Mayan aquifer: an indispensable but invisible ecosystem

As the human population has grown along with its consumer appetite, the planet's ecosystems have been transformed, often deteriorated, and even lost.

If this has happened with the ecosystems we see and know, what will happen with those we don't see and don't know about: the invisible ecosystems?

In recent years, we have come to realize the importance of marine ecosystems and how we have inadvertently impacted them.

For the vast majority of terrestrial humans, it is easier to identify the destruction of a rainforest than that of a barrier reef or seagrass meadows.

However, the consequences of these losses have a significant impact on the species that live there, and on us as well.

Aquifers, reservoirs of groundwater, are one of these invisible ecosystems. They range in size from small to large, with slow or rapid flows, with impressive underground rivers or tiny crevices that act as sponges.

There are an estimated 9,000 cenotes on the peninsula, a large proportion of which form the extraordinary "cenote ring," a semicircle with a radius of 90 kilometers. This spectacular formation is linked to the impact of the Chicxulub asteroid.

Cenotes, besides being the source of life for residents and favorite places of recreation, are also indispensable for a large community of species, many of them endemic to the aquifer.

Some of the characteristic fish of cenotes are the Discolored Catfish or juil, the Yucatan Gambusia, the Mayan Cichlid, Sardines and Topotes, as well as the Mexican Blind Brotula and the Blind Swamp Eel, two cave fish.

These three species produce a large amount of fruit at the end of the dry season, which supports more than 50 species of birds and many mammals.

These trees are considered keystone species, supporting a large part of the community. In addition, these oases in the middle of the dry forest contain other important species such as Bread Nut, Trumpet-Tree, Ceibas, and Thatch Palmetto.

The shelter of these species provides humidity and temperature conditions in the cenotes and their surrounding areas, attracting a large number of animals.

Among the animals that inhabit them are butterflies, beetles, bees, wasps and bumblebees, toucans, owls, larks, scrub jays, frogs and toads, turtles, crocodiles and boas, bats and monkeys.

Since the time of the Mayans, various activities have transformed the jungles of the peninsula.

First, the itinerant milpa systems and the use of fire, the rise of Bloodwood tree exploitation, the heyday of Henequen, extensive livestock farming, and the logging of Big-leaf Mahogany and West Indies Cedrela.

All these activities, accelerated by population growth, have resulted in substantial changes in ecosystems.

Currently, the main factor disturbing the peninsula, and the planet in general, is humankind. The three peninsular states hold the record for deforestation over the last decade.

And current unplanned developments predict further disruption. But what about invisible ecosystems like the aquifer? How do we measure their health or deterioration? All inhabitants of the peninsula, including humans, depend on their condition.

The health or ecological integrity of an aquifer is a measure of the stability and resilience of the processes related to its water quality and quantity and its dependent ecosystems, including the sociocultural ecosystem.

The aquifer is not just the water that runs underground.

It is essential to reverse the deterioration of the aquifer and its dependent ecosystems, starting with the elimination of pollution from various sources and the restoration of their ecosystems.

The health of the peninsula's inhabitants is closely linked to this wonderful, invisible ecosystem.