Mangroves: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 16:21, 16 April 2014
Mangroves
What are Mangroves?
Mangroves are groups of trees and shrubs that inhabit coastal intertidal zones in the tropics. There a more than 80 extant species, some growing as high as 200 feet. The slow moving waters in mangrove forests allow for the accumulation of fine sediments, creating a muddy benthic area. Some mangroves have dense tangles of prop roots or buttresses that enable the trees to cope with rising and falling tides; others have snorkel-life roots called pnuematophores that stick out of the mud to help them take in air.[1]
Where are They Found?
Mangroves only grow at tropical and subtropical latitudes near the equator. Mangroves also require an environment containing low-oxygen soil to grow. Most of the world's mangroves are found in Southeast Asia, with many also being found in Florida.[1]
What Benefits Do They Offer?
- Stabilize the coastline, reducing erosion from storm surges, currents, waves, and tides
- Intricate root system is attractive to fish and other organisms seeking food and shelter
- Nursery for commercially important juvenile fish
- Habitats for oysters, crabs, shrimp, and birds
- Carbon sequestration and storage, decreasing the effect of global warming
- Stabilize shorelines and prevent erosion
- Buffer against hurricanes and tropical storms[1]
- Mangroves intercept pollutants and land derived nutrients before they contaminate deeper water
- Nutrient transport from land to estuaries is one of the main agents of ecological change in coastal areas[2]
What are the Stressors of Deforestation?
- Estimated that at least half of the world’s mangroves have been lost and continue to be destroyed at a rate of about one percent per year[1]
- Stressors
- Coastal development driven by tourism and growing populations[1]
- Aquaculture, particularly shrimp farming[3]
- Mariculture has been reported as responsible for 50% loss of mangroves in the Philippines and 50-80% in Southeast Asia
- These ponds often have short life spans due to toxin accumulation and sulfide acidification, causing these pond owners to move to a new section of mangrove, furthering the destruction of mangrove forests[2]
- Agriculture run-off carrying pesticides and herbicides
- Man-made changes in tidal or river flow that starve the system of sediment input
- Sea level rise[1]
What are the Side Effects of Deforestation?
- Loss of mangroves reduces the amount of carbon sequestration possible and releases carbon stored in the soils, worsening the greenhouse effect
- Coastal communities left unprotected from storms and hurricanes
- Deforested shorelines are subject to greater rates of erosion and are unable to keep pace with sea level rise[1]
- One of the world’s most threatened tropical ecosystems with global loss exceeding 35%
What lives in the Mangroves?
- Birds roost in the canopy
- Shellfish and organisms attach themselves to the roots, such as barnacles, oysters, crabs, sponges, anemones
- Snakes and crocodiles hunt there
- Nectar source for bats and honeybees
- Juvenile fish find shelter there during there vulnerable first weeks[3]
What are the Common Types of Mangroves?
Red Mangrove[5]
- Grows along the edge of the shoreline where conditions are harshest
- Tangled, reddish prop roots and gray bark over a dark red wood
- Grows to heights of 80 feet
- Clusters of white flowers bloom during the spring months
Black Mangrove[5]
- Long horizontal roots with pneumatophores
- Bark is dark and scaly
- Grows to heights of 65 feet
- White flowers blossom in spring
White Mangrove[5]
- Occupying higher land than the Red and Black Mangroves
- No visible aerial roots, but can develop peg roots
- The least cold tolerant
- Grows to heights of 50 feet
- Produce greenish-white flowers in spikes in spring
Buttonwood Mangrove[5]
- Found in the upland transitional zone
- Sensitivity to frost
- Button-like appearance of the flower heads that grow in branched clusters, forming cone-like fruit
How Are They Linked to Coral Reefs?
- Provide nutrients to neighboring ecosystems such as coral reefs and sea grass beds
- Nearby coral reefs suffer further pressure from sedimentation when mangroves are removed and can no longer filter the water[1]
- Mangroves in the Caribbean have a strong influence on the fish populations in reefs near them
- The largest herbivorous fish in Atlantic, Scarus guacamaia (rainbow parrotfish), is dependent on mangroves and has become locally extinct when they are gone[4]
- Decreased amount of herbivores will cause reefs to become less resilient to algal overgrowth
- Fisheries productivities are likely to decrease without mangroves
- The largest herbivorous fish in Atlantic, Scarus guacamaia (rainbow parrotfish), is dependent on mangroves and has become locally extinct when they are gone[4]
- In a study in Belize comparing mangrove-scarce reefs to mangrove-rich reefs, the biomass of nearly every fish studied was much greater in the mangrove-rich areas
- Biomass of the blue striped grunt on patch reefs in the mangrove-rich area increased by 2667%
- Biomass of all 6 species studied in the patch reefs increased from 191% to 2667% in mangrove-rich areas[4]
- Mangroves act as intermediate nursery between seagrass beds and patch reefs[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/abouthabitat/mangroves.html
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://vb3lk7eb4t.search.serialssolutions.com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/?&url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.atitle=Mangrove%20forests%3A%20One%20of%20the%20world%27s%20threatened%20major%20tropical%20environments&rft.aulast=Valiela&rft.date=2001&rft.epage=815&rft.genre=article&rft.issn=0006-3568&rft.issue=10&rft.jtitle=BIOSCIENCE&rft.pages=807-815&rft.spage=807&rft.stitle=BIOSCIENCE&rft.volume=51&rfr_id=info:sid/www.isinet.com:WoK:UA&rft.au=Bowen%2C%20JL&rft.au=York%2C%20JK&rft_id=info:doi/10.1641%2F0006-3568%282001%29051
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/02/mangroves/warne-text/6
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 http://vb3lk7eb4t.search.serialssolutions.com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/ProQ%3Apqdiearthsci&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Nature&rft.atitle=Mangroves+enhance+the+biomass+of+coral+reef+fish+communities+in+the+Caribbean&rft.au=Mumby%2C+P+J%3BEdwards%2C+A+J%3BArias-Gonzalez%2C+JE%3BLindeman%2C+K+C%3BBlackwell%2C+P+G%3BGall%2C+A%3BGorczynska%2C+MI%3BHarborne%2C+A+R%3BPescod%2C+CL%3BRenken%2C+H%3BWabnitz%2C+CCC%3BLlewellyn%2C+G&rft.aulast=Mumby&rft.aufirst=P&rft.date=2004-02-05&rft.volume=427&rft.issue=6974&rft.spage=533&rft.isbn=&rft.btitle=&rft.title=Nature&rft.issn=00280836
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/southflorida/mangrove/profiles.html