The Alvarado Lagoon System is a large estuary and wetland complex in

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

state of eastern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is located on the southern

Gulf Coastal Plain The Gulf Coastal Plain extends around the Gulf of Mexico in the Southern United States and eastern Mexico. This coastal plain reaches from the Florida Panhandle, southwest Georgia, the southern two-thirds of Alabama, over most of Mississippi, wes ...

, where the Papaloapan and

Blanco Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to: People *Blanco (surname) Fictional characters *Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth * Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge'' * El Blanco, albin ...

rivers meet the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

Geography

The lagoon system includes several brackish coastal lagoons, including Alvarado Lagoon, many tidal channels and interior lagoons, and extensive wetlands and coastal dunes.

Flora and fauna

Habitats include large areas of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

, marshes of sedges (''

Cyperus ''Cyperus'' is a large genus of about 700 species of sedges, distributed throughout all continents in both tropical and temperate regions. Description They are annual or perennial plants, mostly aquatic and growing in still or slow-moving ...

'' spp.), and cattails ('' Typha'' spp.), swamp forests or ''apompales'' of ''

Pachira aquatica ''Pachira aquatica'' is a tropical wetland tree in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to Central and South America where it grows in swamps. It is known by its common names Malabar chestnut, French peanut, Guiana chestnut, Provision tree, Saba n ...

'', palm forests of ''

Sabal mexicana ''Sabal mexicana'' is a species of palm tree that is native to far southern North America. Common names include Rio Grande palmetto, Mexican palmetto, Texas palmetto, Texas sabal palm, palmetto cabbage and palma de mícharos. The specific epi ...

, Attalea rostrata'', and ''

Acrocomia mexicana ''Acrocomia aculeata'' is a species of palm native to the Neotropics, from southern Mexico and the Caribbean south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. Common names include grugru palm, gloo gloo, macaúba palm, coyol palm, and macaw palm; synon ...

'', and riparian oak forests of ''

Quercus oleoides ''Quercus oleoides'', with Spanish common names encina or encino, is a Mesoamerican species of oak in the live oak group (''Quercus'' sect. ''Virentes''). It grows in dry forests and pastureland of eastern and southern Mexico and much of Centra ...

''. The Alvarado Lagoon System provides habitat for numerous waterfowl and wetland birds, and is designated an Important Bird Area. The lagoons are also an important habitat for the

West Indian manatee The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on un ...

(''Trichechus manatus). 346 species of birds have been recorded in the wetlands. 50% are year-round residents, 32% winter residents, 2% summer residents, 10% transitory, and the rest occasional visitors. The wetlands are a congregation area for waterbirds, including

northern pintail The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding ...

(''Anas acuta'') American white pelican (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos''),

brown pelican The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mout ...

(''Pelecanus occidentalis''), piping plover (''Charadrius melodus''), and

least bittern The least bittern (''Ixobrychus exilis'') is a small heron, the smallest member of the family Ardeidae found in the Americas. Taxonomy The least bittern was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his r ...

(''Ixobrychus exilis'').

White-winged dove The white-winged dove (''Zenaida asiatica'') is a dove whose native range extends from the Southwestern United States through Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. They are large for doves, and can be distinguished from similar doves by th ...

(''Zenaida asiatica'') is plentiful. It is a breeding area for raptors, including the

snail kite The snail kite (''Rostrhamus sociabilis'') is a bird of prey within the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks, and Old World vultures. Its relative, the slender-billed kite, is now again placed in ''Helicolestes'', making ...

(''Rostrhamus sociabilis''), common black hawk (''Buteogallus anthracinus''),

great black hawk The great black hawk (''Buteogallus urubitinga'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks, and Old World vultures. Taxonomy The great black hawk was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist ...

(''Buteogallus urubitinga'') and black-collared hawk (''Busarellus nigricollis''). The

scissor-tailed flycatcher The scissor-tailed flycatcher (''Tyrannus forficatus''), also known as the Texas bird-of-paradise and swallow-tailed flycatcher, is a long-tailed bird of the genus ''Tyrannus'', whose members are collectively referred to as kingbirds. The kingbi ...

(''Tyrannus forficatus'') and

eastern kingbird The eastern kingbird (''Tyrannus tyrannus'') is a large tyrant flycatcher native to the Americas. The bird is predominantly dark gray with white underbelly and pointed wings. Eastern kingbirds are conspicuous and are commonly found in open areas ...

(''Tyrannus tyrannus'') are migrants. At-risk species include the snail kite, piping plover, least bittern, peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), and

lesser yellow-headed vulture The lesser yellow-headed vulture (''Cathartes burrovianus'') also known as the savannah vulture, is a species of bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. It was considered to be the same species as the greater yellow-headed vulture unt ...

(''Cathartes burrovianus'').BirdLife International (2021). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Humedales de Alvarado. Accessed 12 October 2021

Conservation and threats

Threats to the wetlands include expansion of agriculture and cattle ranches, mangrove cutting, unsustainable fishing practices, and upstream erosion silting up the lagoons and wetlands. The lagoon system was designated a Ramsar site (wetland of international importance) in 2004.

References

{{Reflist Ramsar sites in Mexico Lagoons of Mexico Important Bird Areas of Mexico Gulf Coast of Mexico Protected areas of Veracruz Papaloapan River