ABSTRACT
CONTENTS Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 247 What Is a Mangrove?............................................................................................................................. 247 Why Are Mangroves Important Indicators?.......................................................................................... 248 Die-Offs and Restoration....................................................................................................................... 249 Hypothetical Chronology of a Die-Off ................................................................................................. 249 Site Description...................................................................................................................................... 250 Methods.................................................................................................................................................. 251 Results .................................................................................................................................................... 253
Die-Off Areas ............................................................................................................................... 253 Stressed Areas .............................................................................................................................. 254 Alive “Healthy” Areas.................................................................................................................. 255
Discussion .............................................................................................................................................. 256 Is the Clam Bay Restoration a Success? ..................................................................................... 257 Using Mangroves as an Indicator of Successful Estuarine Restoration: Pros and Cons ........... 258
Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................ 258 Acknowledgments.................................................................................................................................. 259 References .............................................................................................................................................. 259
More than 50% of the world’s mangrove forests have been destroyed (Lewis, 1999). The majority of these losses are attributable to human activities (Parks and Bonifaz, 1994). More specifically these activities include development along coastal areas and concomitant altered hydrology due to dredging, filling, diking and impounding wetlands (Turner and Lewis, 1997). Mangroves dominate many coastal areas in subtropical and tropical biomes, yet the remaining forests are being continually degraded by development, pollution, overexploitation, and use as disposal sites for garbage and toxic chemicals (Ball, 1988).
