New Study on Endangered Species of Panama is Almost Ready

[Keith Woolford]

New Study on Endangered Species of Panama is Almost Ready

Panama had at least 2 thousand 150 species of animals and plants at risk of extinction in 2008, when the last report of endangered and endemic species, was published by the then National Environmental Authority.

 

It was the first great record of the Panamanian flora and fauna under threat, and after eight years it is necessary to update the ecological "inventory", says Erick Núñez, a biologist at the Department of Biodiversity and Wildlife of the Ministry of the Environment.

Four years ago, recounts Núñez, the consultation meetings and discussion workshops with experts and researchers from different scientific institutions and environmental of the country began, to reach a consensus on the state of the rich national biodiversity, and the results are almost ready, waiting for the latest figures on several plant species.

The aim is to introduce the new report of endangered and endemic species before the end of the year, highlights Núñez. The original plan was to have published before, but some species such as plants, the largest group of the research, with ten thousand classes in all of Panama, have required more work. .

He also adds that this time we are including the data of groups that were not studied in the document of 2008, such invertebrates, fish (in fresh and saltwater) and other marine species.

Núñez clarifies that the dissemination of this information cannot be delayed further, because if time passes the data loses validity. That is why the presentation should materialize this year, he stresses.

 

Entities such as the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Panama Audubon Society, Society Mastozoológica of Panama, schools of science at the University of Panama and of the Autonomous University of Chiriqui and other independent research scientists, are some of those who participated in the workshops that were the basis for this report.

New figures of endangered species of Panama?

 

Núñez said that in the latest data, there is a total of endangered species, but without doubt the number shall not be less than 2008.

The biologist clarifies that although many species have not improved their condition of danger, the figure will be higher because the list is more extensive, because of the counting of groups that before were absent (invertebrates and fish), and because there is now more information of the actual state of the animals and plants in comparison with 2008.

Of the 2,150 species included in the endangered species and endemics report from 2008, approximately 1,700 corresponded to types of plants. While in the case of animals, birds were the most affected, with 267 species, followed by the reptiles (65), mammals (57) and amphibians (48).
 

Recent figures

 

Some of the entities of scientific studies that contributed information to the study to be submitted by the Ministry of the environment, may advance some details of the state of nature in Panama.

 

In regards to amphibians, Panama has 215 species and about one third of them are in danger of extinction, according to information from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

 

In the case of mammals, there are a little more than 270 species reported, an increase with respect to the 264 recorded in 2014, details the Mastozoológica Society of Panama.

 

 

Currently, some 70 species of mammals faced some state of threat to its conservation.

 

The official list of the birds of Panama of 2016, drawn up by the Panama Audubon Society, recorded two thousand species in national soil, five more than the list of 2015.

 

The Red List of Threatened Species for the Conservation of Nature, the largest registry of the state of the global biodiversity, was updated last September and shows that of the 82,954 species of animals and plants on the planet, 23,928 face some risk of extinction.
 

Tools

Once the new study of endangered and endemic species of Panama is completed, it will be possible to use that information to establish conservation priorities, explains Núñez.

It will be the instrument which will indicate where you should direct the efforts and resources to preserve the most endangered species.

"Every species has a role in the balance of nature. The serpent, for example, eats the rats, rodents that can cause health problems for people. For that reason and more, snakes are necessary. If they are eliminated the damage will return".

Also, with the study of species at risk, agreements may be established and supported by national and international institutions that share common conservation objectives, says the biologist.

As a result of the first inventory of Panamanian Species at Risk in 2008, programs were born  to respond to critical cases, as the "Plan for the conservation of the Harpy Eagle" (2011), the "Action Plan for the Conservation of Amphibians in Panama" (2011), and the "Action Plan for the conservation of the Jaguar in Panama" (2011).

 

http://www.prensa.com/salud_y_ciencia/Nuevo-estudio-especies-amenzadas-Panama_0_4593290641.html

[Bud]

1 hour ago, Keith Woolford said:

Núñez clarifies that the dissemination of this information cannot be delayed further, because if time passes the data loses validity. That is why the presentation should materialize this year, he stresses.

Being a bit picky here, but this sentence would have more impact if it were to say "...because AS time passes...". Time passing is not an option; time always and without exception passes. It is kind of like the law of gravity. No exemptions.

Really fantastic images.

I have seen a few other articles on this topic, but not focused just on Panama. I read somewhere a couple of years ago that on average approximately twelve species within the animal kingdom go extinct every month. That was a shocking number to me. When a species is gone, it is gone forever. I have yet to read about any new species coming into existence, although researchers do continue to find species that were previously unknown. Apparently that happens a lot in the forest regions of Brazil.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Bud
correct a spelling error

[Keith Woolford]

thanks Bud, missed that on my edit. What comes out of a translator often makes little sense to us.

[Bud]

Thanks for the clarification. Wasn't trying to be critical, but it probably came across that way. It was just a case of a mind-stopping set of words that just didn't work in my mind; I had to stop and ponder what the real message was supposed to be. I should have considered the possibility of an automated translation as the cause.

[Paquita]

Thanks for posting this Keith - you seem to be the busy expert member/poster!  As a newbie it is great to see information here on some of the wider trends and new information on Panama.  Appreciating your posts to get a sense of this new life.