ABSTRACT
Mangrove forests are highly productive ecosystems that dominate the intertidal zone of many of the world’s low wave energy tropical and subtropical coastlines. Mangroves and the organisms they support are of signicant ecological and economic value. Mangroves help reduce the erosional impact of storms, serve as breeding and feeding grounds for juvenile sh and shellsh, trap silt that could smother offshore coral reefs, and cleanse near-shore water through the uptake of nutrients and pollutants. In many coastal countries, they provide people with food and wood for heating, cooking, and house building (Heumann 2011; Pinet 2009; Tomlinson 1986).
