Bocas del Toro Research Station - Smithsonian Tropical Research ...

Biodiversity database
Coordinated by BRS director, Rachel Collin, the
Bocas biodiversity database aims to provide a list
of plants and animals that are known to occur in the
Bocas del Toro Archipelago, the Bahía Almirante,
Laguna de Chiriquí, and the surrounding mainland.
Users can search for a particular term or browse the
database by group.
Descriptions and photographs, as available, are
included to aid in species identification. Work
continues to add more information for the 3,200
species as well as increase the number of species
included.
The database is useful for scientists planning
work at the Bocas del Toro Research Station, field
workers trying to identify organisms they have
seen in the field, and students working in this part
of Panama. The page receives an average of 400
unique visitors per month--5,000 unique hits per
year--10,000 visitors over this 2-year period.
Goals for 2008 include the migration of the database
to the relational STRI-wide database system, the
addition of another 300 species and of photographs
for another 200 species.
Sponges like Callyspongia vaginalis (left) and the 156 other sponge species reported for Bocas del Toro can each provide habitat for as many as
15,000 other organisms. Grazing by sea urchins, like these Diadema antillarum (center), can radically alter Caribbean reef habitats, and protect
corals from overgrowth by algae. Only half of the 100 tunicate (right) species from the region have been formally described and named.
25
The BRS biodiversity database is an essential tool for researchers and
also benefits students and area residents who can identify a wide range of
organisms based on photos and written descriptions of more than 3,000
organisms.