More than marine: revealing the critical importance of mangrove ecosystems for terrestrial vertebrates

Abstract

Aim Despite mangrove forests spanning marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms, their function as terrestrial ecosystems has been largely ignored. In the light of the rapid global decline of mangroves, it is critical to build a more holistic understanding to plan for effective management of the whole ecosystem. This study examines the importance of mangrove forests for terrestrial vertebrates.Location Global mangrove forests.Methods An extensive review of records of the use of global mangrove forests by the most poorly studied terrestrial vertebrate groups: mammals, reptiles and amphibians. We explored the species richness and distribution of these groups, along with their ecological characteristics. We also explored the relationship between animal and plant species richness across the distribution of mangrove forests.Results Mangroves are used by a remarkable number of terrestrial mammal, reptile and amphibian species (n = 464); five times more than previously reported. The diversity of species uncovered by this study, almost half of which are of conservation concern, underscores the value of mangroves as terrestrial ecosystems. Most species were facultative users of mangroves; however, there are critical knowledge gaps in how these species interact with these ecosystems. We found a positive global correlation between animal and mangrove plant richness.Main conclusions This study highlights that mangrove forests are considerably more important for terrestrial animals than generally acknowledged. We present the most comprehensive review of the importance of mangrove forests for terrestrial vertebrates, but also reveal significant knowledge gaps in the ecology of these ecosystems. Our study uncovers evidence that these habitats may be increasingly important as refuges for species from anthropocentric disturbance. Our findings emphasize the importance of moving beyond viewing mangroves as marine ecosystems, towards recognizing their cross-realm importance. Without such a shift, there will be significant limitations in our ability to manage and conserve these ecosystems.

Quantifying the influence of urban land use on mangrove biology and ecology: A meta‐analysis

“…The mangrove vegetation dataset was clipped to coincide with individual study areas for each year and converted from geodatabase to geoTIFF format using ArcGIS Pro 1.4.0. The TEOW dataset used to describe mangrove coverage was limited to areas previously described as mangrove biome (Olson et al, 2001) and does not account for mangrove vegetation that may fall out- (Ellison, Farnsworth, & Merkt, 1999;Rog, Clarke, & Cook, 2016). This variable was calculated as: Long5j1002Xj, in which X is the longitude of the study site in decimal degrees.…”

Habitat discontinuities form strong barriers to gene flow among mangrove populations, despite the capacity for long‐distance dispersal

“…Mangrove forests are among the most productive and biologically important ecosystems in the world (Giri et al., ), providing a wealth of services that uniquely bridge marine and terrestrial processes (Alongi, ; Nagelkerken et al., ; Rog, Clarke, & Cook, ). Dispersal in mangroves is also a combination of aquatic and terrestrial processes; propagules are dispersed by water, while pollination occurs via flying insects (Hutchings & Saenger, ).…”

A Review on Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, and Perceptions of New Zealand’s Mangroves: Can We Make Informed Decisions about Their Removal?

“…The role of mangroves in providing a habitat for terrestrial species, not just marine and freshwater organisms, has been largely overlooked globally [120,121]. Little information is available for terrestrial vertebrates, such as mammals, reptiles, and amphibians [120].…”

“…Little information is available for terrestrial vertebrates, such as mammals, reptiles, and amphibians [120]. A recent global review of these groups in mangroves found 464 species of terrestrial vertebrates documented in mangroves worldwide [121].…”