Arthropod Species in Panama Rainforest

Panama has a large land and in this land you’ll not only enjoy the different sights like beaches and forests as you go on Panama tours, but you can also have a closer look on their animal species. 

In the most comprehensive and through studies done from the rainforests of Panama provides a new level of detail with regards of the variety and distribution of arthropod species from the soil to the forest canopy. There are about 6,000 estimated hectare forest hosts a total of around 25,000 arthropod species, 60% to 70% of which are likely to be previously unknown.

Most of the species existing on Earth are arthropods - an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed appendages; such as insects, mites and spiders living in tropical forest. Researchers have struggled to quantify their abundance and diversity because of their small size, frequent movements, and inaccessible habitats. Due to massive collaborative effort involving 102 researchers from 21 countries was necessary to collect and identify arthropods from all parts of the San Lorenzo forest resources near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. In 2003-2004, the field team used 70 person or trap-years in sampling the rainforest canopy from a construction crane, on inflatable platforms, from hot-air balloons, climbing ropes and crawling along the forest floor to sift soil and trap and drag arthropods. As the result, the team sorted and identified 130,000 arthropods, to a total of more than 6,000 species.

By scaling up diversity values and conclude their known data, the researchers estimated the rainforest reserve harbors in excess of 25,000 arthropod species. That means for every species of vascular plant, the bird or mammal in this forest, you will find 20, 83 and 312 species of arthropods respectively. 

One of the most interesting findings was that more than half of all species could be found in a single hectare of the forest. This means that to determine the species variety of a tropical rainforest, it may not be necessary to sample massive areas. One hectare area is enough to get an idea of regional arthropod richness - provided that this total includes widely spaced plots representative of variation within the forest.

Another exciting finding was that the variety of herbivorous and non-herbivorous arthropods could be accurately predicted from the diversity of plants.

So next time you visit the place and plan your next Panama excursions, you can opt to take a scientific tour as to seeing the smallest life forms in their rainforests.

About Gamboa Panama

The little town of Gamboa in Panama is a forty-minute drive away from Panama City, but unlike the latter, Gamboa feels just so remote due to the fact that it is closer to nature. This town is constructed by the Panama Canal Company in the early 1930s to provide shelter for the workers of the Panama Canal Dredging Division.

The Past

In the history Gamboa was built nearly in the former village of Sta. Cruz, were three miles the Chagres River was the town of Las Cruces. In 1855 after the completion of the Panama Railroad which ran near the Panama area, yet made no stops and no PR maps list any towns in its present location.

During canal construction Gamboa’s present day was built in 1911. The town was populated by “silver roll” workers and their dependents. Almost 700 initial settlers were previously lived in the construction areas between Gorgona and former towns of Tabernilla. Together with the towns first citizen, no Americans were counted.

Along 1914, Gamboa’s population decreased to 173 which consist of a police station, a four-family house, a two-family house and some old railroad box cars used by the house silver roll employees. 

After long years of studies and debates, Panama Canal Company moved its Dredging Division from the town of Paraiso to Gamboa in 1936. In 1933, due to the moving of Dredging Division to Gamboa, the population was 251, including just 10 Americans.

The Present

In present time Gamboa is still inhabited, but with a shadow of its old self. It remains the original headquarters of the Dredging Division of the Panama Canal Authority (formerly PCC).

The Dredging Division’s harbour is now used by light ferries to reach the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) facilities at Barro Colorado Island.

Caymans, iguanas, crocodiles and several hundred bird species are Gamboa’s residents. Gamboa is bordering to relevant tracts of undisturbed rainforest. The Pipeline Road is considered one of the best birding hikes in Panama.it is also one of the premiere bird watching sites in all of Central America.      

Image credit: www.elitemeetings.com

Panama Destination Highlights

Take a break, discover and experience all the breathtaking highlights of Panama; the Panama City, San Blas Islands, Chiriqui Highlands, Bocas del Toro and Panama Canal. 

Panama City 

Perfectly positioned along Northwest Florida’s Emerald Coast which provides an easy access to several fascinating beaches where you can try their varieties of water sports, fishing and boating. In fact, the whole region is one of a family favorite destination not only with their beautiful beaches, hotels, its amusement parks and of course, the freshest seafood available anywhere. And don’t forget the historical town of Casco Viejo, a colonial style government buildings, museums including a Canal Museum and cathedrals. 

San Blas Islands

The San Blas offers a show of sights. Starting with the unbelievable seascapes, colorful reefs and islands which owned and operated by the Kuna Indians. Also the visitors can witness the glimpse of the culture with their continuous festivals and gatherings develop at villages. The tour includes the opportunities to go snorkeling to enjoy the beautiful reefs and variety of tropical fish in the shallow warm waters.

Chiriqui Highlands

A two hour drive from Panama’s northernmost city, David to visit the Panama’s highest peaks Baru volcano, and some of its longest rivers found only in Chiriqui Highlands. The cool climate is one of the main attraction welcoming the visitors from the hot and humid lowlands. One of towns with the best accommodation is Boquete with the great base for exploring the area, well-known for its orange and coffee plantations where you can learn about the coffee process. Enjoy your stay with the opportunities to go walking in the cloud forest, bird watching and white-water rafting. 

Bocas del Toro

Panama’s number one vacation spot between the archipelago of Bocas del Toro. Visiting key areas like Hospital Point, a whole day snorkeling or beachcombing and enjoy an outdoor lunch. Also try these scuba dive in bio-diverse waters or go kayaking. Tired of these whole day activities? Try to spend the night and relax at this lovely hotel, built on stilts above the water the Punta Caracol.

Panama Canal

Linking the Atlantic and Pacific which cuts right trough the Continental Divide, one of the world’s greatest shortcuts, the Panama Canal. Continue your trip to Portobello, with its lovely spot hides the historical fort where Francis Drake was killed.

Image credits to:

http://fourstarcs.com/

http://www.chimuadventures.com/

http://www.vtoursonline.com/

http://bocaspanama.panamainsiders.com/

http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/

Bits and Facts about the Culture of Panama

Learning about something soon develops to love. As for you who want to learn something or maybe everything about the country of Panama, for sure you’ll never be disappointed. Panama has a lot of bits and stuffs to catch your interest.

Panama is a nation of rich heritage. This richness of culture and history is brought by the mixture of people, literally. In the country you can find traces of Indians, Cuna and Guavmi blended together to form the present Panama. Not just that, aside from the mentioned groups throughout history, the Spanish settlement in Panama also created a great influence. It has been said that the presence of visitors throughout time brought Panama to where it is right now. 

The People

Imagine a small strip of an island inhabited by different people of various cultural origins. With a population of not more than four million, almost 70% of it are mestizos and mulatos. There are blacks, whites, Amerindian and indigenous people bound together living in harmony. A tribe in Panama, the Cuna is very known for its close ties and matriarchal societies or those headed basically by women members of the family. Their official language is Spanish, so bring with you a lot of Spanish conversations as you plan to go.

As you go to different places in Panama inhabited by varying indigenous groups, you can feel the warmth and friendliness of the people. These groups each possess a unique quality within them, and also, held individual celebrations representing their rich cultural history. The Panamanians are also known to be skillful craftsmen. They are able to produce jewels and other crafts also of rich ancestral origin. Though they tend to be different in origin and customs, Panamanians are bound together by the value of peaceful and harmonious living.

Panamanian Religion and Cuisines

Roman Catholicism is the most dominant religion in the country of Panama. In fact, most of the traditions and celebrations are held in honor to saints. For example, a big celebration in Panama is the Black Christ Festival. Another example of how saints affect the life of every Panamanian is that they consider them to be the owner of every town. 

The cuisines all over Panama are affected by cultural variations and the location of the country. But mostly, the foods are American and Spanish in style. Famous dishes are Carimanola, Tamales, Empanadas, and Tortillas among others. Panamanians also include a lot of sea food in their dishes since the country is in a coastal region. 

Image credit: http://ourlifeinthed.com/

Processed Food Contributes to Massive Rainforest Destruction

Are you surprised about this one? Maybe for ‘not so environmental persons’, this fact is a strange one. Usually, when we talk of rainforest destruction, we think of the usual destructing factors—logging to be used for coal or fossil fuel and rainforest fires caused by human negligence. 

It is so common to hear about rainforest degradation. Hundreds or even thousands of acres lost per year. As for us, who are living far away from natural rainforests might think that we are not responsible for this; thinking we have no any direct access to this so how can we destroy them? But as we look clearly, we are involved to this, just indirectly. We might not be aware how our everyday activities affect the current status of our rainforests. Just like this one, who knows that even processed foods that we eat almost if not every day, could be a great factor to rainforest destruction?

Palm oil as the key suspect. We might not know this, but palm oil has been secretly a part of our everyday lives. Palm oil is a primary ingredient in most of our daily necessities – biscuits, soap, shampoo, and even fuel. Not just that, there are plenty of processed food products that contains palm oil as its key ingredient. But how does the use of palm oil causes deforestation? As we know, palm oil is extracted from coconuts, meaning it takes huge coconut plantations in order to generate such amount of palm oil to support our everyday living. In relation to this, rainforests are being cleared off to give way to these coconut plantations. Imagine every commodity in a supermarket with vegetable oil in its ingredient that is probably from palm oil plantations. Take a moment to think about how many forest trees are cut down just to plant coconut trees for palm oil.

At present, there are only few substitutes offered in replace for palm oil in the market. Some suggestions would be the use of margarine or vegetable oil from sunflower to reduce the consumption of palm oil, and in turn, lessen deforestation. 

The soy bean oil and refined wheat flour as secondary culprits. Processed cookies and crackers are really great for immediate need for food right? Did you know that these foods contain additives like soy bean oil and refined what flour that also accounts for deforestation? As a response to the increasing demand for these products, more and more forests are turned to soy and corn plantations. Not just that, the meat of animals we eat is also responsible for this problem. Soybean crop is used primarily for livestock feeds used to support agricultural businesses. 

With all these in mind, let us all be smart and remember how our daily actions are continually killing our natural rainforests.

Photo credits: http://blissmaybe777.wordpress.com

Panamanian Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus variegatus)

The Panamanian three - toed sloth or commonly Brown throated three - toed sloth is best characterized by its brown color on the throat and head. Its green outer appearance is caused by algae that inhabit their outer fur. It is typically endothermic having the ability to generate heat in maintaining its own body temperature. However, Brown throated sloths have difficulty in maintaining their body temperature in cooler environments. 

Physical Characteristics and Behavior

Bradypus variegatus have a prominent dark brown forehead and a suborbital stripe around the eye area. They have stomachs that are divided into several compartments just like any other ungulates, and inside it are microfauna that are responsible for digesting cellulose in their diet comprising of plants. They can rotate their necks up to 270 degrees and relatively small heart. 

Photo credits to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artour_a/ 

Unlike other canopy species, this sloth specie is considered to have strange bathroom habits. Instead of just dropping off their waste, they occasionally descend from treetops every eight days to defecate. Upon reaching the ground, they will dig a hole by use of their tail then put the urine and droppings in it; after that, they cover it. Researchers are long been studying about this behavior of three-toed sloths (which puts danger on them) but discovered nothing. Brown throated three-toed sloths sleep approximately 16 hours per day. Although sloths have a reputation of being lazy and static, they can move quickly when they need to. 

Dwelling places 

Brown throated sloths live in tree canopies all of their lives, but can also be found on the ground in rare occasions. They mostly prefer trees having crowns fully exposed to sunlight whatever tree species it may be. This is probably due to their need to maintain bodily temperature. They are native to South and Central America. 

Body Parts Adaptations

Compared to other mammals, the fur of brown throated sloths hangs backwards starting from their belly which enables raindrops to easily run off their fur keeping them dry. This adaptation helps them maintain body temperature even when raining while hanging on trees. Another thing is that, their hands and feet are adapted to being hook-like that helps the climb and cling to trees at ease.  

One interesting thing to know about brown throated three-toed sloths is that they do not drink water. Their diet, comprising mostly of leaves gives them enough moisture without needing to drink water anymore. 

Some Leading Causes of Rainforest Destruction

"Deforestation, in other words, is an expression of social injustice."

- Marcus Colchester

Deforestation or rainforest destruction is among the major problems in almost every nation in the world but is commonly not addressed properly. In fact, no one knows how wide is the effect of this destruction to the environment and even to us, humans. Data presented are not precise, and it also yields different interpretation. 

Here we have listed some of the leading causes of rainforest destruction that may lead to how we can think of the ways on how to address them:

Logging. The practice of cutting down mature trees for their timber by commercial companies and expecting them to regrow naturally is actually untrue. Selective logging, as they termed it causes great damage to rainforest not only affecting the trees to be cut down, but also other trees that are surrounding nearby. Heavy machineries and construction of roads for these equipments are of great threat to the natural growth of rainforest. Cutting down of a mature tree accompanies destruction to plants, vines and epiphytes depending on it, and the tracks constructed for machineries cause damage to the ground. 

Construction of Large Dams. Studies showed that thousands of hectares of rainforest are being destroyed every year in construction of hydro-electric dams. This construction not only led to lasting effects of rainforest destruction but can also have destructive effects to humans. In several countries, sheer weight in dams are proven to be the cause of earthquakes; waterborne diseases increased; and as dams trap silt, it produce soil erosion. 

Tourism. Who would even thought that tourism purposes which are intended to benefit the people can cause destruction of rainforest that can harm the people? How? Through the construction of national parks. National parks are constructed in order to make people especially tourists aware of the wonders of nature, but excessive tourism produces great destruction to the natural rainforest. Pollution of waterways and ineffective waste management programs are sacrificed. 

Animal Raising and Planting. Clearing of forests for the purpose of land cultivation and planting are causes of present ay forest degradation. As we all know, forest soil are sensitive to any chemical put in it and because farming and agriculture practices are now in the use of artificial fertilizers and feeds, the quality of soil decreases gradually. What’s more alarming is that, crops harvested from these farms are exported to richer countries rather than the local people benefiting from this products.