2. Laura Tremblay-BoyerEric Ross Anderson A Preliminary Assessment of Ecosystem Vulnerability to Climate Change in Panama Presented in the McGill Panama Field Study Semester Internship Program Symposium Research in Panama (ENVR 451) On the 26 th of April 2007 at 9:05am in the Tupper Building of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama

3. Host Institution Supervisors: Emil Cherrington and Roxana Segundo Supervisors: Emil Cherrington and Roxana Segundo The Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean The Mesoamerican Regional Visualization and Monitoring System

4. EVCC an index of ecosystem vulnerability to climate change I.Sea level rise Elevación del nivel del mar II.Ecosystem Geometry Geometría de los ecosistemas III.Climatic niche Espacio climático IV.Species Sensitivity Sensibilidad de las especies The main tool for this project was Geographical Information Systems (software: ArcGIS), kindly provided by CATHALAC The main tool for this project was Geographical Information Systems (software: ArcGIS), kindly provided by CATHALAC

5. Methods Ethics Statement Ethics Statement Credibility of the resultsCredibility of the results Vulnerability values were calculated for each ecosystem patch of Panama according to its ecosystem type Vulnerability values were calculated for each ecosystem patch of Panama according to its ecosystem type

6. Ecosystems: types and patches Example: 1 ecosystem type has 27 separate and individual patches Example: 1 ecosystem type has 27 separate and individual patches Tropical broadleaf evergreen submontane rainforest (500-1000m Caribbean, 700- 1200m Pacific) – no human intervention 37 ecosystem types 37 ecosystem types 1303 patches 1303 patches

7. Land in coastal zones with an elevation of zero to one meter was selected Land in coastal zones with an elevation of zero to one meter was selected A vulnerability value based on this density was obtained A vulnerability value based on this density was obtained EVCC 1 - Sea level rise

9. 1. Ratio: Edge vs. Core EVCC 2 - Ecosystem geometry is more vulnerable than 2. Relative Perimeter ABAB C D

11. C 1 km 2 3. For each ecosystem patch, average Gower metric of all cells for temperature and precipitation 4. Independently rank average Gower metric of all ecosystem patches on a scale from 1 to 10 for temperature and precipitation Gower metric for each 1 km 2 cell: Predicted change in temperature and precipitation in 2025, 2050 and 2099 Intra-annual temperature and precipitation range EVCC 3 – Climatic Niche of the Ecosystems

12. C + EVCC 3 – Results

13. C EVCC 3 rank for temperature vs. precipitation, area of bubble represents the number of ecosystem patches with that combination of rank vs. EVCC 3 Temperature vs. Precipitation for each ecosystem patch

14. C EVCC 4 – Species sensitivity

15. C EVCC 4 – Results

16. C EVCC 4 and the distribution of endemic species

17. Total Vulnerabilities According to the quality and pertinence of the data, the rank of importance: According to the quality and pertinence of the data, the rank of importance:

19. C Additional EVCC Applications

20. C EVCC and degree of human intervention Red = highest average; orange = second highest; yellow = third highest. Blue = most commonly ranked with high vulnerability Level of interventionAvg_EVCC 1 Ave_EVCC 2 Ave_EVCC 3 Ave_EVCC 4 Ave_EVCC 0none 5.09876.40864.68172.265818.4548 1 Natural system with low intervention 2.16366.27278.25453.472720.1636 2 Natural system with medium intervention 0.00005.00007.00003.500015.5000 3 Natural system with high intervention in mountains 0.00005.77147.42864.085717.2857 4 Natural system with high intervention in lowlands 2.70256.32238.52072.867820.4132 5 Productive system with 10-50% natural veg 3.23336.31678.13333.233320.9167 6 Productive system with <10% natural veg 4.56526.36969.15222.739122.8261 7Agroforestry 0.00006.333310.83333.166720.3333 8 Shrimp / Salt production 4.66676.83337.33332.000020.8333 9Populated place 3.90486.76198.57143.142922.3810

21. C Average EVCC inside protected areas = 17.63062 Average EVCC for all of Panama = 17.842452 EVCC and Protected Areas

22. C Distribution of biodiversity and endemic species in Panama a. Distribution of biodiversity b. Endemic Species

23. Correlations between the EVCCs, distribution of biodiversity and endemic species # species # endemic species

24. C Combining EVCC with the distribution of biodiversity – in a map

25. Conclusions  The EVCC index has the potential to be a very useful tool for conservation of large-scale biodiversity;  It is important to include the uncertainties and to be flexible in the application of this index, always including and improving it with the latest scientific knowledge;  Climate change should be evaluated in conjunction with other factors that threaten ecosystems

26. What have we learned? “Vulnerability” or “vulnerabilidad” is a difficult word to say… in all languages “Vulnerability” or “vulnerabilidad” is a difficult word to say… in all languages GIS is a very powerful tool GIS is a very powerful tool Communication is essential Communication is essential The availability of data is necessary to increase the quality of environmental studies The availability of data is necessary to increase the quality of environmental studies

27. Acknowledgments Our university and professors Our university and professors CATHALAC, SERVIR, and NASA CATHALAC, SERVIR, and NASA