Abstract
The mangrove around Sungei Pemburongunan, just west of Tanjong Batu and Istana Darul Aman in the Brunei-Muara District, is unique in that it contains the only pure stand of Avicennia marina in Brunei Darussalam. In mid-October, 1990 the mouth of Sungei Pemburongunan was closed due to a natural build-up of a sandbar across it. The mangrove quickly became flooded and adverse effects on the flora and fauna were observed during the following weeks. In mid-December a channel was dug across the sand bar to reduce the flooding and normalise the ecology. Some of the dying Avicennia and Lumnitzera have since recovered but others such as Acrostichum and Casuarina have not. Avicennia showed some interesting responses to prolonged inundation. Many of the Avicennia that had flowered during the flood produced seedlings which are now well rooted and 40–80 cm in height. The survival of large numbers of these seedlings is attributed to the floor-related decrease in the number of grapsid and sesarmid crabs which predate on them. The crab and mollusc populations have largely recovered. Unlike periodic short-term flooding which does not seem to have any apparent adverse affect on the ecosystem, prolonged inundation can result in the loss of the Avicennia and its associated flora and fauna. Thus, fragile mangrove ecosystems such as this need to be monitored and managed closely.
This work demonstrates that contrary to conventional wisdom, human intervention and management can be beneficial to more fragile ecosystems, which could otherwise succumb to natural processes. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of the dynamic nature of the environment which should be considered in management and conservation programmes.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Chapman, V. J., 1976. Mangrove vegetation. J. Cram, Germany, 447 pp.
Choy, S. C. &W. E. Booth, 1991. Ecology of the ‘Api Api’ (Avicennia marina) wetland around Sungai Pemburon-gunan,Meragang with proposals for its utilization, conservation and management. Document prepared for the Department of Town and Country Planning, Ministry of Development, Brunei Darussalam, 25 pp.
Chua, T. E., L. M. Chou &M. S. M. Sadorra, 1987. The coastal profile of Brunei Darussalam: resource assessment and management issues. ICLARM Techn. Rept. 18, Fisheries Dept., Brunei Darussalam &ICLARM, Philippines, 193 pp.
Jimenez, J. A., A. E. Lugo &G. Cintron, 1985. Tree mortality in mangrove forests. Biotropica 17: 177–185.
Johns, R. J., 1986. Natural disturbances in mangrove ecosystems.In S. Cragg &N. Polunin (ed.), Report of the workshop on mangrove ecosystems dynamics. UNESCO/ UNDP, New Delhi: 37–44.
Lovett, D. L., 1981. A guide to the shrimps, prawns, lobsters and crabs of Malaysia and Singapore. Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, Serdang, 156 pp.
Lugo, A. E. &S. C. Snedaker, 1974. The ecology of mangroves. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 5: 39–64.
Matsuda, H., K. Amaoko, C. Arasa, T. Uyeno &T. Yoshino, 1984. The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Tokai University Press, 437 pp.
Osborne, K. &T. J. Smith III, 1990. Differential predation on mangrove propagules in open and closed canopy forest habitats. Vegetatio 89: 1–6.
Rao, D. G. V. P., V. P. Rao, K. S. R. P. Rao, V. U. Devi &S. K. Patnaik, 1986. Studies on the respiration of cerithiids. In M. F. Thompson, R. Sarojini &R. Nagabhushanam (eds), Indian Ocean: Biology of Benthic Marine Organisms. A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam: 85–95.
Robertson, A. I., 1991. Plant-animal interactions and the structure and function of mangrove forest ecosystems. Aust. J. Ecol. 16: 433–443.
Sasekumar, A., Distribution of macrofauna on a Malayan mangrove shore. J. anim. Ecol. 43: 51–69.
Stewart, G. R. &M. Popp, 1987. The ecophysiology of mangroves. In R. M. M. Crawford (ed.), Plant life in aquatic and amphibious habitats. Blackwell Scientific, Palo Alto, CA: 333–345.
Tomlinson, P. B., 1986. The botany of mangroves. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 413 pp.
Zamski, E., 1979. The mode of secondary growth and the three dimensional structure of the phloem in Avicennia. Botanical Gazette 140: 67–76.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Choy, S.C., Booth, W.E. (1994). Prolonged inundation and ecological changes in an Avicennia mangrove: implications for conservation and management. In: Sasekumar, A., Marshall, N., Macintosh, D.J. (eds) Ecology and Conservation of Southeast Asian Marine and Freshwater Environments including Wetlands. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 98. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0958-1_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0958-1_23
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-4414-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-0958-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive