Corals and coral reefs of the Pacific coast of Panamá

Abstract

The Pacific coast of Panamá is divided by the Azuero Peninsula into two major areas with contrasting oceanographic settings: the non-upwelling Gulf of Chiriquí to the west, and the upwelling Gulf of Panamá to the east. The largest coral reef development is found in the Gulf of Chiriquí. Most coral reefs and coral communities are located on islands that are distant from the mainland runoff, and tidal exposure. Coral reef studies in the Panamanian Pacific have focused around two main topics:the reproductive ecology of coral species, and the ecological responses of coral communities to El Niño sea warming. The former study has shown that the coral reproductive activity is related to thermal regimes, and has resulted in five publications involving eight species in four genera. The latter is the most important natural disturbance influencing Pacific Panamanian reefs, and is treated with five other natural disturbances including upwelling, subaerial exposures, dinoflagellate blooms, terrestrial runoff, and Acanthaster planci, which play important roles in structuring coral reef communities in Panamá. In addition, there are four main anthropogenic stressors influencing Panamanian reefs: coral extraction, ship groundings, herbicides, and overfishing. The chapter also discusses the management and protection of coral reefs.