Biodiversity Impacts Across Time and Space: The Case of the Introduced Piscivore, Cichla monoculus, in Panama Meagan Deviaene1 and Karling Roberts2 1McGill University Department of Microbiology 3775 University St., Room 511 Montreal, QC H3A 2B4 2McGill University School of Environment 3534 University St., Montreal, Quebec H3A 2A7 Report for Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute: Diana Sharpe Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Fellow NAOS Laboratories Panama City, Panamá Phone: +507.212.8840 E-mail:
[email protected] Number of Days Spent of Project: 38 Number of Days Spent in the Field: 15 Biodiversity Impacts Across Time and Space: The Case of the Introduced Piscivore, Cichla monoculus, in Panama Karling Roberts and Meagan Deviaene For: Diana Sharpe, STRI Fellow, NAOS Laboratories, Panama City, Panamá Context. Freshwater ecosystems, especially reservoirs, provide excellent habitats in which to study anthropogenic effects. Humans dictate the physical environment of these milieus with their construction, and their biotic composition with introductions of a nonindigenous species purposely translocated for economic, social, or other gains. Introductions often set the course to invasion where the introduced species “cause(s) economic or environmental harm or harm to human health”. Panama is especially susceptible to this threat, as 3 of its largest lakes are man-made reservoirs and two of which are components of the Panama Canal, allowing a wider distribution of the introduced and invasive species. Peacock bass (Cichla monoculus) is a piscivorous predator that is native to the amazon river basin but has been frequently introduced to other regions with the goal of improving artisanal and recreational fishing. Peacock bass were introduced in Panama in 1967.