophorae
Ticodendron incognitum
Rhyncholaelia digbyana
Endangered species
Very rare and endangered species, very hard to see in the wild, from very humid high habitats. Spectacular white flower with no traces of yellow or pink.
Monja Blanca White Nun Lycaste skinneri var alba
Fauna
BIRDS
Altamira Yellowthroat
Baird's Trogon
Blue-capped Hummingbird
Horned Guan
The forests of Mesoamerica provides critical winter habitat and stop-over points for about 225 species of migratory birds (Three of the four major trans-regional migratory bird routes in the Western hemisphere converge there)
RESPLENDENT QUETZAL
Scientific name: Pharomachrus mocinno
There are six types of Quetzals, not all of them mesoamericas endemic. Our study will focus in the Resplendent Quetzal.
Size These birds have a body that is between 14 and 16 inches long, with the males' especially long tails increasing their overall length to 24 to 30 inches.
Youth A Quetzal female will typically lay only one or two eggs, and only one in five Quetzal hatchlings survive into adulthood. Most fall prey to predators such as jays, squirrels, toucans and weasels.
RESPLENDENT QUETZAL
These birds were considered sacred to the Aztecs and the Maya.
The Guatemalan currency is named after them.
RESPLENDENT QUETZAL
The Quetzal, reputed to be the most beautiful bird that exists in the American continents,
In Guatemala, It lives in the mountainous, subtropical, humid regions of the departments of Quiche, the Verapazes, Huehuetenango, San Marcos, and Suchitepequez. The vegetation of the territory it inhabits is quite dense and rich in humus. Today, the Quetzal's range actually extends from southern Mexico through Western Panama in mountain regions with an elevation of 4,000 to 10,000 feet.
RESPLENDENT QUETZAL
The Problem The Quetzal has always has been a species that attracted a great deal of attention and was much sought after.
The Quetzal feathers were used as items of trade and were traded as far north as New Mexico and as far south as the Andes.
RESPLENDENT QUETZAL
Because of their value as money and for trading purposes it was forbidden by the Mayans to kill a Quetzal.
Now that the cloud forests are shrinking and more and more humans are moving into a once uninhabited area, the Quetzal is rapidly losing its ephereal habitat. Without protected habitat, the Guatemalan Resplendent Quetzal is doomed to extinction.
QUETZAL - Conservation
The conservation of this bird is in trouble due to its low breeding rate in captivity or its lifespan in captivity.
Conservation efforts
Birding in Biotopo del Quetzal. (Guatemala) El Biotopo is a protected area for connecting the cloud forest of Sierra de las Minas with cloud forests in Alta Verapaz. The reserve covers 1,150 hectares of primary cloud forest, from 1,500- 2,300 meters (4,920-7,545 ft).
El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, which clames that during the past 25 years they have tripled its population , having three specimens of the species for every 16 hectares (40 acres)
Some other smaller conservation entities in Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama
MAMMALS
Spider monkey
Bairds tapir
Jaguar
Guatemalan Myotis
Allison's Anole
Morelets crocodile
Hawksbill
River turtle
spiny-tailed iguana
Extinct specie
Golden Toad (Bufo periglenes)
Was once abundant in the high altitudes of the wet Monteverde Cloud Forests of Costa Rica
Last seen twenty years ago. Reason for its extinction: Unknown
Worlds climate change due to global warming, causing disruptions in weather patterns. Fungal disease
Extinct species
Golden Toad (Bufo periglenes)
In 1987 there was much lesser rainfall due to a phenomenon called el Nio. This caused these small pools of water to dry up before the larvae had time to mature. Today this is protected, and there are hopes that one day the golden toad will return.
Biodiversity Conservation
Mesoamerica also exhibits some of the highest deforestation rates in the world. Direct threats to the regions natural assets include illegal logging and occupation of land, uncontrolled tourism, oil drilling and pipelines, and unsustainable agricultural practices
Biological conservation
Bird Areas (birds), The La Amistad International Park (salamander), Cerro El Pital (frog),
Biological conservation
Encourage eco-tourism
Ex:
2000, in Costa Rica earned about $1.25 billion from ecotourism (70% total tourists),
(Costa Rica) and CONABIO (Mexico), Belize Zoo and Mexico's ZOOMAT
30% of covers 30% total land mass concentrated mainly in areas abutting the Atlantic Coast. connecting several national parks, allow ecological connectivity regionally through the MBC, started in 1998 to keep 106 critically endangered species from going extinct. Total finance: 1.14 billion USD (1990-2009)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfiuqj_sa ving-the-mesoamerican-biologicalcorridor_tech
Outcome of MBC
Increasing landscape connectivity can enhance genetic diversity, allow animals to migrate to climate refugee, and reinstate historical migration patterns.
As climate patterns shift, biological corridors could offer a source of natural resilience for animal and plant populations by allowing them to migrate and settle into new territories.
Summary
Mesoamerica Hotspot encompasses all subtropical and tropical ecosystems from central Mexico to the Panama Canal, including a number of nearshore and offshore islands in both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.
Summary
The hotspot's ecosystems are a complex combination of coastal swamps, mangrove forests, coniferous forests, dry forests, lowland moist forest (Third largest among the worlds hotspots)
Summary
Endemic species includes birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and around 17,000 plant species
Summary
About 13 percent, of the total land area of the Mesoamerica hotspot is currently under some form of protection, where Belize (37%) and Costa Rica (31%) have the higher numbers of the region, and El Salvador has the lowest percentage (2%)