Harmful algae blooms (HABs) pose critical threats to aquatic ecosystems and human economies, driven by their rapid proliferation, oxygen depletion capacity, toxin release, and biodiversity impacts. These blooms, increasingly exacerbated by climate change, compromise water quality in both marine and freshwater ecosystems, significantly affecting marine life and coastal economies based on fishing and tourism while also posing serious risks to inland water bodies. This article examines the role of hyperspectral imaging (HSI) in monitoring HABs. HSI, with its superior spectral resolution, enables the precise classification and mapping of diverse algae species, emerging as a pivotal tool in environmental surveillance. An array of HSI techniques, algorithms, and deployment platforms are evaluated, analyzing their efficacy across varied geographical contexts. Notably, hyperspectral sensor-based studies achieved up to 90% classification accuracy, with regression-based chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) estimations frequently reaching coefficients of determination ($R^2$) above 0.80. These quantitative findings underscore the potential of HSI for robust HAB diagnostics and early warning systems. Furthermore, we explore the current limitations and future potential of HSI in HAB management, highlighting its strategic importance in addressing the growing environmental and economic challenges posed by HABs. This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive insight into HSI’s capabilities, fostering its integration in global strategies against HAB proliferation.

Cyanobacterial blooms are intensifying globally under climate warming, eutrophication, and hydrological alteration, yet most mechanistic understanding derives from temperate lakes. Tropical and neotropical freshwaters operate under persistently warm conditions, weak seasonality, and hydrological variability that can sustain extended bloom windows and alter toxin production patterns spatiotemporally, requiring targeted synthesis. This review synthesizes recent experimental and field evidence, complemented by foundational frameworks, to evaluate cyanobacterial diversity, functional ecology, and cyanotoxin dynamics in tropical freshwater habitats. We highlight recurring trait syndromes, coordinated sets of physiological and functional traits, that recur across warm systems, including buoyancy regulation, diazotrophy, and thermal tolerance, which confer competitive advantages under warm, nutrient-rich conditions. These traits are prominent in dominant genera such as Microcystis, Raphidiopsis, and Planktothrix. We assess how temperature, nutrient stoichiometry, water residence time, and light interact to modulate bloom persistence and toxin production. We summarize appropriate monitoring and management approaches suited to warm, hydrologically dynamic basins. These including strategies addressing internal loading and integrated early-warning frameworks combining molecular tools and remote sensing. Substantial gaps persist in toxin quantification, biogeochemical fluxes, molecular surveillance, and coordinated risk assessment across the tropics. We argue that region-specific, integrative frameworks are urgently needed to improve early-warning capacity and mitigate cyanoHAB risks in tropical freshwater ecosystems.

Sedimentation processes have negative socioeconomic and environmental consequences. The Compound-Specific Stable Isotopes (CSSI) technique allows for the evaluation of sediment inputs associated with different land use changes in a study region. In the present work, this technique was used in the Alhajuela Lake sub-basin, within the Panama Canal Watershed. The role of the main soil contributors to the landscape (land uses, river, runoff, slope) relevant to the sediment load within the sub-basin of Alhajuela Lake was evaluated, and the relevant indicators in the landscape were selected in order to obtain the best representative sample. The contribution levels of three (3) representative land uses (Forest, Pasture and Sediment) in the study area were evaluated for the sediments present in sixteen (16) selected mixing points. The samples collected were subjected to the standard laboratory process to obtain the carbon chain isotopic values present in the fatty acids. The results of the determinations of the carbon chain fatty acid isotope ratios were evaluated using a Bayesian mixing model that takes into account the uncertainty present in the identified source values. According to the results obtained, the source identified as Sediment has a prominent contribution in most of the mixing points. The contributions of Forest land use are important in the mixing points located north of the study area. The contributions associated with Pasture land use are relevant in the points located in the proximity of this land use. The results suggest that landslides caused by high rainfalls events (Forest and Pasture sources) cause strong sedimentation to the north of Alhajuela Lake. At the same time, a high distribution of soils deposition is observed in the area surrounding Alhajuela Lake due to the strong presence of soils with Sediment source in these places. The results obtained are consistent with observations and measurements of the sediments accumulated in Alhajuela Lake between the years 2008 and 2012.

Heavy metals may be required by living organisms as micronutrients while others have no equivalent role and are harmful even at very low concentrations. Its wide distribution in nature is one of the causes of great impacts on human health. In Panama, 20% of the population does not receive potable water and must resort to rural aqueducts that obtain water from surface catchments or from underground aquifers that are managed by the community itself. Of these, the quality of the water supplied by the rural aqueducts is unknown, because the Technical Regulation DGNTI-COPANIT 23-395-99, which regulates the characteristics of drinking water in the country, does not apply to these. By not knowing the quality, the presence of contaminants such as heavy metals, pathogens and other types of microorganisms is also a concern. The purposes of this study are: to characterize the content of heavy metals in rural aqueducts of the District of Tonosí, to determine the presence of organisms in the waters of these rural aqueducts through ATP testing and to select sites for a future abundance characterization study distribution and diversity of heavy metal resistance genes present in the microbiome of the groundwater sources that supply the rural aqueducts of the District of Tonosí, using a metagenomic approach.

Debido a la incertidumbre sobre la calidad del agua para consumo humano en Tonosí, provincia de Los Santos; se lleva a cabo el proyecto “Morbilidad vs la calidad del agua para consumo humano en Tonosí: un estudio piloto”, el cual tiene como objetivo evaluar la calidad del agua incluyendo la identificación y cuantificación de parámetros no convencionales como metales pesados y compuestos orgánicos en zonas remotas, con técnicas analíticas instrumentales avanzadas a través de un laboratorio móvil operado por personal técnico calificado. El laboratorio móvil es un vehículo tipo van que está equipado con equipos compactos, con tecnología de punta, respuesta rápida y con un mínimo de residuos generados. Gracias a este equipo, es posible evaluar compuestos orgánicos por cromatografía; metales pesados por fluorescencia de rayos X; contaminación biológica mediante la técnica de filtración por membranas; parámetros fisicoquímicos mediante titulación y espectrofotometría; además de la evaluación de las condiciones ambientales. De esta manera, se busca dar respuesta a la preocupación de la población respecto a la calidad del agua para consumo.

The primary source of drinking water for the people of Tonosí, Panama, is groundwater. This research evaluates the presence of heavy metals and possible hazards by combining geochemical and isotopic analyses. Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence (TXRF) was used to measure metal levels in water and soil near wells and springs, while stable isotope ratios (δ²H and δ¹⁸O) identified the source of groundwater recharge. Isotopic signatures closely aligned with the Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL), suggesting meteoric origin and limited evaporation. An analysis of Enrichment Factor (EF) for soil samples, utilizing background values from Coiba and Montijo, showed moderate to substantial enrichment of arsenic, chromium, and copper. Soil enrichment suggests possible dangers with environmental shifts like changes in land use or heavy rainfall. These findings highlight the necessity for continual groundwater observation in rural areas and show the benefits of integrating isotopic and geochemical methods to detect sources of contamination and guide protection strategies. This research improves comprehension of heavy metal exposure in tropical aquifers and offers evidence to aid environmental and public health policymaking.