NATIONAL PROTECTED AREAS MANAGEMENT PLAN ZOOLOGICAL REPORT – FAUNAL AND SITE ANALYSIS

Phase I of this project was designed to evaluate the current state of knowledge of the biological distribution for Belize. A revised vegetation classification (Iremonger and Brokaw, 1994) was established and used in conjunction with the existing classification (Wright et al., 1959) in order to evaluate current protected areas and other areas of concern. While an extremely valuable tool, a National Protected Areas Management Plan should not be based solely upon plant communities and vegetation classifications. Gap analysis of protected areas must include detailed faunal components as well to provide a more complete picture. Known distributions were evaluated for all vertebrate and selected invertebrate indicator taxa for Belize. Unlike vegetation classification work, which can rely heavily on a single source in the form of remote imagery for a broad overview at the country level, zoological components must be evaluated individually. For this project, we compiled data based on more than 35,000 individual distribution records for Belize. Information on animal distributions and sites was compiled from as many sources as possible given the time constraints of the project, including personal communications with researchers, published and unpublished research reports, and museum databases. Zoology team members, Tineke Boomsma, Ellen McRae, Jan Meerman, Bruce Miller (team leader) and Carolyn Miller compiled distribution information from their respective taxonomic specialties including the results of their own long term research in Belize. Other biologists also provided critical original data. During Phase I of the National Protected Areas Management Plan the current status of known animal distributions was assessed for Belize and how these distributions relate to existing and proposed protected areas. Distributional information was entered into a textual database system and used to track all species records while linking them to sites. These administrative categories include all protected areas and areas of concern. This distributional information was also used in species specific geographic information system (GIS) overlays allowing preliminary gap analysis as well as multivariate statistical analysis when sufficient data allowed. Developing single species distribution maps for Belize was beyond the scope of this project due to time constraints dictated. Therefore a complete zoological gap analysis was not possible during Phase I. However, we do have at present a reasonable idea of which taxa exist in Belize and where they occur, allowing for a reasonable “first cut” at gaps in protected areas coverage. Although others may still emerge as additional information is gathered, the major gaps in coverage are clear at this time. Within these constraints we were able to identify gaps in taxonomic and distributional area coverage for the country. Recognizing these knowledge gaps lays the ground work for Phase II and will allow for a more complete gap analysis of the protected areas system and areas of concern within the country. Species of special concern and site specific faunal lists were compiled and can be found in the appendices.