Scientists have documented the candela fish (Lebiasina boruca) in Panama for the first time, revealing a biogeographic connection between the freshwater ecosystems of Costa Rica

Along the world’s tropical coasts, mangroves support extraordinary biodiversity and, at the same time, entire coastal economies. Far from being mere trees adapted to saltwater,

Every species shapes the ocean in its own unique way. While a hammerhead shark regulates stingray populations, a giant manta ray filters vast amounts of plankton in the open ocean, and a largetooth sawfish finds the essential habitats it needs to complete its life cycle in mangroves and estuaries. No two species share the same role. Because of this, many of these ecological functions are nearly impossible to replace once they are lost. Their disappearance is not merely the loss of a single species; it is the collapse of a crucial ecological role, triggering shifts that reshape the entire structure of the ecosystem.