The impacts of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) deforestation on zooplankton communities in Bocas del Toro, Panama

Abstract

Deforestation impact studies have generally focused on tropical rainforests or temperate coniferous woodlands. However, extensive clear-cutting is currently occurring in a wide-ranging, but far less recognized habitat: the world's mangrove forests. These coastal forests thrive in areas of low wave action and high sediment availability, where mangrove trees develop dense and productive ecosystems (Alongi, 2002). Extensive aerial and subtidal prop root networks, a dense canopy, and varying water conditions allow these forests to support unique assemblages of flora and fauna. Even as mangrove deforestation continues to alter coastlines, these forests are increasingly recognized as important nursery habitats and feeding grounds for many larval, juvenile and adult fish and invertebrate species (e.g., Nagelkerken et al., 2001, 2002; Mumby et al., 2004; Nagelkerken and van der Velde, 2004). Larval populations of a wide variety of marine species recruit to these sheltered, structurally complex, shaded and nutrient-rich ecosystems (Krishnamurthy, 1982; Dennis, 1992). Whether zooplankton communities differ between intact and cleared mangrove areas is unknown.