Strong declines in Central American bird populations worry ornithologists
Bird experts have concluded that more than half of Central American bird species have shown sharp declines. More than 30 experts gathered in the city of Panama to define the conservation status of avian populations in each Central America country. The meeting was the second step of an evaluation process for birds of each country that began in March 2014 and is projected to finish in 2016.
In the meeting, the experts analyzed and assessed threat levels and population trends for bird species in each Central American country. The national representatives, including biologists and wildlife authorities, will present the results in validation meetings in their respective countries during 2015.
During five days more than 1,180 species of wild birds were evaluated by the specialists. Preliminarily, they found that 593 species (52%) appear to have strong or severe population declines in Central America, a worrying situation. In comparison, a similar analysis in Mexico and North America reported population declines of 40% of bird species, not including Central America. The population declines are associated with high rates of deforestation, agricultural expansion, and urban growth of the last four decades in Central America. Another major threat identified by the experts is the lack of legal protection and forest rangers in many natural areas of the isthmus.
«We have not finished evaluating, we have other criteria to analyze and we cannot yet say what are the priority species for conservation in each country. However, our preliminary results clearly indicate that bird populations require much more conservation effort in Central America,» said Arvind Panjabi, Workshop Facilitator and Director of International Programs of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
«At first glance, the results we generated appear to indicate that, overall, bird populations are more vulnerable in Central America compared to Mexico and North America. Of highest concern are large birds of prey, such as the harpy eagle, other birds of the lowland tropical forests that are being rapidly deforested, and also the birds of cloud forests that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change,» said Oliver Komar, regional coordinator of the evaluation process and Professor of Natural Resources at the Zamorano University in Honduras.
To assess population trends, the experts applied the same methodology developed by the Partners-in-Flight (PIF) program in the US. They also consulted the eBird database of Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (eBird.org/camerica) containing more than three million bird observations for Central America, generated by professional scientists and amateur citizen birdwatchers. This source of free information is widely used in the world and in Central America as a platform for information on the distribution and abundance of birds.
Workshop participants included bird experts and government representatives from 7 countries in Central America, gathered in the City of Knowledge, Panama, during 22-28 March 2015.
The workshop was organized by the Zamorano Biodiversity Center (Honduras), Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (USA), and Conabio (CONABIO) (Mexico), with sponsorship of the governments of Canada, United States, and Mexico. Program sponsors include Environment Canada, Southern Wings Program (Missouri Department of Conservation, USA), United States Geological Service, and CONABIO. The Ciudad del Saber Foundation also supported and helped organize the event.
For more information: Oliver Komar, Ph.D., Zamorano Biodiversity Center, Department of Environment and Development, Panamerican Agricultural School (Zamorano University), Honduras. Email okomar@zamorano.edu.