Essay on Biodiversity of Species and Ecosystems in Panama

Introduction

Biodiversity refers to the variability among living organisms from all sources, encompassing, inter alia, terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part. This includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems. There are different ecosystems on earth that range from coral reefs to tropical forests and from deserts to arctic tundra (Saint-Denis n.d). Biodiversity is crucial to sustaining life, supplying fundamental ecosystem services like food provisioning, water purification, drought and flood control, nutrient cycling, and climate regulation. Mainly, these services are vital to support human well-being and economic growth. In particular, biodiversity is intrinsically valuable and is essential for human's emotional, psychological and spiritual well-being. For instance, approximately 50% of the medicines people now use are based on natural products. Today studies on Panama's rich biodiversity are generating promising leads for new medicine (Saint-Denis, n.d).

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Nevertheless, despite the significant economic, social and cultural values of biodiversity and ecosystem services, biodiversity is being lost globally, and in some areas at an accelerating rate. This has called for action to survey and monitor biodiversity to understand its patterns at diverse spatial scales, ranging from individual sites to across entire countries. Also, monitoring biodiversity ensures that people understand how natural and anthropogenic stressors such as land use change, climate change, and industrial development affect biodiversity. In addition, it assists in understanding the effectiveness of various forms of management action taken to enhance or protect biodiversity.

Status of Biodiversity of Species and Ecosystems in Panama

Panama is a small Central American nation, and as a tropical country with fairly abundant rainfall, it supports a high biodiversity. According to Larsen (162), it is one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth, with species richness exceeding hotspots like Amazonia, Southeast Asia, or the northern Andes. Scientists have established approximately two million species to date, and many more remain millions more remain to be discovered. Further contributing to the richness of species are the life forms that have migrated here over time such as plant and animal species from farther north and completely unrelated species from South America and introduced species. Each species plays its unique role in the functioning of the ecosystem to which it belongs (Saint-Denis, n.d). Its geography included vast underwater marine habitats, substantial mountain ranges, and enormous coastlines. This combination creates a breathtaking range of life's diversity, packed into a relatively small space on the globe.

The region has diverse plant species. In particular, the most striking feature of the tree communities is how variable they are in species composition. Mainly, except for sites within 1-3 kilometers of each other, no two forests are similar concerning their dominant tree species (Klimento, Yulia, and Adrienne, 7). Panama has more than 5000 plant species per 10,000 km2, although individual sites, for example, Barro Colorado Island, are not particularly rich. Wetter sites have higher local diversity, with approximately 150 species per hectare compared with 84 species per hectare in the canal corridor. However, many tree species are still being discovered such as the Pleurothyrium racemosum that is restricted to small areas around the canal watershed (Easson et al., 4)

Regarding the avifauna, approximately 650 bird species are known from the Panama Canal watershed, which represents two-thirds of the Panamanian avifauna. Of these, around 226 species are restricted to forests and are most at risk from deforestation (Saint-Denis, n.d). Forest-dwelling bird species richness in Panama increases from the dry Pacific slope forests to the wetter Caribbean slope forests and in Soberania National Park. Mainly, the diversity in Soberania can be linked to the habitat heterogeneity in the park characterized by swamps, streams, uplands, and a blend of floristic elements of dry Pacific forests at the south and wet Atlantic elements at the north of the park. Larsen (170) records that, species richness is positively related to annual rainfall, which is positively linked to the distance from the Pacific Ocean. Some birds of the region are globally rare. One of the species, Xenornis setifrons, the speckled antshrike, are globally threatened. Similarly, the Great Green Macaw is endangered. Notably, although only a few bird species are known to have disappeared from the canal watershed and neighboring forests, failing to protect a significant majority of the remaining forests will certainly lead to further decline in regional levels of avian diversity.

Another kind of species in Panama is amphibians. Mainly, although less diverse than birds and plant species, amphibians are known to be indicators of ecosystem alteration (Easson et al., 11). At least 93 amphibian species have been recorded within the region. They encompass 86 frogs, five salamander, and two caecilian species. Just like the diversity of plant and avifauna species, amphibian species diversity in the lowland forests increases from the Pacific side to the wetter Caribbean side. The diversity peaks in Soberania National Park, where arid and humid tropical amphibian species of lowland Central America mix. All except one of the 93 amphibians in the canal area occur in a protected area. This exception is a dendrobatid, Phyllobates lugubris, a species of Costa Rica and western Panama whose range only reaches the western edge of the canal watershed. Others such as Atelopus limosus and an undescribed species of Atelopus are endemic to Panama (Larsen, 174).

Major Threats to Biodiversity and Ecosystems in Panama

The major threats to any biodiversity include deforestation, mining, road construction, burning, and widespread grazing and farming on steep slopes, poor farming practices, urbanization, and industrial growth. Such activities can lead to increased sedimentation from erosion, pesticide runoff, microbial and organic contamination, and erratic water flow. Also, climate changes caused by human activity, for example, global warming and changes in rainfall, threaten the survival of species unable to adapt to new conditions. The most evident threats to biodiversity and ecosystems in Panama include agricultural expansion, especially in Darien and Bocas del Toro regions, road construction and road improvement, particularly in the Darien and Caribbean Coast, and loss of mangrove forests because of filling for development and conversion of shrimp ponds (Easson et al., 6). Mainly, threats to water quality and the periodicity of water quantity are many. Another threat is the extraction of valuable resources on a national scale such as wildlife for meat and souvenirs, valuable timber, and other valuable plant and animal species. This activity has left some local habitats in a depauperate and degraded condition. Additionally, critical local threats encompass devastating forest fires, pollution of water habitats, and sedimentation that destroys aquatic habitats. Finally, introduced species pose a threat to the biodiversity. In particular, when humans introduce species to new areas, the invaders can wipe out native species by eating them, outcompeting them, or disrupting their habitats.

Habitat fragmentation is a form of degradation that can be detrimental to species even when their habitat is not yet completely lost. The impact of such fragmentation on bird species is evident on the Panama Canal watershed. For example, small forest patched on both the Pacific and Caribbean slopes lack large fractions of the forest bird community (Klimento, Yulia, and Adrienne, 8). They tend to be dominated by common and widely distributed forest species and species of the forest edge. In addition, fragmentation on an even larger extent may have disrupted the altitudinal migratory movements of forest birds from the foothills of Chagres National Park to the lowlands of the canal corridor forests. For instance, since the construction of the transisthmian highway that disconnected the lowland forests in the Chagres foothills from those in the canal area, four species of altitudinal migrants have rarely been detected. These species include two hummingbirds namely Eutoxeres aquila and Phaethornis guy, a toucan (Selemidera specatabilis), and a thrush (Turdus albicollis) (Klimento, Yulia, and Adrienne, 22).

Among the critically endangered species in this region include the Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) and the common sawfish (Pristis pristis) (Saint-Denis, n.d). Those that are vulnerable encompass the Oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus), the Pacific seahorse (Hippocampus ingens), Olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), Great curassow (Crax rubra), Tacarcuna wood-quail (Odontophorus dialeucos), and the Boquete oak (Quercus bumelioides). Among the species that are already extinct include the Spiny green tree frog (Isthmohyla calypsa), Splendid poison frog (Oophaga speciosa), and the Chiriqui harlequin frog (Atelopus chiriquiensis) (Saint-Denis, n.d).

Conclusion

To conclude, despite the threats facing the Panama ecosystem, more than half of the region is covered in forest. A substantial part is old-growth that is little used by humans where even the most sensitive species of fauna, large mammals, and birds persist. Mainly, the forests protect the water supply, support fisheries, and hunting, which are valuable regarding tourism, and conserve the high species diversity of the Panama Canal ecosystem. Although the existing system of the protected area is extensive, there is still a need to protect the region's ecosystem to guard the endangered and vulnerable species from extinction.

Work Cited

Easson, Cole G., et al. "Variation in species diversity and functional traits of sponge communities near human populations in Bocas del Toro, Panama." PeerJ 3 (2015): e1385.

Klimento, Yulia, and Adrienne Richards. "Evaluation of the Vertical Stratification of Pollinator and Seed Disperser Biodiversity in the Rainforest Discovery Center of Soberania National Park, Gamboa, Panama." (2018).

Larsen, Matthew C. "Forested Watersheds, Water Resources, and Ecosystem Services, with Examples from the United States, Panama, and Puerto Rico." Chemistry and Water. 2017. 161-182.

Saint-Denis, Chloe. "Final Report ENVR 451 Bridge of Life: Panama's Biomuseo."