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  • Dampier Sites

    Study sites in the Dampier Archipelago

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Fringing mangroves as a habitat for macroinvertebrate infauna and contributor to carbon in coastal food webs

Mangroves are uniquely adapted flowering plants that occupy mostly tropical coastal and estuarine regions at the fringe where the land meets the sea. Mangrove assemblages are highly productive and valuable ecosystems which have global ecological and economic significance. Mangroves contribute to several ecological processes including primary production, nutrient and water cycling, soil formation, protection of shorelines and prevention of erosion. Additionally, mangroves provide habitats and food sources for fauna and are known to provide essential nursery habitats and breeding grounds for commercial fisheries species. Macroinvertebrate communities are an essential component of mangrove ecosystems and perform functions such as nutrient recycling and sediment bioturbation. Macroinvertebrate species also provide a vital link between primary producers and higher order consumers in coastal food webs through the transfer of carbon. The question of how much mangrove-based carbon contributes to the trophic dynamics and food webs of adjacent marine habitats remains ambiguous. Differences in coastal geomorphology such as estuarine creek length and depth, and hydrology such as freshwater input and tidal amplitude affects the retention or transfer of mangrove derived carbon. Research on mangroves often focuses on large mangrove systems with thick forests, and as such, fringing mangroves like those found in the Dampier Archipelago, are under-represented in the literature. Additionally, many studies on macroinvertebrates in mangroves have focused on the more conspicuous epifauna, while neglecting infauna, a major component of marine food webs. This research aims to determine the role of fringing mangroves in a macrotidal region as a habitat for marine invertebrate infauna and to determine the contribution of fringing mangrove carbon to the food web.

Funding agency

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA)

Project duration

2020-2023

Supervisors/Researchers

Mrs Leah Beltran
Professor Glenn Hyndes
Dr Richard Evans (DBCA)

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