Panama Employment: Female: Bocas del Toro data was reported at 24,324.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 22,244.000 Person for 2016. Panama Employment: Female: Bocas del Toro data is updated yearly, averaging 9,738.000 Person from Aug 2003 (Median) to 2017, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 24,324.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 6,357.000 Person in 2004. Panama Employment: Female: Bocas del Toro data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Institute of Statistics and Census. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Panama – Table PA.G006: Employment and Underemployment.

Panama Employment: Bocas del Toro data was reported at 59,137.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 57,841.000 Person for 2016. Panama Employment: Bocas del Toro data is updated yearly, averaging 29,989.000 Person from Aug 2003 (Median) to 2017, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 59,137.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 23,633.000 Person in 2004. Panama Employment: Bocas del Toro data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Institute of Statistics and Census. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Panama – Table PA.G006: Employment and Underemployment.

Panama Employment: Male: Bocas del Toro data was reported at 34,813.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 35,597.000 Person for 2016. Panama Employment: Male: Bocas del Toro data is updated yearly, averaging 20,312.000 Person from Aug 2003 (Median) to 2017, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 35,597.000 Person in 2016 and a record low of 17,119.000 Person in 2003. Panama Employment: Male: Bocas del Toro data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Institute of Statistics and Census. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Panama – Table PA.G006: Employment and Underemployment.

Nm >1 are in bold.

High and significant values are indicated in bold and the P-value is shown below each value (P-values were obtained after 1000 permutations). ФST values are indicated below the diagonal. FST values are above diagonal.

Bocas del Toro Research Station Data Summaries, Excel spread sheet. Provides daily, monthly and yearly summaries. Contains interval averages, maximum, minimum and variability statistics, plus graphs Location: 9.351553°, -82.256565° Parameters: air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, precipitation, sea surface temperature, solar radiation (pyranometer), air pressure, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, salinity, pH Sensors located on a platform located approximately 60m from the end of the station’s dock. Platform includes a meteorological tower, Sea Surface Temperature probe and several sea level sensors. The current platform was built in 2012 to replace the original platform. Historical datasets can be located here: https://smithsonian.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Monthly_summary_Bocas_Station/10059464

ABSTRACT The Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) is found in tropical and subtropical riverine and coastal waters across the Caribbean region. Little is known of its population status, particularly in Central America. We counted and mapped manatees using side-scan sonar in the San San Pond Sak wetland, a protected estuary in western Panama, for 12 months, and converted the sightings into density and abundance estimates. Overall, 214 sonar transects were conducted, covering 1731 km and detecting 1004 manatees. The highest density of animals was found in the narrow and relatively deep upstream tributaries and also in a shallow lagoon near the river mouth. The estimated mean number of manatees in the 18-km San San river system over the year was 18.3, but abundance was highly seasonal, with 33 animals present in May and just 2 in December. These figures are within the range reported for similar rivers in Central America and Florida. Uncertainty of the population size was estimated with a Bayesian model, using daily variance in counts, and 95% credible limits were 22-71 animals at peak season but just 1-6 in December. The active sonar survey used in this study located manatees, mapped their positions, and converted sightings into quantitative data for rigorous analysis. The method is cost-effective for repeated counts across seasons and years, needed to evaluate population trends.

Results of an analysis of the data is published in: Guzman, H.M. and R. Condit. 2017. Abundance of Manatees (Trichechus manatus) in a Panamanian Wetland Estimated from Side-Scan Sonar. Wildlife Society Bulletin.

Two data files are provided.

File 1: ManateeTransectArchive.tab. Tab-delimited ascii. Details of each of 214 transects on San San River in Bocas del Toro using active sonar to count manatees. The column 'tranID' is an identifier for each.

tranID: Arbitrary integer identifier of transect

date: Date

duration_min: Time elapsed from start of transect to end

area_ha: Estimated area in hectares, using river width calculated from satellite map

UTM_startX: Starting coordinates of transects, UTM easting, zone 17

UTM_startY: Starting coordinates of transects, UTM northing, zone 17

UTM_endX: Ending coordinates of transects, UTM easting, zone 17

UTM_endY): Ending coordinates of transects, UTM northing, zone 17

File 2: ManateeSightingArhive.tab. Tab-delimited ascii. Details of every manatee recorded by sonar on those transects. Groups of manatees close together were entered in one record, and the column 'manatee_count' gives the group size.

manID: Arbitrary integer identifier of the record

tranID: Links to tranID in ManateeTransectArchive.tab

manatee_count: Count of manatees in the group

time: Local time when manatees were detected

lateral_dist_m: Distance from boat to manatee group, recorded by the sonar

UTM_X: Coordinates of boat when manatees were detected, UTM easting, zone 17

UTM_Y: Coordinates of boat when manatees were detected, UTM northing, zone 17

This online module provides background information on dolphin communication and explores how a dolphin population responds to dolphin-watching activities in Panama.

New haplotypes reported in this study (TruBOC from Bocas del Toro, and TtruCR1 and TruCR2 from Costa Rica) are in bold.

The current conservation status of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) under the IUCN is ‘least concern’. However, in the Caribbean, small and localized populations of the ‘inshore form’ may be at higher risk of extinction than the ‘worldwide distributed form’ due to a combination of factors including small population size, high site fidelity, genetic isolation, and range overlap with human activities. Here, we study the population genetic structure of bottlenose dolphins from the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro in Panama. This is a small population characterized by high site fidelity and is currently heavily-impacted by the local dolphin-watching industry. We collected skin tissue samples from 25 dolphins to study the genetic diversity and structure of this population. We amplified a portion of the mitochondrial Control Region (mtDNA-CR) and nine microsatellite loci. The mtDNA-CR analyses revealed that dolphins in Bocas del Toro belong to the ‘inshore form’, grouped with the Bahamas-Colombia-Cuba-Mexico population unit. They also possess a unique haplotype new for the Caribbean. The microsatellite data indicated that the Bocas del Toro dolphin population is highly structured, likely due to restricted movement patterns. Previous abundance estimates obtained with mark-recapture methods reported a small population of 80 dolphins (95% CI = 72–87), which is similar to the contemporary effective population size estimated in this study (Ne = 73 individuals; CI = 18.0 - ∞; 0.05). The combination of small population size, high degree of genetic isolation, and intense daily interactions with dolphin-watching boats puts the Bocas del Toro dolphin to at high risk of extinction. Despite national guidelines to regulate the dolphin-watching industry in Bocas del Toro and ongoing educational programs for tour operators, only in 2012 seven animals have died due to boat collisions. Our results suggest that the conservation status of bottlenose dolphins in Bocas del Toro should be elevated to ‘endangered’ at the national level, as a precautionary measure while population and viability estimates are conducted.

The bonnethead shark, Sphyrna tiburo, is a small elasmobranch distributed in the Eastern Pacific from southern California to Ecuador, and along the Western Atlantic, with preferences for continental margins of North, Central and South America, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. Recent studies have suggested that it could be under a process of cryptic speciation, with the possibility to find different species in similar geographic locations. Here we assessed the population structure and genetic diversity of this highly philopatric and non-dispersive species in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama. Fragments of the mitochondrial genes cytochrome oxidase I and control region, were used to test the genetic structure of adult and juvenile S. tiburo in this area, and were compared with other locations of the Western Atlantic and Belize. We found significant genetic differentiation between Caribbean bonnethead sharks from Bocas del Toro and Belize, when compared to bonnetheads from other locations of the Western Atlantic. These results also suggest that Bocas del Toro could constitute a different genetic population unit for this species, whereby bonnethead sharks in this area could belong to a unique stock. The information obtained in this study could improve our understanding of the population dynamics of the bonnethead shark throughout its distribution range, and may be used as a baseline for future conservation initiatives for coastal sharks in Central America, a poorly studied an often overlooked region for shark conservation and research.

Depth, coordinates and date of sampling are indicated. NA =  not available.

Y-chromosome components (%) in the Panamanian samples with PGF in Panama.

Distribution of Y-chromosome haplogroups (%) in the Panamanian samples with PGF in Panama.

Geologically, Panama belongs to the Central American land-bridge between North and South America crossed by Homo sapiens >14 ka ago. Archaeologically, it belongs to a wider Isthmo-Colombian Area. Today, seven indigenous ethnic groups account for 12.3% of Panama’s population. Five speak Chibchan languages and are characterized by low genetic diversity and a high level of differentiation. In addition, no evidence of differential structuring between maternally and paternally inherited genes has been reported in isthmian Chibchan cultural groups. Recent data have shown that 83% of the Panamanian general population harbour mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) of Native American ancestry. Considering differential male/female mortality at European contact and multiple degrees of geographical and genetic isolation over the subsequent five centuries, the Y-chromosome Native American component is expected to vary across different geographic regions and communities in Panama. To address this issue, we investigated Y-chromosome variation in 408 modern males from the nine provinces of Panama and one indigenous territory (the comarca of Kuna Yala). In contrast to mtDNA data, the Y-chromosome Native American component (haplogroup Q) exceeds 50% only in three populations facing the Caribbean Sea: the comarca of Kuna Yala and Bocas del Toro province where Chibchan languages are spoken by the majority, and the province of Colón where many Kuna and people of mixed indigenous-African-and-European descent live. Elsewhere the Old World component is dominant and mostly represented by western Eurasian haplogroups, which signal the strong male genetic impact of invaders. Sub-Saharan African input accounts for 5.9% of male haplotypes. This reflects the consequences of the colonial Atlantic slave trade and more recent influxes of West Indians of African heritage. Overall, our findings reveal a local evolution of the male Native American ancestral gene pool, and a strong but geographically differentiated unidirectional sex bias in the formation of local modern Panamanian populations.