Physical determinants of inter-estuary variation in mangrove species richness around the tropical coastline of Australia

Smith, Thomas J. III;Duke, Norman C.

Abstract

The hypothesis that species richness in tropical, tidal (mangrove) forests in the eastern and western portions of the Australian continent is influenced by different suites of environmental parameters is investigated. Maximum and minimum temperatures were positively correlated with species richness in both regions. Increasing temperatures led to increases in species richness. Tidal amplitude is inversely related to species richness in the east and west. Estuary length, the size of the surrounding catchment, rainfall variation and the frequency of tropical cyclones have significant effects on species richness in eastern but not western mangrove forests. Estuaries which are long and have large catchments tend to have more species than those being shorter with smaller catchments. Although similarities do exist, there are important differences between eastern and western mangrove forests in the response of species richness to the environment.

Journal

Journal of Biogeography

Publication Name

Journal of Biogeography

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ISBN/ISSN

1365-2699

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Publisher

Blackwell Publishing

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DOI

10.2307/2844783