Bibliometric Analysis of Ecosystem Services and Stakeholder Engagement in the Mangrove Communities of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean

Understanding the services provided by coastal ecosystems is vital for their study, preservation, and restoration. Mangrove forests, in particular, provide key ecosystem ser-vices: they sequester carbon, support fisheries and biodiversity, and enable sustainable tourism. In the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, mangrove-related services have been stud-ied extensively, but often in fragmented ways. This meta-analysis combines literature re-view, bibliometric tools, and thematic mapping to identify emerging trends and long-standing gaps. We analyzed 61 peer-reviewed studies across 21 sovereign and U.S. states, highlighting shifting research priorities and the lack of convergence across ecosys-tem service categories. While early research emphasized supporting services such as fish-ery nurseries, recent studies focus on regulating services, especially carbon sequestration. Stakeholder engagement remains limited, with only 18% of studies incorporating local or institutional perspectives. We argue for greater integration of stakeholder input and con-vergence across service categories to enhance the scientific basis for mangrove manage-ment and policy design.