El Valle de Antón (19290)
Panama, Central America
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2007
National site name: El Valle de Antón
Central coordinates: Latitude: 8.6500, Longitude: -80.1000
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 600 to 1185
Area of KBA (km2): 105.44144
Protected area coverage (%): 4.84
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: This IBA includes the remaining forests to the north of the town of El Valle de Antón, which is surrounded by the caldera of an extinct volcano. The area includes the peaks of Cerros Gaital (1,185 m) and Peludo (1,185 m), the high points, as well as Turega (900 m), Valle Chiquito (1,120 m) and San Andrés (1,026 m). The area forms the upper watersheds of the Estancia, Antón, Farallón, Las Guías and Mata Ahogado Rivers on the Pacific slope and the San Miguel, Indio and Cirí Grande on the Caribbean. The town of El Valle is a popular tourist destination and easily accessible by road.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas)
Additional biodiversity: With Altos de Campana National Park, the area is the easternmost outlier of the Talamanca Highlands. The area is estimated to have a threshold population of Black Guan. The area contains 4 of 11 species (36%) of the Central American Caribbean Slope EBA. Several nationally threatened species and a few endemics of the Costa Rica and Panama Highlands EBA also occur. Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals probably include Central American Wooly Opossum, Silky Anteater, Geoffroy's Tamarin, Ocelot and Jaguarundi. Reptiles and amphibians include the frogs and toads Bufo coccifer, Minyobates minutus, Phyllomedusa lemur, and Eleutherodactylus punctariolus; the salamander Bolitoglossa schizodactyla, the caecilian Caecilia volcani, the lizards Anadia ocellata and Morunasaurus groi, and the snakes Rhadinaea vermiculaticeps, Sibon annulata, Urotheca guentheri, and Micrurus stewarti. The toad Atelopus zeteki formerly occurred but has been extirpated (R. Ibáñez pers. com).
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: The area contains mainly submontane forest, much of it disturbed and fragmented by agriculture. The surrounding area is inhabited mostly by latinos and devoted to cattle and subsistence agriculture.
Land use: agriculture | nature conservation and research | rangeland/pastureland | tourism/recreation
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 50 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 50 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Much of the forest in the El Valle area has been disturbed and fragmented for agriculture, and deforestation is likely to be a continuing problem. The forests of the Cirí Grande drainage in the northeast is part of the Panama Canal watershed and thus of economic value for canal operations. Recently a new housing development was constructed in Altos del María in the eastern part of the area.
Additional information
References: Angehr, George R. 2003. Directorio de areas importantes para aves en Panama. Directory of important bird areas in Panama. Panama: Sociedad Audubon de Panama. Ridgely, Robert S., and John A. Gwynne. 1989. A Guide to the Birds of Panama (Second Edition). Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Wetmore, Alexander. 1965. The Birds of the Republic of Panama. Part 1. Tinamidae (Tinamous) to Rhynchopidae (Skimmers). Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. Wetmore, Alexander. 1968. The Birds of the Republic of Panama. Part 2. Columbidae (Pigeons) to Picidae (Woodpeckers). Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. Wetmore, Alexander. 1973. The Birds of the Republic of Panama. Part 3. Passeriformes: Dendrocolaptidae (Woodcreepers) to Oxyruncidae (Sharpbill). Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. Wetmore, Alexander, Roger F. Pasquier, and Storrs L. Olson. 1984. The Birds of the Republic of Panama. Part 4. Passeriformes: Hirundinidae (Swallows) to Fringillidae (Finches). Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.