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MAGAZINE OF THE SMITHSONIAN TROPICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE / REVISTA DEL INSTITUTO SMITHSONIAN DE INVESTIGACIONES TROPICALES COIBA BIOBLITZ April 2015 | stri.si.edu March 2015 | stri.si.edu 1 BIODIVERSITY BIODIVERSIDAD As a boatload of scientists arrived at Punta Hermosa beach En lo que un bote lleno de científicos llegaba la playa de for a week of exploring, someone asked, “Are you sure they Punta Hermosa para una semana de exploración, alguien took all the prisoners off the island?” Even a decade after preguntó: “¿Seguro que sacaron a todos los reos de la isla?” the penal colony on Coiba closed, a specter still hangs over Una década después de que la colonia penal de Coiba fuera cerrada, un espectro aún se cierne sobre esta isla aban- the abandoned 500 km2 island in Panama’s Pacific waters. donada de 500 km2 en las aguas del Pacífico de Panamá. But it’s rapidly fading. Pero este espectro está desapareciendo rápidamente. Coiba’s more-accessible beaches are now frequented by Las playas más accesibles de Coiba son frecuentadas por seafaring tourists — sometimes to the tune of hundreds per turistas - a veces cientos al día - mientras que los pescadores day — while sport fishermen, snorkelers, kayakers and div- deportivos, los que practican snorkel, el kayak y buzos, ers explore ocean waters. The only thing keeping more peo- exploran las aguas del océano. Lo único que evita que más ple from visiting is 65 km of open sea between the island personas visiten son los 65 km de mar abierto entre la isla and the mainland, which makes it all the more attractive to y tierra firme, lo que hace que sea aún más atractiva para those who can afford the trip. aquellos que pueden pagar el viaje. El aumento de la presión humana sobre el parque nacio- Increased human pressure on the national park and nal y área marina protegida ha llegado a un momento crítico marine protected area come at a critical moment for Coiba: para Coiba: la espera de la implementación y ejecución de the pending implementation and enforcement of a manage- un plan de gestión para este impresionante patrimonio de la ment plan for this stunning World Heritage Site. humanidad. ISOLATION NO LONGER EL AISLAMIENTO YA NO GARANTIZA LA GUARANTEES COIBA’S CONSERVATION CONSERVACIÓN DE COIBA Despite the rapid uptick in visits to Coiba’s small station A pesar del rápido repunte de las visitas a la pequeña managed by Panama’s Ministry of the Environment, the estación en Coiba que es administrada por el Ministerio de species list for the park is still incomplete. For the Inter- Ambiente de Panamá, la lista de especies del Parque aún esta incompleta. En el Coiba BioBlitz, de la International League national League of Conservation Photographer’s Coiba of Conservation Photographers, un grupo de los mejores BioBlitz, a band of Panama’s best scientists teamed up with científicos de Panamá se unió a periodistas conservacioni- conservation-minded journalists to add species to the list stas para agregar especies a la lista. Tienen la esperanza de and capture its beauty. They hope to show a wide audience mostrar a una amplia audiencia, el porqué es importante why protecting Coiba matters. proteger a Coiba. In the coming months the Coiba BioBlitz will appear En los próximos meses el Coiba BioBlitz aparecerá en in Panama and around the world in long-form magazine Panamá y alrededor del mundo, en artículos de revistas y articles and exhibits by award-winning nature photogra- otros trabajos de Christian Ziegler, galardonado fotógrafo pher Christian Ziegler. This edition of Trópicos offers a de la naturaleza. Esta edición de Trópicos ofrece un vistazo inicial de ese trabajo y sigue a los investigadores partici- first glimpse of that work and follows BioBlitz’s research- pantes tmientras responden a interrogantes sobre el eco- ers as they answer questions about the island’s ecosystem. sistema de la isla. Ya han solucionado el primer: No, hay un They’ve already sorted out the first one: At least one inmate recluso que permanece y aquí está considerado como uno remains. He’s regarded as one of the friendliest and most de los guías más agradables y más conocedores de la isla. knowledgeable of the island’s official park guides. The first phase of the Coiba BioBlitz was sponsored by these institutions: / La primera fase del BioBlitz de Coiba fue patrocinado por estas instituciones: MAGAZINE OF THE SMITHSONIAN TROPICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE / CONTENT REVISTA DEL INSTITUTO SMITHSONIAN DE INVESTIGACIONES TROPCIALES CONTENIDO 3 FEATURE / ARTÍCULO PRINCIPAL Cover photo: Howler Monkey in Coiba – Christian Ziegler Cataloguing Panama’s Galápagos / Portada: Mono Aullador en Coiba – Christian Ziegler Catalogando la “Galápagos” de Panamá Aerial photo / Foto aérea: The Coast of Coiba Island / Costa de Isla Coiba – STRI Archives 13 PROFILE / PERFIL Exploring Danger Beach with INDICASAT-AIP / Explorando Playa Brava con INDICASAT-AIP 20 VIDEO Coiba BioBlitz / BioBlitz en Coiba 21 THE FUTURE / EL FUTURO Science through a photographer’s eyes / La ciencia a través de los ojos de un fotógrafo 24 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS / INVESTIGACION DESTACADA 26 UPWELLING / AFLORAMIENTO Recent STRI research highlights / Investigaciones recientes de STRI 33 MOSAICO / MOSAIC Coiba’s Pre-Columbian artifacts / Artefactos Pre-colombinos de Coiba 34 GUEST COLUMN / COLUMNA Juan Maté on Coiba’s underwater biodiversity / Juan Maté, la biodiversidad marina de Coiba 37 STRI REWIND / STRI REBOBINA Coiba’s vanished penal colony / La desaparecida colonia penal de Coiba Beth King Sean Mattson STRI Communications Coordinator STRI Reporter TEAM Coordinadora de Comunicaciones Fotoperiodismo EQUIPO Editor, Writer / Editor, Textos Writing, Photography / Textos y Fotografía Lina González Sonia Tejada STRI Design Supervisor Media Relations Supervisora de Diseño Relaciones con medios Art direction / Dirección de arte Translations / Traducción Jorge Alemán Ana Endara STRI Graphic Design Specialist STRI Videographer Especialista en Diseño Videógrafa Concept and Design / Concepto y Diseño Documentary Videos / Documentales April 2015 | stri.si.edu 2 COIBA: BIOBLITZING PANAMA’S GALÁPAGOS COIBA: Inventario biológico rápido en la Galápagos de Panamá Photos by Christian Ziegler 4 “It’s a time capsule of a forest that’s long gone anywhere on the mainland, it’s like the crown jewel in the national park system of Panama.” “Es una cápsula del tiempo de un bosque que hace mucho desapareció de tierra firme. Es la joya de la corona en el sistema de parques nacionales de Panamá.” Photo by Sean Mattson Christian Ziegler and Daisy Dent (above) organize seeds collected on beaches around Coiba (left). Christian Ziegler y Daisy Dent (arriba) organizan semillas recogidas en las playas alrededor de Coiba (izquierda). The prisoners would disagree but one Los reos no estarían de acuerdo, pero lo of the better things to happen to Coiba mejor que le sucedió a la isla de Coiba, fue Island was becoming a penal colony in el convertirse en una colonia penal en 1919. 1919. Removed from the mainland by Alejada de tierra firme con suficiente Océano sufficient Pacific Ocean to deter most Pacífico para disuadir a la mayoría de los in- escape attempts, the swells and the tentos de fuga; las marejadas y los habitantes island’s free-roaming inhabitants kept de la isla mantuvieron distanciados a la most loggers, ranchers and developers mayoría de los madereros, colonos y em- presarios. Para cuando este sitio dejó de ser at bay. By the time the inmates were un penal en 2004, la mayor isla deshabitada cleared out in 2004, the largest uninhab- en las Américas siguió siendo un antiguo ited island in the Americas was mostly bosque sin explorar. unexplored centuries-old forest. April 2015 | stri.si.edu 4 The roots of a tree strangle an abandoned cellblock on Coiba. Photos by Christian Ziegler Las raíces de un árbol estrangulan un pabellón, abandonado en Coiba. “It’s a time capsule of a forest that’s long gone any- “Es una cápsula del tiempo del tipo de bosque que hace where on the mainland,” said Christian Ziegler, mucho desapareció en tierra firme”, comentó Chris- a conservation photographer who recently led a tian Ziegler, fotógrafo conservacionista que condujo el inventario biológico de un mes de duración en esta isla month-long biological stocktaking of the 500-square de 500 kilometros cuadrados. “Es como la joya de la kilometer island. “It’s like the crown jewel in the na- corona en el sistema de parques nacionales de Panamá.” tional park system of Panama.” El inventario biológico rápido conocido como Coiba The Coiba BioBlitz brought together two dozen BioBlitz reunió a docenas de científicos del Instituto scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research In- Smithsonian de Investigaciones Tropicales e insti- stitute and Panamanian research institutions and let tuciones de investigación panameñas. Subieron árboles, them loose on the island in unprecedented fashion. esquivaron cocodrilos y exploraron largos senderos They climbed trees, dodged crocodiles and explored ahora cubiertos de maleza para actualizar el inventario de la biodiversidad de Coiba. El objetivo fue mejorar long-overgrown trails to update the inventory of el conocimiento científico y la apreciación pública de Coiba’s biodiversity. The goal is to improve scientific uno de los puntos clave de biodiversidad en Panamá. Y understanding and public appreciation of one of también, el carácter de urgencia que requiere su Panama’s biodiversity hotspots, and to give greater conservación. urgency to its conservation. Los primeros resultados no decepcionaron. Antes de Early results did not disappoint. Before the scien- que los científicos abandonaran la isla, el equipo mul- tists had even left the island, the multidisciplinary tidisciplinario había añadido a la lista de especies de la team had added five bats, two snakes, two lizards and isla cinco murciélagos, dos serpientes, dos lagartijas y una rana nuevos. Un botánico comenzó a trabajar en la a frog to the island’s species list.
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