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eBio
Mangroves as Islands: Effects of Tree Size and Isolation on Inhabiting Faunal Richness, Individual Abundance, and Species Turnover
Shawn J. Wurst1 and Lauren G. Ruane1,*
1Department of Organismal and Environmental Biology, Christopher Newport University, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Newport News, VA 23606, USA. *Corresponding author.
Caribbean Naturalist, No. 15 (2014)
Abstract
The theory of island biogeography proposes that island size and distance from the mainland predict insular species richness and the stability of species assemblages. In this study, we determine whether this theory can be extended to explain patterns of species richness, individual abundance, and species turnover among individual trees. Mangrove trees provide a habitat for a wide range of species including insects, mollusks, spiders, birds, and crustaceans. We recorded the number of species and the number of individuals inhabiting Black and Red Mangroves that differed in size and distance from the forest (i.e., source population) in 2012 and 2013. In accordance with the theory of island biogeography, species richness (and individual abundance) were positively correlated with tree size and negatively correlated with the distance of the tree from the forest. Although the number of species per tree was similar across years, the composition of species within trees did change and was more stable within trees in the forest. Lower species turnover within trees in the forest was due to both reduced levels of immigration of new species and to reduced levels of local extinction. These results suggest that immigration events to trees within the forest continuously reintroduce species already present and thereby rescue populations from extinction.
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