Tuxtlas Corridor Project

The Tuxtlas Corridor Project was established in fall 2004 to propose a series of landscape design proposals for the Reserva de la Biosfera Los Tuxtlas (Tuxtlas Biological Reserve) near Catemaco in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. The 3900 km 2 BioReserve includes mostly montane rainforest, the northernmost extent of this type of ecoregion in the Western Hemisphere. The region boasts 943 species of plants, 1,272 insect species, 561 bird species, and 128 mammal species. In addition to high rates of endemism (species found only in this geographic region), the area is an important stopover along the migratory bird routes between North America and Central and South America, including Berks County's Hawk Mountain.

Currently, the BioReserve is comprised of three primary nuclear zones (areas afforded the greatest level of protection) that are centered on the highest elevation areas in the park. These three zones are surrounded by a larger, less protected area bordered by an extensive Gulf of Mexico coastline to the north, a large lake (Laguna de Catemaco) to the south, and coastal river complexes to the east and west. Laguna Sontecomapan, one of these coastal systems was designated last year as a Ramsar wetland affording it distinctive international recognition. There are human settlements around the region including several within the BioReserve. Some of these settlements have been traced back to the Olmec and Aztec Cultures. The areas with less protection within the Reserve boundaries are subject to heavy subsistence agricultural use and are experiencing rapid rates of deforestation (estimated at 4.3% annually). The staff at the BioReserve hopes to establish a management plan that will assist in strategic preservation of remaining forested areas.

Our current project consists of drafting a Geographic Information System (GIS) with several probable scenarios for land management within the BioReserve. Our intention is to use a GIS model designed to select optimum biological corridors. A biological corridor is a strip of preserved habitat (usually forest) that serves to facilitate movement of organisms between larger (core) areas of habitat. Corridors help organisms, especially those with large habitat requirements, to maintain an optimum habitat area as their numbers grow to optimum population levels. Corridors also facilitate genetic and demographic exchange between populations, which is vital to avoid high extinction rates that may otherwise occur in small populations subject to demographic stochasticity and low genetic diversity. It is our goal to present the management staff with several options that would connect the existing three nuclear areas to one another and, if possible, to other key features in the landscape (e.g. the coastline, the coastal river system at Laguna Sontecomapan, and Laguna de Catemaco).

Most management decisions for the reserve are made at the local level and therefore we want to involve multiple disciplines such as economics, history, sociology, and political science. In addition, several towns in and around the BioReserve have established ecotourism as a method of encouraging conservation. To date, however, these ecotourism locations are not heavily visited and therefore are not as successful as the Reserve managers may wish, but with our involvement, we may be able to help support this local conservation. In return, we will gain from first hand observation and participation in community-based conservation activity. We strongly believe that an interdisciplinary study of the BioReserve Project is necessary to realize the successful management of the ecological resources.

This project has the potential to involve multiple disciplines in a long-term study of the area. We have contacts with several organizations in the state of Veracruz including the Tuxtlas BioReserve, the Instituto de Ecologia, A.C., and the Museum of Anthropology. These collaborative efforts will greatly benefit Albright's Latin American Studies Program as well as the Biology Department and Program for the Study of the Environment.