Biodiversity Monitoring in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve of Mexico, 2014-2017 Dr. Kathy Slater, Operation Wallacea Executive Summary This report summarizes the results of the Operation Wallacea and Pronatura Peninsula de Yucatan biodiversity monitoring project in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (CBR) in the Yucatan Pensinula of Mexico, presenting data from 2014-2017. CBR is a huge expanse of tropical forest that covers an area of 723,000 hectares, but is attached to two state reserves Balam-kim and Balam-ku which run the entire length of the western side of the biosphere. The total area covered by these connected reserves is 1,200,000 hectares making it the largest protected area in Mexico. Moreover, CBR is continuous with the Selva Maya Biosphere Reserve in the Petén Province of Northern Guatemala and the North Western forests of Belize resulting in approximately 10.6 million hectares of continuous forest. CBR is one of the few remaining stongholds for a threatened and endangered species such a Baird’s tapir, jaguar and spider monkeys, with high levels of abundance, diversity and endemism of all taxamonic groups (birds, bats, mammals, herpetofauna and invertebrates). The reserve is also of great arcaheological importance containing the Ancient Mayan city of Calakmul and over 1,400 other Mayan ruin sites. In 2014 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve received the dual award from UNESCO as a world heritage site of both culture and nature. Over 20,000 people live in and around Calakmul in traditional Mayan villages where the major sources of income are slash and burn agriculture and logging for timber. Protecting the forest is therefore not just a case of creating a reserve, but educating and enabling local communities to utilise the forest resources in a sustainable manner. Permanent water bodies are rare in CBR due to the geologic characteristics that cause rapid filtration of the rain (García-Gil et al. 2002). However, low-lying terrain allows the accumulation of water, and creation of temporary lakes, locally known as aguadas. These aguadas are the only source of water to both the fauna and the human communities of the region during the dry season (Reyna-Hurtado et al. 2010). The prevalence of water in the aguadas of CBR has suffered alterations due to the effects of global warming (Reyna-Hurtado et al. 2010). For example, during the last 50 years Calakmul endured a 16% reduction on the annual median precipitation values (Zuniga- Morales & Sima-Pantí 2015). Changes to water availability in CBR have altered ranging patterns of ungulates such as peccary and tapir that are closely associated with water, which are now in high concentrations in the Southeast buffer zone where the climate is more humid and therefore the aguadas 1 still contain water. As peccary and other ungulates are reported to be the preferred prey of jaguar in CBR (Aranda & Sanchez-Cordero, 1996), the change in peccary distribution may also be a contributing factor to the increase in jaguar attacks on livestock. Sustainable development projects, in particular organic honey production as an alternative to cattle ranching and therefore extremely important in the Southeast buffer zone of the reserve. Operation Wallacea is a UK based NGO that specializes in biodiversity assessment and monitoring of protected areas using the expertise of university academics and students. The aim of this long-term project was therefore to assess the abundance, diversity and distribution of flora and fauna in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve and monitor changes to this diversity over time. In addition, the project aimed to investigate habitat preferences of specific species to identify the most important sections areas of the Calakmul for these species and to help predict changes to the abundance and distribution of these species over time based on changes to their habitat from human impact and climate change. Moreover, data relating to the biological importance of Calakmul may be used to levee international funding to assist with the management of the reserve. Our data from 2014-2017 have indicated that herpetofauna are significantly affected by the changing rainfall patterns and ongoing prolonged periods of drought in the reserve indicated by the continued decline in both abundance and diversity of species recorded. In constrast, birds and bats appear to be more resilient to the changing environment, presumably as they are winged animals with the ability to adapt their ranging to correspond with changes in food distribution. Our data have also indicated a migration of ungulates and felines leaving the core zone towards the buffer zone of the southeast where the climate is more humid and the aguadas still have water. Having high density of these species in this part of the reserve is worrying because the south east of the reserve in an area with many debris to create pastures for livestock and many people do not understand the limits of the reserve and the rules on hunting. For which ungulates are in danger of hunting and the problems of the jaguar-livestock conflict have gone up. For which, in 2018 another objective of the project is to use our data to demonstrate the severity of the situation and obtain international funds to help the people of this area focus on beekeeping in exchange for livestock as a form of sustainable economic development that can give the same income to livestock, but is not associated with conflicts with the jaguar or requires deforestation. The entirely of this monitoring report is written in Spanish because the report is specifically written for the management team of Calakmul Biosphere Reserve and for the Mexican government department for protected áreas (Comision Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas – CONANP). If you require further information about the content of this report in English then please contact Dr Kathy Slater as [email protected]. Informe del Proyecto de Monitoreo de Flora y Fauna de Operation Wallacea y Pronatura Península de Yucatán en la Reserva de la Biosfera de Calakmul, 2014-2017 Dra. Kathy Slater, Operation Wallacea Monitoreo de biodiversidad como parte de manejo de áreas protegidas La palabra biosfera fue introducida por la UNESCO para remitir a un área protegida de más de 10,000 hectáreas que contiene una o más zonas biológicas importantes, eso incluye áreas prístinas y vírgenes que no fueron tocadas por el hombre. El propósito de esas reservas se define en 3 partes: conservar la diversidad biológica, desarrollar y servir de modelo como aprovechamiento sostenible del territorio, y proveer áreas para investigaciones medioambientales, monitorización, entrenamiento, educación y turismo sostenible. Para determinar la eficacia de conservación de la diversidad biológica de estas áreas protegidas, es necesario llevar a cabo monitoreo de biodiversidad anualmente (Sutherland, 2006). Por ejemplo, las diferencias entre abundancia y diversidad de especies a través de áreas con diferentes grados de impacto natural o humano pueden determinar el efecto de cambios a un hábitat sobre biodiversidad e indicar área en necesidad de mejorar los esfuerzos de conservación. Una investigación de diversidad de aves en diferentes niveles de selva secundaria en el estado de Campeche, México encontró que muchas especies endémicas de aves no estaban presentes en área impactadas (Smith et al., 2001). De igual forma, un estudio de reptiles en el ejido de Caobas en el estado de Quintana Roo, México, indicó que ambos, abundancia y biodiversidad de los reptiles disminuyó significativamente en bosques de vegetación secundaria comparados con vegetación primaria (Luja et al., 2008). Investigación de las preferencias de hábitat de fauna puede identificar importantes áreas geográficas por cada especie y ayudar a predecir cambios de abundancia y distribución de estas especies, basados en cambios a su hábitat en el tiempo. Por ejemplo, un estudio de dos especies de murciélagos frugívoros (Sturnira lilium y Artibeus intermedius) en la zona de amortiguamiento de la Reserva de la Biosfera de Calakmul en México, mostró que, aunque las dos especies fueron encontradas comúnmente en ambos tipos de bosque (secundaria y primaria), Sturnira lilium solo usan arboles grandes del bosque primario para sus refugios y por cual no pueden sobribivir en bosque pertubado (Evelyn & Stiles, 2003). Un estudio de las preferencias de hábitat de los ungulados en áreas de cacería y áreas sin cacería de Calakmul indicó que cada especie prefiere diferentes hábitats y que estas preferencias cambian cuando están en zonas de cacería comparado con zonas libres de cacería (Reyna-Hurtado & Tanner, 2005). Consecuentemente, todos los tipos de bosque en áreas de cacería y áreas libres de cacería deben ser preservados para mantener la población de ungulados. Además, un estudio de las preferencias de hábitat del jaguar y puma en Belice mostró que en zonas con impacto humano donde la abundancia de presas preferidas era más baja, el puma se quedó adentro del bosque mientras el jaguar se aventuró a las granjas posiblemente en busca de animales (Forster et al., 2010). Este estudio explica por qué los reportes de ataques de jaguar a los animales de granja son muy comunes en zonas de granjas cerca de bosques fragmentados. Reserva de la Biosfera Calakmul Calakmul es una larga extensión de la selva tropical que continua la Reserva de la Biosfera Maya en la provincia Peten en el norte de Guatemala. La Reserva de la Biosfera Calakmul cubre un área de 723,000 hectáreas, pero está adjunta a dos reservas de estado: Balam-kim y Balam-ku las cuales cubren toda la longitud del lado oeste de la biosfera. El área total cubierto por las reservas conectadas es de 1,200,000 hectáreas. A diferencia de la mayoría de las selvas de Yucatán, la selva de la reserva de Calakmul no sirvió para la producción maderera, tampoco fue encendida para el desarrollo de la agricultura y es entonces uno de los últimos trozos de selva virgen en México.