Mangroves: Difference between revisions

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**There is a pattern of reduced mangrove forest area for nearly all countries containing them, especially countries with large mangrove areas
**There is a pattern of reduced mangrove forest area for nearly all countries containing them, especially countries with large mangrove areas


==What lives in the Mangroves?==
= What lives in the Mangroves? =
*Birds roost in the canopy
*Birds roost in the canopy
*Shellfish and organisms attach themselves to the roots, such as barnacles, oysters, crabs, sponges, anemones
*Shellfish and organisms attach themselves to the roots, such as barnacles, oysters, crabs, sponges, anemones
Line 54: Line 54:
*Nectar source for bats and honeybees
*Nectar source for bats and honeybees
*Juvenile fish find shelter there during there vulnerable first weeks
*Juvenile fish find shelter there during there vulnerable first weeks


==What are the Common Types of Mangroves?==
==What are the Common Types of Mangroves?==

Revision as of 16:29, 1 March 2014

Mangroves


What are Mangroves?

  • Groups of trees and shrubs that live in the coastal intertidal zone
  • 80 different species (from shrubs to 200-foot-high trees)
  • Slow moving waters allow fine sediments to accumulate and build up the muddy bottom
  • Some have dense tangles of prop roots or buttresses that allow the trees to handle the daily rise and fall of tides
  • Some have snorkel-like roots called pneumatophores that stick out of the mud to help them take in air


Where are They Found?

  • Only grow at tropical and subtropical latitudes near the equator
  • Grow in areas with low-oxygen soil
  • Most in Southeast Asia, many in Florida


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
  • 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

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
  • Stressors
  1. Coastal development driven by tourism and growing populations
  2. Aquaculture, particularly shrimp farming
    • 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
  3. Agriculture run-off carrying pesticides and herbicides
  4. Man-made changes in tidal or river flow that starve the system of sediment input
  5. Sea level rise

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
  • One of the world’s most threatened tropical ecosystems with global loss exceeding 35%
    • In Americas, mangrove deforestation is 2,251 km2 per year, which is higher rate than tropical rainforest deforestation
    • There is a pattern of reduced mangrove forest area for nearly all countries containing them, especially countries with large mangrove areas

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

What are the Common Types of Mangroves?

1. Red Mangrove
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
2. Black Mangrove
Long horizontal roots with pneumatophores
Bark is dark and scaly
Grows to heights of 65 feet
White flowers blossom in spring
3. White Mangrove
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
4. Buttonwood Mangrove
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
  • 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
      • Decreased amount of herbivores will cause reefs to become less resilient to algal overgrowth
    • Fisheries productivities are likely to decrease without mangroves
  • 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
  • Mangroves act as intermediate nursery between seagrass beds and patch reefs


Sources
1. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/02/mangroves/warne-text/6

National Geographic Article
Published February 2007
By Kennedy Warne

2. http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/abouthabitat/mangroves.html

3. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/southflorida/mangrove/profiles.html

4. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v427/n6974/full/nature02286.html#f1

Nature
Volume 427 Number 6974
Mangroves Enhance the Biomass of Coral Reef Fish Communities in the Caribbean
pages 533-536
Published February 5th, 2004
By Peter J. Mumby, et al

5. http://apps.webofknowledge.com/full_record.do?product=UA&search_mode=Refine&qid=5&SID=2Cegvloes2tFeX6EhRl&page=1&doc=4

Bioscience
Volume 51 Issue 10
Mangrove Forests: One of the World’s Threatened Major Tropical Environments
pages 807-815
Published October 2001
By Valiela, I ; Bowen, JL ; York, JK
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