In Sinaloa, development of shrimp aquaculture and other anthropogenic activities was studied, in order to assess their impact on mangrove and salt marsh ecosystems as well as on the surrounding terrestrial ecosystems. In Ceuta lagoon (Sinaloa), Alonso-Perez (2000) observed changes of land use mainly by agriculture (141% increase from 1984 to 1999) but no mangrove damage by aquaculture was detected. Ruiz-Luna and Berlanga-Robles (1999) observed that drying lagoons in the Huizache-Caimanero system (Sinaloa), caused a 20% loss of water surface from 1973 to 1997 and an increase of the adjacent seasonal salt pans. The authors considered that the impact to the system was a consequence of a reduction of deciduous tropical forest for agricultural purposes, and a 50% decrease of mangrove forests was observed between 1973 and 1997. In addition to the elevated rate of mangrove deforestation (1.9% per year), mangrove coverage in this zone is scarce and with a patchy distribution that aggravates an unstable condition. Carrera and de la Fuente (2001) report that in Marismas-Nacionales (Nayarit) about 1456 ha of wetlands have been replaced by shrimp farm ponds.