Asia-Pacific Symposium on Mangrove Ecosystems : Proceedings of the International Conference Held at The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, September 1–3, 1993

Mangrove ecosystems are typical formations found in coastal deposits of mud and silt throughout the tropics and some distance into the subtropical latitudes. The total wordwide mangrove area, which is estimated at about 170,000 km 2 with some sixty species of trees and shrubs exclusive to the habitat, dominates approximately 75% of the world's coastline between latitudes 25°N and 25°S. Such unique intertidal ecosystems support genetically diverse communities of terrestrial and aquatic organisms that are of direct or indirect socioeconomic values. Mangrove forests play important roles as coastal stabilization and protection against winds and storms; producers of nutrients, forest resources and animal species of economic importance. Recently, the issues on the conservation, proper utilization and management of mangrove forests have been widely discussed. Unfortunately, overexploitation and destruction of mangroves seriously threatens the sustainability of such a unique ecosystem. This volume includes papers on three main areas: recent advances in mangrove ecology; application and utilization of mangrove resources; and conservation and management of the ecosystems. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Thermo-osmotic gas supply not detected in Avicennia marina seedlings....Pages 1-4 There is a continuum of gas space in young plants of Avicennia marina ....Pages 5-11 Diurnal gas exchange characteristics and water use efficiency of three salt-secreting mangroves at low and high salinities....Pages 13-22 Ventilation and respiration in roots of one-year-old seedlings of grey mangrove Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh.....Pages 23-29 Transport of sediment in mangrove swamps....Pages 31-42 Mangroves and climate change in the Florida and Caribbean region: scenarios and hypotheses....Pages 43-49 Tidal asymmetry in mangrove creeks....Pages 51-58 Ecogeographic variation in Kandelia candel from Brunei, Hong Kong and Thailand....Pages 59-65 Microgeographic genetic structure of the fiddler crab, Uca arcuata De Haan (Ocypodidae) in Taiwan....Pages 67-74 Impact of expected climate change on mangroves....Pages 75-81 The population dynamics of the mangrove Avicennia marina ; demographic synthesis and predictive modelling....Pages 83-88 Lower marine fungi (labyrinthulomycetes) and the decay of mangrove leaf litter....Pages 89-95 Frequency of occurrence of fungi on wood in Malaysian mangroves....Pages 97-106 Ecology of mangrove fungi and their role in nutrient cycling: what gaps occur in our knowledge?....Pages 107-118 Observations on vertical distribution of fungi associated with standing senescent Acanthus ilicifolius stems at Mai Po Mangrove, Hong Kong....Pages 119-126 Substrate type and microbial interactions as factors affecting ascocarp formation by mangrove fungi....Pages 127-134 Continental scale patterns in mangrove litter fall....Pages 135-140 The growth performances of two mangrove crabs, Chiromanthes bidens and Parasesarma plicata under different leaf litter diets....Pages 141-148 Nutrients and heavy metal contamination of plants and sediments in Futian mangrove forest....Pages 149-158 Forest structure and biomass of mangroves in the Mgeni estuary, South Africa....Pages 159-166 Genetic diversity, distributional barriers and rafting continents — more thoughts on the evolution of mangroves....Pages 167-181 Temporal distribution and abundance of shrimp postlarvae and juveniles in the mangroves of Muthupet, Tamilnadu, India....Pages 183-191 Community structure and standing crop biomass of a mangrove forest in Futian Nature Reserve, Shenzhen, China....Pages 193-201 Mangrove outwelling: a review....Pages 203-212 An ecological study on the Mollusca in mangrove areas in the estuary of the Jiulong River....Pages 213-220 The temporal changes in benthic abundances and sediment nutrients in a mudflat of the Chuwei Mangrove Forest, Taiwan....Pages 221-230 Mangrove soils as sinks for wastewater-borne pollutants....Pages 231-241 Effect of wastewater discharge on nutrient contamination of mangrove soils and plants....Pages 243-254 The use of demographic studies in mangrove silviculture....Pages 255-261 Effect of synthetic wastewater on young Kandelia candel plants growing under greenhouse conditions....Pages 263-273 Spatial and temporal variations of mangrove fish assemblages in Martinique (French West Indies)....Pages 275-284 An integrated comparative approach to mangrove vegetation mapping using advanced remote sensing and GIS technologies: preliminary results....Pages 285-294 Diel activity patterns in Metapenaeus and Penaeus juveniles....Pages 295-302 Mangroves and brackishwater pond culture in the Philippines....Pages 303-309 Mangroves as filters of shrimp pond effluent: predictions and biogeochemical research needs....Pages 311-321 Conservation evaluation of nine Hong Kong mangals....Pages 323-333 The distribution of mangrove-associated gastropod snails in Hong Kong....Pages 335-342 The ecology of mangrove conservation & management....Pages 343-351 An initial assessment of mangrove resources and human activities at Mahout Island, Arabian Sea, Oman....Pages 353-362