# Panama Bight

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{{short description|Marine ecoregion on the Pacific coast of the Americas}}
The '''Panama Bight''' is a [marine ecoregion](/source/marine_ecoregion) on the [Pacific](/source/Pacific_Ocean) coast of the [Americas](/source/Americas).

The Panama Bight extends eastwards from the [Azuero Peninsula](/source/Azuero_Peninsula) in [Panama](/source/Panama) along the coast of the [Gulf of Panama](/source/Gulf_of_Panama) and [Archipelago de las Perlas](/source/Archipelago_de_las_Perlas). It continues south along the entire Pacific coast of [Colombia](/source/Colombia) to the coast of northern [Ecuador](/source/Ecuador). The [Nicoya marine](/source/Nicoya_marine) ecoregion bounds it on the north, and the [Guayaquil marine](/source/Guayaquil_marine) ecoregion bounds it on the south.

The Panama Bight ecoregion is home to rich coral beds in the near shore waters. While coral diversity is lower here than in the Caribbean Sea on the other side of Panama, the coral cover tends to be higher. In fact, the density of coral coverage here-90 percent coverage is common-is rarely seen in the Caribbean. In addition to the coral beds, enclaves of [Panama Bight mangroves](/source/Panama_Bight_mangroves) can be found in the tidal zone.

==Threats==
[El Niño](/source/El_Ni%C3%B1o) climate events have warmed the water of this ecoregion, which has led to bleached and killed coral. Outbreaks of the [crown-of-thorns starfish](/source/crown-of-thorns_starfish) (''Acanthaster planci'') have also reduced coral populations. Siltation from soil erosion has destroyed many coral areas. Additionally threats include [deforestation](/source/deforestation) on shore and destruction of the reefs due to fishing, as well as damage from domestic pollution, dam construction, mining, oil shipping, and pesticides.

The Panama Bight ecoregion is one of the [World Wildlife Fund](/source/World_Wildlife_Fund)'s [Global 200](/source/Global_200) priority ecoregions for conservation.

==References==
* Spalding, Mark D., Helen E. Fox, Gerald R. Allen, Nick Davidson ''et al.'' "Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas". ''Bioscience'' Vol. 57 No. 7, July/August 2007, pp. 573–583. [http://www.worldwildlife.org/MEOW/pdfs/meow_biosci.pdf]

==External links==
* [http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/ecoregions/panama_bight.cfm Panama Bight (WWF)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030815012833/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/g200/g213.html Panama Bight (National Geographic)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041214214539/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/global.html?id=0&mapServiceName=WW_G200&locWidth=120&locHeight=72&cMinx=-82.349846&cMiny=-2.20349299999999&cMaxx=-77.00251&cMaxy=9.03043700000001&size=small&detail=detailed Panama Bight map (National Geographic)]

{{Biodiversity of Colombia}}

{{coord missing|Panama}}

Category:Marine ecoregions
Category:Ecoregions of Colombia
Category:Ecoregions of Ecuador
Category:Ecoregions of Panama
Category:Colombian coasts of the Pacific Ocean
Category:Panamanian coasts of the Pacific Ocean
Category:Tropical Eastern Pacific

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Panama Bight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Bight) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Bight?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.