Isthmus of Panama Younger Than We Thought (3 of 8) (IMAGE)

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Isthmus of Panama Younger Than We Thought (3 of 8)

Caption

Caribbean transformation. Before the Isthmus of Panama formed, nutrient-rich waters from the Pacific entered the Caribbean whose marine ecosystems were dominated by molluscs (left). When the Isthmus formed, around three million years ago, Pacific waters were blocked, nutrients declined and corals (right) became established across the Caribbean. This material relates to a paper that appeared in the Aug. 17, 2016, issue of Science Advances, published by AAAS. The paper, by A. O'Dea at Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Balboa, Panama, and colleagues was titled, 'Formation of the Isthmus of Panama.'

Credit

Aaron O'Dea

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