Journal ArticleDOI
Stand structure influences nekton community composition and provides protection from natural disturbance in Micronesian mangroves
TLDR
Tidal creek nekton assemblages were compared among mangrove forests impacted by Typhoon Sudal and differing in stand structure to indicate that studies of structural complexity and neKton densities may be better served when individual species are compared and that diverse mangroves tree assemblage will support diverse nektons that may be more resilient to disturbance.Abstract:
Structurally complex mangrove roots are thought to provide foraging habitat, predation refugia, and typhoon protection for resident fish, shrimp, and crabs. The spatially compact nature of Micronesian mangroves results in model ecosystems to test these ideas. Tidal creek nekton assemblages were compared among mangrove forests impacted by Typhoon Sudal and differing in stand structure. Structurally complex Rhizophora spp. stands were predicted to support higher densities and different communities of nekton and to provide greater protection from typhoons compared to less complex Sonneratia alba/Bruguiera gymnorrhiza stands. Lift net data revealed that structural complexity did not support greater nekton densities, but did support significantly different nekton assemblages. The cardinalfish Apogon ceramensis and goby Oxyurichthys lonchotus had significantly higher densities in S. alba/B. gymnorrhiza mangrove creeks, whereas the silverside Atherinomorus lacunosus and diogenid crabs had significantly higher densities in Rhizophora spp. creeks. Similar nekton densities 17 and 4 months after the typhoon in Rhizophora spp. creeks provided indirect evidence that structural complexity increased protection for resident nekton from disturbances. Findings indicate that studies of structural complexity and nekton densities may be better served when individual species are compared and that diverse mangrove tree assemblages will support diverse nekton assemblages that may be more resilient to disturbance.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Habitat complexity: approaches and future directions
TL;DR: It is argued that complexity may be implicated in community persistence and ecosystem stability by acting as a decoupling mechanism in predator–prey interactions and potential application of these approaches for cross-ecosystem comparisons is discussed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Impacts of climate change on mangrove ecosystems: a region by region overview
TL;DR: In this article, a review highlights extreme regional variation in climate change threats and impacts, and how these factors impact the structure of mangrove communities, their biodiversity and geomorphological setting.
Journal ArticleDOI
Effect of habitat complexity attributes on species richness
TL;DR: Space-size heterogeneity is a more important contributor to taxonomic richness than overall complexity and the other complexity attributes examined, which has implications for the use of this concept in habitat restoration by the enhancement of habitat structures.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ecosystem carbon stocks of mangrove forests along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Honduras
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors quantified C stocks of Honduran mangroves along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts and the Bay Islands and examined differences in ecosystem C stocks due to size and structure of mangrove vegetation in Honduras.
References
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Book
The botany of mangroves
TL;DR: The aim of this work is to contribute to the human awareness of the natural world and to contribute towards the humanizing of nature.
Journal ArticleDOI
Global view of the origin of tropical disturbances and storms
TL;DR: A global observational study of atmospheric conditions associated with tropical disturbance and storm development is presented in this article, which primarily uses upper air observations which have become available over the tropical oceans in the last decade.
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Mangrove forests: Resilience, protection from tsunamis, and responses to global climate change
TL;DR: The authors assesses the degree of resilience of mangrove forests to large, infrequent disturbance (tsunamis) and their role in coastal protection, and to chronic disturbance events (climate change).