ABSTRACT
Mudskippers are distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical Indo-West Pacific, with only one species, Periophthalmus barbarus, present in the eastern central Atlantic. Mudskippers have been proposed as potential bioindicators of pollutants in mangrove and other coastal areas. Mangrove forests provide critical wildlife habitats, support coastal fisheries, filter sediments and pollution, protect coastal zones from flooding and erosion, and sequester carbon. The burrowing activity of many species found in mangrove forests, including mudskippers, leads to fine-scale habitat heterogeneity, localized oxygenation of soil, and more dynamic flows of dissolved nutrients from the soil matrix. Mangrove ecosystems are thought to be the most sensitive and vulnerable of tropical habitats to petrochemical or oil contamination. Mangrove habitats are removed or deteriorated by conversion to agriculture, urban, and tourism areas, and because land is limited, sites for solid waste disposal. In Oceania, mangrove-associated fisheries are of considerable importance, as many of the region's national economies and households are dependent on marine resources that utilize mangroves.
