Ecology of South Florida (EVR 3013) LECTURE 23

INTERTIDAL COMMUNITIES I
MANGROVES AND SALT MARSHES


THE MANGROVES DANCE
The mangroves dance in the light of the moon,
(Three feet, four feet, more feet, many feet)
Dance and prance in the light of the moon,
Dance and prance to the swishing tune
Of wind on the waves in the light of the moon.
Gnarled old mangroves, bent and marred,
With crooked arms--
With bodies scarred by winds and wave,
When the sea mounts high,
And through the sky the tearing storm goes shrieking by.
Gray old mangroves, awkward and stumbling,
Twisted legs--tortuous--tumbling on to a shuffling tune,
As they dance and prance in the light of the moon.
The mangroves dance in the light of the moon,
Dance in the trance as the tide mounts high.
And only the moon in the southern sky
Can see them groping, loping by,
(Three feet, four feet, more feet, many feet)
Can hear the drone of the muffled tune
As the mangroves dance in the light of the moon.
 
Rose Strong Hubbell (1932) [in Jones and O'Sullivan 1995]

MANGROVES

HANDOUTS: 1. Species List for mangrove swamps.

I. DEFINITIONS

A. Etymology

Mangrove is from a Portuguese word for tree (mangue) and an English word for a stand of trees (grove)

B. Useage

1. Tree

Mangrove describes a type of tree growing in estuarine environments.

2. Community

A Mangrove community consists of plants growing in estuarine environments.
Synonyms include: tidal forest, tidal swamp, mangrove community, mangrove ecosystem, mangal and mangrove swamps

C. Tomlinson (1986)

According to Tomlinson, true mangroves have the following characteristics:

1. Morphological Specialization

Morphological specialization to the coastal environment, such as aerial roots and vivipary.

2. Salt handling

Mangroves posess a physiological mechanism for salt exclusion and often the ability to excrete salt

3. Niche fidelity

Mangroves display fidelity to the mangrove environment.

4. Taxonomic isolation

Taxonomic isolation from terrestrial relatives.

D. Diversity

Worldwide there are 34 species (9 genera - 5 families) that comprise major elements and 27 species (11 genera and 11 families) that comprise the minor elements of mangrove ecosystems.

II. PHYSICAL FEATURES

A. Distribution

1. Tropical

2. Southern

90% of the mangroves in Florida are located in Dade, Collier, Lee and Monroe Counties. Northern limits are Ponce de Leon Inlet on Atlantic Coast and Cedar Key on the Gulf .

B. Physical Attributes

1. climate

Mangroves do not occur where annual temp is below 19o C (66oF), as climatic stress increases plant stature decreases, hurricane prone areas also have reduced stature

2. salt water

Mangroves are facultative halophytes, but are usually out-competed in freshwater environments

3. Water fluctuation

- disperses propagates, transports nutrients and removes hydrogen sulfide, mangroves best developed where tidal fluctuations are great or where there is a broad, shallow bays with seasonal freshwater run-off (e.g., Everglades)

4. terrestrial nutrients

Runoff of terrestrial nutrients

5. substrate and wave energy

Mangroves flourish in depositional environments with low energy.

III. PLANTS

A. Plants

1. Avicennia germinans

Black mangroves are characterized by pneutmatophores (2-20 cm above the soil), can reach a height of 20 m, their propagules are lima-bean shaped, and they flower in spring and summer.

2. Rhizophora mangle

Red mangroves are characterized by prop roots, may reach 25 m in height, their propagules are pencil shaped, they flower generally in summer and spring but can flower throughout the year, and posess a small reserve of leaf buds.

3. Laguncularia racemosa

White mangroves are trees to 15 m, their propagules are small diamond shaped, and they flower in spring and early summer.

4. Conocarpus erectus

Buttonwood is a mangrove associate, tree to 14 m, not viviparous.

B. Adaptations

1. prop roots and drop roots

Lenticels allow oxygenation. Pneumatophores function similarly, but are more susceptible to clogging.

3. salt exclusion and salt extrusion

4. Salt tolerance

  1. salt exclusion - red mangrove
  2. salt excretion - black and white mangrove
  3. reds limited to soil salinities below 60-65 ppt, blacks and white can grow at 80-90 ppt
  4. salt flats - mangrove free areas

5. Propagules

Propagules float, germinate on the tree, obligate dispersal time 8 days for white, 14 days for (35 days viability) black and 40 days (110 days viability) for red mangroves (12 months)

C. Plant Species List For Mangroves


1. Trees

Red mangrove Rhizophora mangle
Black mangrove Avicennia germinans
White mangrove Laguncularia racemosa
Buttonwood Conocarpus erectus

2. Shrubs

Brazilian pepper Schinus terebinthifoliusEX

3. Herbs
Leather fern  Acrostichum danaeifoliumT
Black rush Juncus roemerianus
Glasswort Salicornia virginica
Saltgrass Distichilis spicata

IV. ANIMALS

A. Diversity is high

B. Animal species list for Mangroves


1. Birds
Great blue heron Ardea herodius
Green-backed heron Butorides striatus
Great egret Casmerodius albus
Belted kingfisher Ceryle alcyon
Little blue heron Egretta caeruleaSSC
White ibis Eudocimus albusSSC
Snowy egret Egretta thulaSSC
Tricolor heron Egretta tricolorSSC
Fish crow Corvus ossifragus
Wood stork Mycteria americanaT
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruberSSC
Osprey Pandion haliaetusSSC
Double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus
Brown pelican Pelicanus occidentalisSSC
Bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalusT
White-crowned pigeon Columba leucocephalaT
Roseatte spoonbill Ajaia ajajaSSC

2. Mammals
Florida panther  Felis concolor ssp. coryiT   [state animal]
River otter Lutra canadensis
Raccoon Procyon lotor
Florida manatee Trichechus manatusT
Bottle-nose dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Marsh rabbit Sylvilagus palustris

3. Reptiles
Water moccasin Agkistrodon piscivorus
American crocodile Crocodylus acutusT

4. Fish
Snook Centropomus undecimalis
Mangrove snapper Lutjanus griseus
Tarpon Megalops atlanticus
Mullet Mugil cephalus
Red drum Scieanops ocellatus

5. Crustaceans
Blue crab Callinectes sapidus
Land crab Gecarcinus lateralis
Sand fiddler crab Uca pugilator

6. Insects
Saltmarsh mosquito Aedes taeniorhynchus
Honey bee Apis mellifera
For superscript by species name: C = commercially exploited, SSC = species of special concern, T = threatened. Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission listings. EX = exotic.

V. BIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

A. Endemics

No plants

B. Exotics

Casuarina equisetifolia Austrailian pine
Colubrina asiatica Lather leaf
Schinus teribenthifolius Brazilian pepper

C. Diversity

low for plants.

D. Zonation

1. Red - Black - Buttonwood

White occurs sporadically in open, irregularly flooded areas (Davis 1943)

2. Black Mangroves

Occur on outer fringe in some regions in Florida

3. External physical forces

External physical forces determine zonation according to Egler (1952) and Thom (1967, 1975)

4. Colonization

White and black mangroves are the earliest colonizers on spoil banks in central Florida (Lewis and Dunstan 1975)

5. Mangrove species

Mangrove species can grow in all zones (Rabinowitz (1975)

6. Seed predation

Seed predation also may influence distribution. Seed predation of black mangrove was highest in the mid-intertidal zone (Smith 1987)

7. Competition

White mangroves out compete in red mangroves presence in intertidal zones (Ball 1980)

8. Reducing environments

Black mangrove survives better in strongly reducing environments than does red mangrove (Thibodeau and Nickerson 1986)

VI. ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES

A. Productivity (g C m-2 yr-1)

  1. ranges from 365 to 4380
  2. Red Mangroves produce 8 tons of detritus per hectare per year

B. Succession

Steady-state cyclical or catastrophic climax

A. Importance

Sport and commercial fishing

1. Panulirus argus (spiny lobster)

2. Penaeus duorarum (pink shrimp)

3. Mugil cephalus (mullet)

4. Megalops atlanticus (tarpon)

5. Centropomus undecimalis (snook)

6. Lutjanus apodus (mangrove snapper)

V. HUMAN EFFECTS

B. Pre-Colombian

Aboriginal fishing

C. 18th and 19th century

1. Fishing

2. Dredging

3. change in water quality

4. buttonwood charcoal

5. Egret hunting

D. 20th century

1. Changes in water quality

2. Changes in water quantity

3. Dredge and fill


SALT MARSH

HANDOUTS: 1. Species List for salt marsh

I. DEFINITION

Intertidal communities dominated by non-woody, salt tolerant plants

II. PHYSICAL FEATURES

A. Distribution

1. Throughout coastal Florida

2. Best developed where mangroves are absent

B. Cover

Ca. 170,000 ha in Florida

C. Physical Attributes

1. low wave energy

2. high tidal flow

3. low mangrove cover

III. PLANTS

A. Diversity low


B. Plant species List for Salt Marsh


1. Herbs
Leather fern  Acrostichum danaeifoliumT
Black rush Juncus roemerianus
Glasswort Salicornia virginica
Saltgrass Distichilis spicata
Smooth cord grass Spartina alterniflora

2. Trees

Red mangrove Rhizophora mangle
Black mangrove Avicennia germinans

IV. ANIMALS

A. Diversity and abundance is high

B. Animal species list for Salt Marsh


1. Birds
Red-winged blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus
Roseatte spoonbill Ajaia ajajaSSC
Seaside sparrow Ammodramus maritimusT
Great blue heron Ardea herodius
Green-backed heron Butorides striatus
Great egret Casmerodius albus
Turkey vulture Cathartes aura
Belted kingfisher Ceryle alcyon
Black vulture Coragyps atratus
Fish crow Corvus ossifragus
Little blue heron Egretta caeruleaSSC
Snowy egret Egretta thulaSSC
Tricolor heron Egretta tricolorSSC
White ibis Eudocimus albusSSC
American coot Fulica americana
Bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalusT
Wood stork Mycteria americanaT
Osprey Pandion haliaetusSSC
Double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber
Boat-tailed grackle Quiscalus major

2. Mammals
River otter Lutra canadensis
Raccoon Procyon lotor
Marsh rabbit Sylvilagus palustris

3. Reptiles
American crocodile Crocodylus acutusT

4. Insects
Saltmarsh mosquito Aedes taeniorhynchus

5. Crustaceans
Blue crab Callinectes sapidus
Land crab Gecarcinus lateralis
Sand fiddler crab Uca pugilator
For superscript by species name: C = commercially exploited, SSC = species of special concern, T = threatened. Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission listings. EX = exotic.

V. BIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

A. Endemics

No plants

B. Exotics

Colubrina asiatica

C. Diversity

Low for plants

D. Zonation

Distinct but poorly understood

VI. ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES

A. Productivity (g C m-2 yr-1)

Among the highest in the world, in Florida ranges from 130 - 2500

B. Succession

Steady-state cyclical or catastrophic climax, often replaced by mangrove species

VI. HUMAN EFFECTS

A. Importance

Sport and commercial fishing: shrimp, mullet, grouper, blue crabs, oysters, spiny lobster, red snapper, sea trout, calico scallops, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel

B. Pre-Colombian

fishing

C. 18th and 19th century

1. fishing

2. drainage

3. development

D. 20th century

1. over-fishing

2. dredge and fill sites

3. development

4. pollution

5. drainage for mosquito

Aedes taeniorhynchus - Brevard salt marsh 500 Landings per minute on a single person, marshes were ditched in the 1930's as a part of WPA - project. Not effective but it did employ many people. Extensive spraying of DDT. Impounding now has replaced DDT
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