Abstract
The aerial prop roots of the neotropical red mangrove,Rhizophora mangle L., begin growing well above highest high water (HHW) and often extend well below lowest low water (LLW) before rooting in the benthic substratum. In Belize, Central America, prop roots growing below LLW are colonized by diverse assemblages of organisms, including macroalgae, hydrozoans, ascidians, sponges, anemones, hard corals, and isopod crustaceans. Mangroves, root-fouling epibionts, root herbivores, and benthic predators engage in complex interactions that are major determinants of mangrove growth and production. Species richness of root epibionts increases with distance from the mainland and with proximity to the barrier reef. Species richness decreases with variability in water temperature and salinity. Ascidians and sponges transplanted from Lark Cay into the coastal Placencia Lagoon failed to survive, but anemones from Lark Cay survived in Placencia Lagoon. Reciprocal transplants survived off-shore. The gastropod predator,Melongena melongena L., present only in mainland estuaries, reduced local barnacle abundance and epibiont species richness in Placencia Lagoon. Isopod species richness also increases with distance from shore, but the number of roots bored by these species decreases. These isopods can reduce root relative growth rate (RGRroot) by 55%. On off-shore cays, sponges and ascidians ameliorate negative effects of isopods. In mainland estuaries where epibionts are less common, isopod damage to roots is more severe. Experimental studies in mangrove swamps throughout the world would clarify the importance of plant-animal interactions in these widespread tropical ecosystems.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Alvarez, I. A., 1989. Establecimiento, desarrollo y mantenimiento de una comunidad epibentonica tropical. Ph.D. Thesis, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Facultad de Ciencias. 150 pp.
Bacon, P. R., 1971. The maintenance of a resident population ofBalanus eburneus (Gould) in relation to salinity fluctuations in a Trinidad mangrove swamp. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 6: 187–198.
Bertness, M. D., 1984. Ribbed mussels andSpartina alterniflora production in a New England salt marsh. Ecology 65: 1794–1807.
Bertness, M. D., 1985. Fiddler crab regulation ofSpartina alterniflora production on a New England salt marsh. Ecology 66: 1042–1055.
Chapman, V. J., 1976. Mangrove vegetation. J. Cramer, Vaduz, Lichtenstein, 447 pp.
Connell, J. H., 1961. Effects of competition, predation byThais lapillus and other factors on natural populations of the barnacleBalanus balanoides. Ecol. Monogr. 31: 61–104.
Connell, J. H., 1975. Some mechanisms producing structure in natural communities: a model and evidence from field experiments. In M. L. Cody & J. Diamond (eds), Ecology and evolution of communities. Belknap, Cambridge, MA, USA: 460–490.
Ellison, A. M. & E. J. Farnsworth, 1990. The ecology of Belizean mangrove-root fouling communities: I. Epibenthic fauna are barriers to isopod attach of red mangrove roots. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 142: 91–104.
Estevez, E. D. & J. L. Simon, 1975. Systematics and ecology ofSphaeroma (Crustacea: Isopoda) in the mangrove habitats of Florida. In C. Walsh, S. Snedaker & H. Teas(eds), Proceedings of international symposium on biology and management of mangroves. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL: 286–304.
Farnsworth, E. J. & A. M. Ellison, 1991. Patterns of herbivory in Belizean mangrove swamps. Biotropica 23: 555–567.
Golley, F., H. T. Odum & R. F. Wilson, 1962. The structure and metabolism of a Puerto Rican red mangrove forest in May. Ecology 43: 9–19.
Hartshorn, G., L. Nicolait, L. Hartshorn, G. Bevier, R. Brightman, J. Cal, A. Cawich, W. Davidson, R. DuBois, C. Dyer, J. Gibson, W. Hawley, J. Leonard, R. Nicolait, D. Weyer, H. White & C. Wright, 1984. Belize country environmental profile. Trejos Hnos Sucs. S.A., San Jose, Costa Rica, 152 pp.
Hutchings, P. A. & H. F. Recher, 1974. The fauna of Careel Bay with comments on the ecology of mangrove and seagrass communities. Aust. Zool. 18: 99–128.
Kensley, B. & M. Schotte, 1989. Guide to the marine isopod crustaceans of the Caribbean. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 308 pp.
Kjerfve, B., K. Rützler & G. H. Kierspe, 1982. Tides at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize. In K. Rützler & I. G. Macintyre (eds), The Atlantic barrier reef ecosystem at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize, I. Structure and communities. Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C.: 47–51.
Littler, D. S., M. M. Littler, K. E. Bucher & J. E. Norris, 1989. Marine plants of the Caribbean: a field guide from Florida to Brazil. Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C., 263 pp.
Littler, M. M., P. R. Taylor, D. S. Littler, R. H. Sims & J. N. Norris, 1985. The distribution, abundance, and primary productivity of submerged macrophytes in a Belize barrier-reef mangrove system. Atoll Res. Bull. 282: 1–18.
Lugo, A. E. & S. C. Snedaker, 1974. The ecology of mangroves. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 5: 39–64.
Macnae, W., 1968. A general account of the fauna and flora of mangrove swamps and forests in the Indo-West-Pacific region. Adv. mar. Biol. 6: 73–270.
Macnae, W. & M. Kalk, 1962. The ecology of the mangrove swamps at Inhaca island, Mozambique. J. Ecol. 50: 19–34.
Mattox, N. T., 1949. Studies on the biology of the edible oyster,Ostrea rhizophorae Guilding in Puerto Rico. Ecol. Mono. 19: 339–356.
McLean, R. A., 1951. The Pelecypoda or bivalve mollusks of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. In Scientific survey of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 17: 1–183.
Menge, B. A., J. Lubchenco, S. D. Gaines & L. R. Ashkenas, 1986. A test of the Menge-Sutherland model of community organization in a tropical rocky intertidal food web. Oecologia (Berl.) 71: 75–89.
Menge, B. A. & J. P. Sutherland, 1987. Community regulation: variation in disturbance, competition, and predation in relation to environmental stress and recruitment. Am. Nat. 130: 730–757.
Odum, W. E. & E. J. Held, 1972. Trophic analyses of an estuarine mangrove community. Bull. mar. Sci. 22: 671–738.
Paine, R. T., 1966. Food web complexity and species diversity. Am. Nat. 100: 65–75.
Paine, R. T., 1988. Food webs: road maps of interactions or grist for theoretical development. Ecology 69: 1648–1654.
Perry, D. M., 1988. Effects of associated fauna on growth and productivity in the red mangrove. Ecology 69: 1064–1075.
Pinto, L. & S. Wignarajah, 1980. Some ecological aspects of the edible oysterCrassostrea cucullata (Born) occurring in association with mangroves in Negombo lagoon, Sri Lanka. Hydrobiologia 69: 11–19.
Rehm, A. & H. J. Humm, 1973.Sphaeroma terebrans: a threat to the mangroves of southwestern Florida. Science 182: 173–174.
Ribi, G., 1982. Does the wood-boring isopodSphaeroma terebrans benefit red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle)? Bull. mar. Sci. 31: 925–928.
Rodriguez, C. & A. W. Stoner, 1990. The epiphyte community of mangrove roots in a tropical estuary: distribution and biomass. Aquat. Bot. 36: 117–126.
Rützler, K., 1969. The mangrove community, aspects of its structure, faunistics and ecology. In Lagunas Costeras, un Simposio. UNAM-UNESCO, Mexico: 515–535.
Rützler, K., 1987. Recruitment of sponges and their space competitors to settling plates in Twin Cay mangrove habitats. In K. Rützler (ed.), Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems: progress report 1987. National Museum of Natural History (Dept. of Echinoderms & Lower Invertebrates), Smithsonian Inst., Washington, D.C.: 23–24
Rützler, K. & I. G. Macintyre (eds), 1982. The Atlantic barrrier reef ecosystem at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize, I. Structure and communities. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 539 pp.
Sasekumar, A., 1974. Distribution of macrofauna on a Malayan mangrove shore. J. anim. Ecol. 43: 51–69.
Sasekumar, A., 1984. Methods for the study of mangrove fauna. In S. C. Snedaker & J. G. Snedaker (eds), The mangrove ecosystem: research methods. UNESCO, Paris, France: 145–161.
Simberloff, D., B. J. Brown & S. Lowrie, 1978. Isopod and insect root borers may benefit Florida mangroves. Science 201: 630–632.
Smith, T. J. III, 1987. Seed predation in relation to tree dominance and distribution in mangrove forests. Ecology 68: 266–273.
Smith, T. J. III, H. T. Chan, C. C. McIvor & M. B. Robblee, 1989. Comparisons of seed predation in tropical tidal forests from three continents. Ecology 70: 146–151.
Snedaker, S. C., 1973. Mangroves, isopods, and the ecosystem. Science 183: 1036–1037.
Sokal, R. R. & F. J. Rohlf, 1981. Biometry, second edition. W. H. Freeman & Co., New York, N.Y., 859 pp.
Sterrer, W. (ed.), 1986. Marine fauna and flora of Bermuda. John Wiley & Sons, New York, N.Y., 742 pp.
Stoddart, D. R., F. R. Fosberg & D. L. Spellman, 1982. Cays of the Belize barrier reef and lagoon. Atoll Res. Bull. 256: 1–76.
Sutherland, J. P., 1980. Dynamics of the epibenthic community on roots of the mangroveRhizophora mangle at Bahia de Buche, Venezuela. Mar. Biol. 58: 75–84.
Taylor, P. R., M. M. Littler & D. S. Littler, 1986. Escapes from herbivory in relation to the structure of mangrove island macroalgal communities. Oecologia (Berl.) 69: 481–490.
Tomlinson, P. B., 1986. The botany of mangroves. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., 413 pp.
Wada, K. & D. Wowor, 1989. Foraging on mangrove pneumatophores by ocypodid crabs. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 134: 89–100.
Wahl, M., 1989. Marine epibiosis. I. Fouling and antifouling: some basic aspects. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 58: 175–189.
Weerdt, W. H. de, K. Rützler & K. P. Smith, 1991. The Chalinidae (Porifera) of Twin Cays, Belize, and adjacent waters. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 104: 189–205.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ellison, A.M., Farnsworth, E.J. The ecology of Belizean mangrove-root fouling communities: patterns of epibiont distribution and abundance, and effects on root growth. Hydrobiologia 247, 87–98 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00008207
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00008207