Coiba Island Coral Reefs

• Category: Marine and Oceanic Biomes.
• Geographic Location: Central America.
• Summary: Coiba Island, off the coast of Panama, is a biodiversity hot spot, unique in its tropical location, providing habitat and breeding grounds for thousands of terrestrial and marine species, and hosting as a stopover site on complex migratory routes.

The largest island in Central America was once the site of a notorious prison but is now home to the largest protected marine ecosystem in the tropical eastern Pacific region. Coiba Island (Isla Coiba) is located approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the southern coast of Panama and hosts one of the richest assemblages of terrestrial and marine biodiversity in the entire eastern Pacific Ocean realm. Coiba National Park was created in 1992 and includes Coiba Island itself, thirty-eight other smaller islands, and their respective surrounding coral reefs.

The island's location on the eastern edge of the Gulf of Chiriquí buffers the waters around Coiba from large temperature extremes caused by upwelling events (common elsewhere in the region) and keeps the water warm and clear year-round. This unique set of characteristics makes the coral reefs of Coiba Island an incubator for an abundance of varied marine life.

The climate of the tropical eastern Pacific is characterized as highly variable due to the convergence of warm oceanic currents and cooler coastal currents. The Northern Equatorial Counter-Current supplies warm water from the western Pacific. Closer to the coast, the Panama Current supplies water from the north, while the Columbia Current supplies water from the south. All these currents combine to supply the reefs of Coiba Island with the larvae of fish, corals, and marine invertebrates that settle and grow on the reefs. In general, the tropical eastern Pacific is considered to be one of the most isolated marine regions on the planet, with high rates of local endemism (species not found elsewhere), indicating that the region is not well connected to other parts of the Pacific. However, because of the confluence of currents around Coiba Island, its reefs are host to some fish species from far across the Pacific. In fact, it is the only place in the tropical eastern Pacific region where trans-Pacific marine species can be found.

At least twenty-four species of hard corals have been identified on the reefs of Coiba National Park, two of which are thought to be endemic. Although the region regularly experiences extreme warming that is caused by El Niño that can damage and even kill corals, the reefs surrounding Coiba Island persist. Scientists believe this is due in part to the sheltering effects of the Gulf of Chiriquí. It is even thought that Coiba Island reefs may supply coral larvae to damaged reefs down current. The island is situated at the northern end of a large underwater mountain range that extends southwest from Panama and reaches all the way to the Galapagos Islands, more than 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. It is possible that these far-off islands are connected via oceanic currents and that reefs off the Galapagos are recharged with larvae from Coiba Island after bad El Niño years.

Because of the island's isolation and the brutal reputation of the prison, the island was sparsely developed, and at least 80 percent of its area remains covered by intact rainforest. The forests of Coiba National Park are host to many endemic plants, but all this richness pales in comparison to the treasures on the coral reefs surrounding Coiba Island. The reef on the eastern side of the island is the second-largest coral reef in the tropical eastern Pacific. Coiba National Park is one of the few places in the world where fish species from the Indo-Pacific and the eastern Pacific are found on the same reef.

The island's rich community of marine fauna includes the vast coral reefs, mollusks, echinoderms, and cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises). The waters support 20 known species of whales and dolphins. More than 760 species of fish, including 33 species of sharks and rays, have been identified. These include the whale shark, bull shark, white-tip reef, black-tip, and scalloped hammerhead shark. Four species of endangered sea turtles nest on the beaches of Coiba Island. The island and its surroundings are home to many threatened and endangered species, including the endemic Coiba Island howler monkey and an endemic rodent, the Coiban agouti. At least 147 species of birds can be found living in the forests of Coiba, including one of the few remaining flocks of scarlet macaws in the world.

Human Impact

There is evidence among the islands and reefs that make up Coiba National Park that Central American natives, the Chibcha, established fishing camps on several of the islands around 4,000 years ago. Remnants of their now ancient fish traps can still be seen on the intertidal zones around the park. In the early 1500s, the first Spaniards visited Coiba, and by 1560, the indigenous peoples had been exterminated or relocated to mine for the Spanish. Coiba Island remained uninhabited until 1919 when a prison was built, and it served as a penal colony. At one time, it held more than three thousand prisoners but was slowly emptied until it closed in 2004.

The national park that was created in 1992 was expanded to include the surrounding reefs, and a Special Zone of Marine Protection was created to protect more than 390,000 acres (160,000 hectares) of marine habitat. The new zone created one of the largest protected marine areas in Central America and placed new rules on fishing within the zone boundaries. These rules ban commercial fishing within the zone and place limits on the types of traditional fishing practices. In 2005, the entire Coiba National Park, plus the Special Zone of Marine Protection, was designated a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.

Despite these protections, the islands and reefs of Coiba National Park face threats to the fragile balance of life in this dynamic ecosystem. Illegal logging and poaching in the rainforest threaten the rare tropical hardwoods and endangered birds. Cattle brought over to support the prison now threaten areas of virgin rainforest. Illegal fishing goes on inside the park boundaries. Climate change remains a lurking threat, particularly to coral reefs, due to their delicate nature. The warming waters could result in bleaching and killing the coral, though previous years have demonstrated the coral's resistance to bleaching. Along with warming waters, climate change could result in rising sea levels and stronger and more frequent hurricanes. In the face of these threats, the coral reefs of Coiba Island continue to teem with life unmatched elsewhere in the eastern Pacific. The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute has established a field research station on privately-owned Coibita Island, just off the northeastern tip of Coiba Island.

Bibliography

Foulkes, Jenifer Austin. "Coiba, Panama: Mission Blue Expedition Launched." Huffington Post, 19 Mar. 2012, www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/19/coiba-panama-mission-blue‗n‗1354115.html. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.

Kiniry, Laura. "How a Former Penal Colony in Panama Became a Biodiversity Hotspot." Smithsonian, 5 July 2022, www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-a-former-penal-colony-in-panama-became-biodiversity-hotspot-180980357/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.

Lopez, E., et al. "Orbiniidae Polychaetes (Polychaeta: Scolecida) From Coiba Island, Eastern Pacific of Panama, With Description of a New Species." Revista de Biologia Tropical, vol. 54, no. 4, 2006, pp. 1307-24.

Milton, K., and R. Mittermeier. "A Brief Survey of the Primates of Coiba Island, Panama." Primates, vol. 18, no. 1, 1977, pp. 137-47.

Robertson, D. Ross, et al. "Marine Research, Education, and Conservation in Panama." Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 2008, www.stri.si.edu/sites/publications/PDFs/marine‗research‗panama.pdf. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.