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Conservation in Southern Costa Rica |
Conservation |
With over 25% of the country set aside to preserve wildlife & rainforest Costa Rica has lots to see. This humid region, in the pacific southwest, comprises some of the largest stands of rainforest in central America.
To contribute to a needed conservation effort contact any of the foundations, groups or hotels listed below. Find out about volunteering a few days of your vacation. Opportunities range from collecting turtle eggs, to feeding monkeys and baby sloths to planting trees. You can also work in local villages and help fix up schools and live with Costa Rican families. |
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Friends Of The Osa: Tropical Habitat Modification The Osa Peninsula |
/*Patterns and underlying mechanisms of anuran response to tropical habitat modification the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica*/
A central goal of ecology is to understand how environmental factors influence species richness and distributions. Deforestation simulates a global ecological experiment by causing the increased isolation of natural habitat within a matrix that is often considered unsuitable for many plants and animals. This results in both the extirpation of populations due to habitat loss and redistribution of populations due to modification of remaining habitat.
Many studies have examined the patterns of amphibian response to habitat modification, but little progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms underlying species-specific responses. Species that persist in modified habitats should share characteristics that promote survival in the novel habitat, whereas species that are extirpated should share characteristics that render them vulnerable. Abiotic and biotic factors in the environment altered by habitat modification are likely to perturb demographic rates in a stage-specific and species-specific manner.
I will examine the spatial patterns and mechanisms of anuran response to habitat modification. To accomplish this, first I will identify spatial patterns of species richness and species composition in relation to local and landscape variables. Second, I will conduct experiments designed to elucidate mechanisms that dictate the response of species to environmental changes in modified habitats. Specifically, I will compare larval performance and juvenile and adult dispersal of species with contrasting life histories in undisturbed forest and matrix habitat types.
My study will improve our ability to predict which species will be sensitive to deforestation and aid in our understanding of why they are more vulnerable than persistent species in modified habitats.
Article courtesy of Tanya Hawley, PhD Candidate, Department of Biology, University of Miami
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