scholarly journals Dung-beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabeidae) from the Zona Protectora Las Tablas, Talamanca, Costa Rica

Check List ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 458 ◽  
Author(s):  
José F. González-Maya ◽  
Juan Mata-Lorenzen

Dung-beetle species are considered an important focal indicator group in tropical forests. During 2007, eighteen traps were set in two permanent biodiversity plots during one week surveys in Las Tablas Protected Zone within La Amistad Biosphere Reserve. The main purpose of this study was to determine the group composition and diversity as the basis for permanent monitoring and to measure potential impacts of land use change and climate change on mountain diversity. Pitfall traps were placed randomly within the plots with human feces as bait. A total of 26 species distributed in 13 genera and six tribes were collected. The composition of species includes eight endemic species, seven for Costa Rica (CR) and Panama and one only for CR. The diversity found in this study was typical of previous studies in the region. Further sampling is needed to obtain the total number of species for the area. This study is part of an on-going research project about climate change impacts and biodiversity monitoring in this important ecoregion of Mesoamerica.

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1323
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Castillo ◽  
Jorge A. Amador

The evaluation of intraseasonal, seasonal, and annual variability of rainfall and temperature extremes, while using climate change scenarios data, is extremely important for socio-economic activities, such as water resources management. Costa Rica, a climate change hotspot, is largely dependent on rainfall for socioeconomic activities; hence, the relevance of this study. Based on the NEX-GDDP, rainfall and temperature range were analyzed for Costa Rica at the end of the century (2070–2099), while using 1970–1999 as a baseline for six available meteorological stations. Differences between the multimodel ensembles of two prospective scenarios (RCP 4.5 and 8.5) and the historical information were computed. This study highlights Costa Rica as an inflexion region for climate change impacts in Central America, for which projected scenarios suggest an early onset of the rainy season, and a decline in the mid-summer drought (MSD) minimum. The assessment of model data in some regions of Costa Rica, for which historical data were available, suggests that the latter does not capture a well-known regional climate feature, the MSD, in both precipitation and temperature range well. The availability of observed past data sources is a major limitation of this research; however, with the station data used, it is still possible to draw some conclusions regarding future climate in some regions of Costa Rica, especially in the northwest side of the country, where past data are consistent with model information, providing a more reliable picture of changes in climate there that has potential implications for socioeconomic sectors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Diego A. Gómez-Hoyos ◽  
Rocío Seisdedos-de-Vergara ◽  
Fernando Castañeda ◽  
Jan Schipper ◽  
Ronit Amit ◽  
...  

AbstractThe increase in human tapir conflict and lack of management options is worrying and has been identified as a research priority in previous conservation planning reviews for the group. Crop-raiding by Baird’s tapir was reported on a private farm within the La Amistad Biosphere Reserve, Costa Rica. We conducted an open interview with the owner and baited the tapir out of the damaged area using an artificial salt-lick. The measures taken (quick response, assistance on alternative solutions, and the decision to use of salt-licks) were successful short-term measures to avoid lethal retaliatory control of tapirs.Key words: conservation, crop-raiding, hunting, interview, salt-lick, tapir.ResumenEl aumento en los conflictos humano-tapir y la falta de opciones de manejo es preocupante, por lo que han sido identificados como una prioridad de investigación en revisiones previas de planeación para la conservación del grupo. En una finca privada ubicada dentro de la Reserva de la Biósfera La Amistad, Costa Rica, se reportó el daño a cultivos de un tapir centroamericano. Se realizó una entrevista abierta con el propietario y se atrajo al tapir fuera del área afectada usando un saladero artificial. Las medidas a corto plazo tomadas (respuesta rápida, asistencia en soluciones alternativas y la decisión del uso de saladeros) al parecer fueron exitosas para evitar el control letal retaliativo de tapires.Palabras clave: asalto de cultivos, cacería, conservación, entrevistas, saladeros, tapir.


Subject Climate change and Central America. Significance Costa Rica on February 24 launched an ambitious plan to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2050. The announcement follows grave warnings by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the impending impacts of global warming and comes as the region suffers another season of drought. Extreme weather phenomena are becoming a regular occurrence across Central America -- a region local governments consider to be among the most vulnerable in the world to climate change. Impacts Extreme weather threatens tourism income, with hurricanes capable of crippling tourism sectors in a matter of hours. Costa Rica and Panama’s relative success in mitigating climate change impacts may encourage more of the region’s migrants to move south. Costa Rica’s efforts will ultimately prove meaningless if the rest of the world does not take drastic action to reduce carbon emissions.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document