mangrove swamps

Question 1

define mangrove swamps

Answer 1

Blanket term used to describe tropical communities dominated by trees and shrubs that can grow in salt water or very salty soils

Question 2

what was reported in walsh 1974

Answer 2

sixty to seventy five percent of the coastline in tropical regions is lined with mangroves

Question 3

what are the four types of mangroves

Answer 3

white red black buttonwood

Question 4

where do mangroves grow

Answer 4

on shores with little wave action

Question 5

what are mangroves often associated with

Answer 5

leeward side of islands

Question 6

what does lack of high water movement mean

Answer 6

fine sediments settle out forming a muddy bottom which tend to be anoxic - lacking oxygen

Question 7

what is the scientific name for red mangrove

Answer 7

rhizophora mangle

Question 8

what zonation is the red mangrove in

Answer 8

Usually most seaward mangrove tree in bahamas and caribbean

Question 9

how does the red mangrove stabilise itself

Answer 9

Has numerous pop roots that extend from the trunk and help to stabilize the tree in the shifting mud substrate in which it grows

Question 10

how do the seeds germinate

Answer 10

germinate while still attached to the tree forming arrow shaped seedlings which grow to 25 to 30 cm in length before they detach from the parent plant
Seedlings float in the water with which rooting end down until they reach water of a suitable depth to allow them to take root

Question 11

what is the scientific name for black mangroves

Answer 11

avicennia germinans

Question 12

where does the black mangrove dominate

Answer 12

the next landward zone

Question 13

what does the area of the black mangrove receive

Answer 13

high tide water and can remain flooded for long periods of time leading to a highly saline anoxic mud substrate

Question 14

what is the black mangrove distinguished by

Answer 14

pneumatophores vertical roots that extend above the water from the main horizontal root network
Allow oxygen to diffuse into the roots of the plant so compensating for the lack of oxygen in the mud

Question 15

what is the scientific name for white mangrove

Answer 15

laguncularia racemosa

Question 16

what is the scientific name for buttonwood

Answer 16

conocarpus erecta

Question 17

what is the difference between white mangrove

Answer 17

White being slightly more slat tolerant than buttonwood

Question 18

what kind of water is found with white and buttonwood mangroves

Answer 18

High tide waters only occasionally reach these trees
However environment still very salty due to salt spray

Question 19

what kind of leaves do white mangrove trees have

Answer 19

fleshy waxy leaves which help retain water

Question 20

what do both the white and buttonwood mangroves have on leaf stalks or petioles

Answer 20

Both have two salt glands which Actively secrete salt which would otherwise upset the plants osmotic balance

Question 21

where does buttonwood get its name from

Answer 21

hard leathery button like seeds it produces

Question 22

list 5 benefits

Answer 22

highly productive detrital ecosystem
Means most organisms do not feed directly on plants themselves leaves fragmented and acted on by decomposing bacteria so producing a rich food source
This concentration of bacteria often gives these mangrove areas a bad smell due to hydrogen sulfide bacteria give off during their anaerobic respirations
Act as land reclaimer stabiliser
Sediment in slow moving water is trapped by the prop roots of the red mangrove and held in p so forming new land
Also help to protect the shoreline from excessive wave action
Major wildlife habitat
Serve as nursery grounds for many commercially important species and crustacea as well as being a rich feeding area for wading birds fish and invertebrates such as crabs

Question 23

list 5 destroyers of mangroves

Answer 23

Destroyed by global warming tropical storms and hurricanes or by silting up of creek entrances that prohibit tidal flow in the area
Have been cleared and land drained for urban development and houses and hotels spring up in their place
Oil spills and tar deposits are particularly damaging to intertidal mangrove environment killing algae and invertebrates that live on the roots and interfering with oxygen supply by blocking respiratory pores in prop roots and pneumatophores
Water temperature becomes warmer and kill animals algae multiply eutrophication
Melting ice caps causes influx of fresh water making swamp water more fresh animals and planets cannot tolerate these changes
Garbage and acid rain