>>CHILD: What is Cuba?
>>ANA LUZ PORZECANSKI: Cuba is an island nation in
the Caribbean region. Many people think
it's just one island, but it's actually
an archipelago of more than four
thousand islands. But it does have one
main large island, and in this island
about 11 million people live there, and
it's about 110 kilometers square.
In terms of where it is, it's kind
of between Mexico and Haiti, and just
about 95 miles south of Florida in the
United States.
>>CHILD: What kinds of environments exist in Cuba?
>>PORZECANSKI: Cuba has many different
and some unusual kinds of rocks and
soils, and it also has different
topography. So, it has flat areas, mountain
areas, caves... And so, because of this,
almost every ecosystem or habitat you
find in the whole Caribbean can be found
in Cuba. You have dry forest,
moist forests, wetlands, grasslands, mangroves,
coral reefs, and because of this
diversity of environments you also get a
lot of diversity of living things, of biodiversity.
>>CHILD: What is biodiversity?
Why is it so important anyway?
>>PORZECANSKI: Biodiversity is short for biological
diversity. It's simply all of the life on
the planet, on planet Earth - everything
from bacteria to fungi to animals,
plants, and ecosystems, as well. So, forests
and deserts and including us, of course,
humans. And it's important because
everything- the life that we live is made
possible by biodiversity. The water we
drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat,
even some of the medicines we take when
we're sick come from biodiversity.
And it's also important because it brings
people together. It's a part of who we are.
>>CHILD: Why is the biodiversity of Cuba so important?
>>PORZECANSKI: The biodiversity of Cuba is
important to Cubans, of course, because it
provides many benefits to them,
like water, and food, and protection from
storms, and also income from tourism.
It's also part of what being Cuban is, is the
relationship to their biodiversity.
Another reason why biodiversity of Cuba is
important is because a lot of the
species found there, the organisms found
there are found nowhere else in the
planet.
They're irreplaceable and that's really
interesting for scientists like me.
It makes me wonder why is this species
different, how did it come to be that way,
and if I compare it to others in the
Caribbean what can it tell me about how
life evolved there.
>>CHILD: What plants or animals live only in Cuba?
>>PORZECANSKI: Many plants and animals are found only in Cuba—
what scientists called endemic, found nowhere
else in the planet. For instance, half the
plants are found only in Cuba. That's one
of every two plants. It's even more
extreme for frogs, where over 95 percent
of the frogs are found only in Cuba.
My favorite is the tiny Mount Iberia eleuth.
It's really adorable.
And also, for example, mollusks—90 percent,
over 90 percent are found only in Cuba.
The painted snails or polymita snails are
just really stunning—like somebody
painted them by hand. And for birds
it's also true that there are species
only found there. The Cuban trogon,
the Cuban tody, and the bee hummingbird,
which is the smallest bird in the world.
And then, of course, there's some really
big guys, like the Cuban crocodile.
>>CHILD: How does the biodiversity of Cuba differ
from the biodiversity around the world?
>>PORZECANSKI: So, the biodiversity of Cuba is
special because of how Cuba has changed
over time. At times the Cuban islands
were more connected to land and other
islands around it,
for instance, when sea level was lower
thousands of years ago, and then at times
they have been very isolated. So, that has
allowed for a very interesting mix of
animals to evolve on the island. Some are more
related to those in the continent, and
some are really unique. So, some
extraordinary species have evolved
there, like the snails and frogs that
I've talked about, and also the Cuban
giant owl and the giant ground sloths—
both of which are now extinct.
And even today
Cuba has species that are found only
there, and species that continue to
connect it to other places, like the
birds who migrate there every year.
>>CHILD: How are animals in Cuba different than
those in the U.S.?
>>PORZECANSKI: So, Cuba is very different from the U.S.
It's an island, not a continent, and it's also in a tropical
region, whereas the U.S. has temperate and
sub-temperate regions. And so they have very
different animals. I mean, some of the
mammals, for example, that you see in the
U.S., like wolves, and deer, and bears—
you don't see that in Cuba, but you do see
other really interesting mammals.
They have, for example, hutias, which are
these arboreal or tree-dwelling rodents
that get to be very large. And they have
bats. Many of them live in very hot caves,
and they're really, really cute. And they
have a very interesting insectivore
called a solenodon, which is related to
hedgehogs or other kinds of mammals and
it has poisonous saliva.
>>CHILD: Can I see any of Cuba's animals at the zoo?
Can I have one as a pet?
>>PORZECANSKI: Cuba has many unique and
interesting species of lizards and frogs,
for instance. Many of them you can see in
zoos. For example, you might be able to
find a Cuban knight anole, a type of
lizard, Cuban tree frogs, or Cuban rock
iguanas and these could make good pets,
but you always have to check to make
sure they're allowed in the country
where you live because they're exotic.
They're not native to that country.
>>CHILD: Are there any invasive species in Cuba?
>>PORZECANSKI: Invasive species are animals or plants
that are new to a place and come from
somewhere else, and start spreading in
this new place. And yes, Cuba has
invasive species, and it shouldn't be a
surprise because it was one of the most
important trading ports in history,
especially during the many hundreds of
years when it was a Spanish colony.
And whenever people come and go,
animals and plants take a ride with them.
Sometimes accidentally and sometimes on
purpose. So, for instance, in Cuba in the
beginning when trade began, rats made it
to Cuba on boats and that was an accident.
But then later, people decided
to bring in the small Indian mongoose
from Asia to control the rats, thinking
it would be a good predator.
And that was on purpose.
The problem is that now the mongoose is
an invasive species. It's spreading, and it
doesn't eat only rats. It also eats the
birds, and the lizards, and the frogs.
And so, those working on conservation, and those
working in the protected areas of Cuba
are trying to control their population.
>>CHILD: How might Cuba's biodiversity change in the future?
>>PORZECANSKI: It's very hard to predict the future,
but one thing you can count on is
change. And so, for instance, the climate
is changing globally and that is very
likely that it will affect Cuba,
it will raise sea levels and storm
frequency, and change the coast there.
And so, the healthiest their ecosystems can
be, the better they'll be able to deal
with that change. So, for instance, take
coral reefs.
If a coral reef is healthy, it has a lot of
fish, it has less algae, and it's healthy and
and diverse, it will be able to,
for example, resist new diseases probably,
you know, more likely than if it didn't.
And so, it's very important, I think, to
protect these ecosystems. And in fact,
there are many that are very well protected
in Cuba because of the efforts
that Cubans have been doing over the
last few decades. And we're working with
them to make sure that both nature and
people can adapt to these ongoing changes.