Panama Devon Pohlman and Laura Doorley Memphis Zoo

Panama Devon Pohlman and Laura Doorley Memphis Zoo and Aquarium

Presentation Contents Panama’s Biodiversity: It’s Panamania Biodiversity of plants Biodiversity of animals Reason for biodiversity Conservation in the Classroom National Conservation Efforts Bringing Conservation into the Classroom

Biodiversity: It’s Panamania!

Biodiversity: It’s Panamania! Over 15, 000 Species of Plant Over 16850 Species of Animals • 11459 flowering plant species • 11431 arthropod species • 1019 moss species • 313 mammal species • 1138 fern species • 1028 bird species • 14 cycad species • 302 reptile species • 9 conifer species • 335 amphibians species • 1416 fish species • 116 cartilaginous fish species Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Biogeodb. stri. si. edu

Plants of Panama

Plants of Panama

Animals - Fish

Animals - Amphibians

Animals - Reptiles

Animals - Birds

Animals – Mammals

Biodiversity: It’s Panamania! How does such a small country have such biodiversity? Location, location! Rainforests of the Darien region Cordillera Central Mountains Atlantic and Pacific Oceans Inter-continental Landbridge

Biodiversity: It’s Panamania! How does such a small country have such biodiversity? Prime Living Conditions for many species Consistent warm temperatures About 12 hours of sunlight each day Abundance of rainfall Abundance of food source

Conservation of Panama Project Golden Frog Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute World Wildlife Fund Panama Nature Conservation

Integrating Panama into the Classroom Green Teams Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Exotic Pet Education Supermarket Awareness Endangered Species Research Clean water activities

Scarlett Macaw • Have students color the bird a multitude of bright colors before cutting the bird out. • Have student trace their hands on at least 3 half sheets of different colored construction paper. • Have students glue their handprint cutouts on the wing of the bird making sure to layer them.

Ecosystem Jenga Breakdown Preparation: You will need a Jenga game and 4 paint or marker colors. Separate the blocks into 4 equal groups and color each group one of the four colors. Each color represents a vital part of the Rainforest Ecosystem. • Blue: Clean Water • Red: Animal Species • Green: Plant Species • Yellow: Clean Air Directions For Students: • Roll the die. If you roll a 1 or a 6, you have not damaged your ecosystem, so do not remove a block. If you roll a 2, 3, 4, or 5, use the table below to determine which colored block you should remove. Do not take blocks from the top! • If you remove a block, set the block aside. Do not set it back on the tower! Make a tally mark in the table below by the color of block removed. • Take turns rolling the die and removing blocks until the tower falls. • Have the students discuss why the Rainforest ecosystem is so fragile and have them real life examples for each theoretical damage. Number on die 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rainforest Damage No damage = Free Turn Water pollution = Pull 1 blue Animal extinction = Pull 1 red Deforestation = Pull 1 green Air pollution = Pull 1 yellow Solid Waste Pollution = Pull 1 yellow and 1 blue

Summary There is great biodiversity in Panama. Many native species need our help. Everybody has a role in conservation.

Websites and Resources www. memphiszoo. org www. worldwildlife. org www. arkive. org www. stri. si. edu www. iucnredlist. org animaldiversity. ummz. umich. edu