Wetlands are sites of great ecological and economic importance. However, in Panama, studies that focus on evaluating the health of these ecosystems that constantly face anthropogenic effects are not common. In this work, an analysis of the water quality of farms located in what were coastal wetlands has been carried out, to measure the level of impact and change produced by the anthropological activities carried out and to be carried out in the area of study, located on the coast of Tonosí, Los Santos. For this, the NSF quality index methodology has been used, using variables obtained from 7 sampling plots each with varying numbers of subplots. Within these influences, a variety of emerging contaminants were observed, the greatest variety of these found in plot 2 in particular. The results point to undeniable contamination of the site based on agricultural and livestock activities as the main culprits.

Authors: Benjamin Braghtley | Andres Fraiz-Toma | Paola Gastezzi-Arias | Mileika Gonzalez | Yessenia Gonzalez | Antonio Clemente | Alex Espinosa | Edgar Arauz | Brillit Della Sera | Karen Dominguez | Quiriatjaryn Ortega-Samaniego | Almilcar Beitia