Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Panama

There are sharks, dolphins and hundreds of species of fish. In terms of food supply, there are plenty of coconuts, fresh tropical fruits like pineapple and pineapple, fish like snapper and sea bass and other seafood like lobster. The oceans are also home to beautiful coral reefs. In San Blas, we visited a “sunken island”. It was a place in the middle of the ocean that had sand raised up high enough that you could walk around and see starfish.

The rural Los Santos region of Panama (for example, Tonosi, where I do my research) is mostly made up of tropical dry forests. It is called this because the ecosystem has huge changes between the wet and the dry season. In the wet season, around May to December, it rains almost every day. The landscape is lush and green. In the dry season, around December to April, there can be droughts and the land turns from green to brown. Like most places in Panama, there is a lot of wildlife. Whenever we go to Tonosi, I always see monkeys playing in the trees. I have also seen a lot of snakes, lizards and spiders there, too.

One of my favorite cities in Panama is called Boquete. It is in a tropical mountain forest. While there are still wet and dry seasons, the land does not dry up as much as in the tropical dry forests. Boquete and other tropical mountain forests in Panama are amazing for hiking, seeing waterfalls, bird-watching and swimming in rivers. Volcan Baru, the highest point in Panama, is found in this region. Another great thing about the tropical mountain forest of this region is the coffee growth! The volcanic soil and proper amount of rainfall help produce some of the best coffee in the world! (I am a little bit biased.)

What ecosystem of Panama would be your favorite?

Pages