Mangroves are among the most diverse and productive coastal ecosystems in the tropical and subtropical regions. Environmental conditions particular to this biome make mangroves hotspots for microbial diversity, and the resident microbial communities play essential roles in maintenance of the ecosystem. Recently, there has been increasing interest to understand the composition and contribution o...

Protected areas are used to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, protected areas can create tradeoffs spatially and temporally among ecosystem services, which can affect the welfare of dependent local communities. This study examines the effect of a protected area on the tradeoff between two extractive ecosystem services from mangrove forests: cutting mangroves (fuelwood) and h...

We documented the local density and sex, age-class, and body size distributions of Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri) among habitats at Bahı́a Santa Marı́a, northwestern Mexico, during the nonbreeding season. Three habitats were recognized: brackish flats, mangroves, and cattail marshes, which we ranked as richest to poorest in food resources and safest to most dangerous in predation danger. Wes...

We used carbon stable isotopes to examine the influence of the size of saltmarsh patches on the trophic contribution of saltmarsh grass and mangroves to 2 species of resident crabs (Parasesarma erythrodactyla and Australoplax tridentata). Crabs were collected at different distances across the saltmarsh–mangrove interface at each of 10 saltmarshes of different sizes (0.01 to 8.10 ha) adjacent to...

There are few detailed carbon (C) budgets of mangrove forests, yet these are important for understanding C sequestration in mangrove forests, how they support the productivity of the coast and their vulnerability to environmental change. Here, we develop C budgets for mangroves on the islands of Twin Cays, Belize. We consider seaward fringing forests and interior scrub forests that have been fe...

East Africa has a reduced mangrove crab species richness when compared to Asian mangroves. To date, only one species of Perisesarma de Man, 1895 has been reported in East Africa, despite more than 30 years of mangrove research in this region. Based on morphology, colour, mtDNA and behaviour, we describe a new species of Perisesarma from Kenya, P. samawati sp. nov. Surprisingly, when comparing m...

Beggiatoaceae, giant sulphur-oxidizing bacteria, are well known to occur in cold and temperate waters, as well as hydrothermal vents, where they form dense mats on the floor. However, they have never been described in tropical marine mangroves. Here, we describe two new species of benthic Beggiatoaceae colonizing a marine mangrove adjacent to mangrove roots. We combined phylogenetic and lipid a...

Mangrove ecosystems help mitigate climate change, are highly biodiverse, and provide critical goods and services to coastal communities. Despite their importance, anthropogenic activities are rapidly degrading and deforesting mangroves world-wide. Madagascar contains 2% of the world’s mangroves, many of which have undergone or are starting to exhibit signs of widespread degradation and deforest...

Marine bacteria have been exceptional sources of halotolerant enzymes since decades. The aim of the present study was to isolate bacteria producing hydrolytic enzymes from seven different mangroves collected from the coastal area of Thuwal, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and to further screen them for other enzymatic and antifungal activities. We have isolated 46 different rhizo- and endophytic bacteria...

Two prominent mangrove species of Fiji, Rhizophora mangle, Linn. Rhizophora stylosa Griff and their puative hyubrid (R x selala) were analysed for chromosome number and pairing. Both parental species and their hybrid possess a diploid number of (2n) = 36 chromosomes. Regular 18 bivalents were observed in two species but the hybrid lacked proper chromosome pairing during meiosis. Analysis of tet...