Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 96. (Budapest 2004)

Csorba, G., Horváth, A. , Korsós, Z. , Vidal-López, R. ; Munoz-Alonso, A.: Results of the collecting trips of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in Chiapas, Mexico, in 2000–2001: Mammalia, Reptilia, Amphibia

Based on the contacts established by this project, a second co-operation was launched in 2000, when another two-year project, this time between the HNHM and the El Colegio de la Frontéra Sur (ECOSUR, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas), was granted by the Hungarian-Mexican Intergovernmental Science and Technology Co-operation Programme. The project was entitled "Biodiversity of terrestrial vertebrates and soil dwelling arthropods of different forest types in Chiapas, Mexico", and was composed of two study trips by scientists of both sides to the partner country. The aim of the project was to explore a series of Mexican forest types with respect of their mammal, amphibian and reptile fauna, as well as to exchange museum vertebrate specimens and soil arthropod samples for later taxonomical and systematic analyses. Present amphibian, reptile and mammal investigations were connected to the existing projects in Mexico, organised by ECOSUR. Biodiversity surveys of certain terrestrial animal groups (Vertebrata: Amphibia, Reptilia, Mammalia; Arthropoda: Acari, Chilopoda, Diplopoda, Coleoptera, etc.) may serve as a scientific basis for appropriate nature conservation measures, and clarify the state of the complex forest ecosystems in different geographical regions of Chiapas State (Central Plateau, Sierra Madre, Coastal Region, Central Depression). The great majority of the Mexican fauna in the above mentioned groups is still poorly known, and their study can produce new taxonomical, systematic and ecological results. The host institution ECOSUR was founded in 1994 as a regional center for interdisciplinary research, with an emphasis on resolving the problems arising from development, poverty, and biodiversity conservation issues in the frontier region of Southern Mexico. In function, ECOSUR works in strategically distributed units in the four southeastern states of Mexico: Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche and Quintana Roo. Research activities in ECOSUR concentrate on three critical themes of the region: Biodiverstiy Conservation and Ecology, Alternative Production Systems, and Human Health and Population. In the last five years the ECOSUR team of this co-operation project worked in two protected areas in southern Chiapas: Lagos de Montebello National Park, and El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve. Their goal is to assess the effects of different land use activities and the impact of fragmentation, as well as to propose a biodiversity-monitoring programme for these areas (HORVÁTH et al. 2001, MUNOZ et al. 2000, 2002). STUDY SITES AND METHODS Beside several other localities where a maximum of two days were spent with collecting, two areas were more thoroughly sampled.