Species-area relationship and potential role as a biomonitor of mangrove communities of Malayan mudskippers |
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Authors: | Gianluca Polgar |
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Institution: | (1) Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy |
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Abstract: | The rapid and extensive destruction of mangrove forests and adjacent peritidal ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific region requires
the development of efficient management and conservation actions. Mudskippers (Gobiidae: Oxudercinae) are amphibious gobies
that are strictly linked to mangrove forests and tropical mudflats. I recorded the presence and habitat distribution of mudskipper
species in four mangrove ecosystems along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Different localities host different mudskipper
communities, while in each locality species are differentially distributed along the intertidal gradient. At the ecosystem
level, I found a significant exponential correlation between sampled area and the species richness of these communities, consistent
with the SAR hypothesis. At the habitat level, the presence of a vertical zonation along the intertidal gradient suggests
the possibility of using the species living exclusively in higher or lower levels as bioindicators for habitat anthropogenic
impact, respectively from the land and from the sea. |
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Keywords: | Habitat destruction Biodiversity loss Mangals Tropical intertidal zones Boleophthalmus Periophthalmodon Periophthalmus |
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