Climate:

The southern end of the is thmus (Costa Rica and Panama) is climatically separated by the Cordilleras into a humid Caribbean and a drier Pacific side. The Caribbean side of Panama is characterized by a fairly even tropical climate. In the course of the year, the temperature fluctuations are very low and average about 1-2 °. Even in the course of the day, higher variations between day and night can rarely be detected in the Caribbean lowlands (W ALTER & B RECKLE, 1999). Nevertheless, it may lead to short-term drop in temperature on clear nights, after heavy rains or cold Atlantic air currents caused by hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea. In autumn 2004 it came in Changuinola, Panama at sea level to a cold snap with temperatures as low as 15 ° C. In Costa Rica, the author could after heavy rains in the lowlands measure temperatures of 16 ° C (O Strowski , pers. Beobachtg.). However, these unusual low temperatures last only a few hours (in exceptional cases a few days) and are usually only locally limited. On the protected forest floor but the (both on the day and at night, approximately equivalent to the annual average value W can be almost all year measure temperatures, AGE & BRECKLE , 2000). In the province of Bocas del Toro this is about 26 ° C (see Fig.). The rainfall is also relatively constant and high year round. During the northern winter, the air currents of the North-Passates bring humid air masses, while in the northern summer depressions worry about the Caribbean for precipitation. The precipitation varies between 2000 and 4000 mm per year, depending on the shadow from the mountain ranges (W ALTER & B RECKLE , 1999). Only in the months of January to March can there be short dry periods of less than 100 mm per month (see Fig.). Overall, the rainfall over the year but relatively constant, so that the frogs on the Caribbean side can reproduce throughout the year.