Title: What to Know About Costa Rica's 12 Different Ecosystems
Headings: What to Know About Costa Rica's 12 Different Ecosystems
What to Know About Costa Rica's 12 Different Ecosystems
Lowland Tropical Rainforest
Tropical Dry Forest
Cloud forest
Highland Mountain Rainforest
Páramo
Semi-Deciduous Mid-Elevation Forest
Mangrove Forest
Wetlands
Coral Reef
Caribbean Coastline
Pacific Coastline
Shallow Seas

Content: Mangroves also play an important role in protecting the coastlines from destruction due to strong storm swells, and they filter the freshwater that comes from land before it enters the ocean. Mangrove forests are also a nursery for many different types of fish, including baby sharks, and caimans, crocodiles, and birds. You can observe these intricate estuary forests by taking a boat tour in Drake Bay or in Tortuguero, but there are mangrove forests in multiple places along the Pacific and Caribbean coast. Intricate design | © US Fish and Wildlife Services/Flickr
Wetlands
The wetlands of Costa Rica, such as Palo Verde and Cano Negro, are an important shallow-water ecosystem that hosts a variety of nesting and foraging waterbirds. The wetlands include the rivers, marshes, and seasonally inundated woodlands. They are also home to crocodiles, caimans, iguanas, bats, several species of monkeys, snakes, frogs, and a lot of insects. There are large populations of migratory and permanently based birds that call the wetlands home. Like the mangrove forests, this ecosystem can only be accessed by boat. A boat trip to either Palo Verde or Cano Negro will be an excellent opportunity to witness a lot of different animals. Cute caiman | © Ching/Flickr
Coral Reef
There are colorful color reefs on both the Pacific and Caribbean sides of Costa Rica.