Mangroves are, on a biological and ecological point of view, one of the most important ecosystems in the world, supporting various terrestrial, estuarine, and marine species. They provide them crucial habitat and food, but also provide several ecosystem services, including fisheries enhancement, coastal protection, carbon storage and sequestration. However, in the Maldives, even though their role is even more important, knowledge about their distribution and biodiversity is scarce and their importance is still underestimated. The aim of our project is to conduct the first-ever survey of all mangroves in the Maldives to enhance and increase the understanding of its unique ecosystems in order to take more action to preserve them from human impact and help research teams plan mangrove-related activities in the archipelago. As a first step, we reviewed all the information about mangroves in the Maldives and found 11 true and 4 controversial mangrove species, unevenly distributed from north to south on 109 islands (9% of all islands) with various fauna and flora species associated. The next step was a preliminary exploration of the Maldives. We visited several islands, particularly those in the Gnaviyani and Addu Atolls, finding 2 islands with previously unreported mangroves. In addition, we noted the presence of the four macro-types of mangroves, i.e. fringing, lacustrine-based, banked and swamp-based, with different sub-types and instances of different types even within a single island. In relation to biodiversity, seven mangrove species and several crab and fish species were visually identified with distribution influenced according to the mangrove type. Future prospects will be the nationwide assessment of the mangrove species’ composition and distribution and related fauna and flora with the help of molecular analyses, aerial mapping of areas, and the assessment of the temperature, pH, and salinity of these environments, with the fund of National Biodiversity Future Center.
Cerri, F., Louis, Y., Fallati, L., Siena, F., Nicolai, R., Madaschi, A., et al. (2023). Mangroves of the Maldives: undervalued and unexplored ecosystems. Intervento presentato a: XXXII Congresso Nazionale della Società Italiana di Ecologia, Catania, Italy.
Mangroves of the Maldives: undervalued and unexplored ecosystems
Cerri FPrimo
;Louis Y;Fallati L;Siena F;Nicolai R;Madaschi A;Gobbato J;Bises C;Montalbetti E;Galli P
2023
Abstract
Mangroves are, on a biological and ecological point of view, one of the most important ecosystems in the world, supporting various terrestrial, estuarine, and marine species. They provide them crucial habitat and food, but also provide several ecosystem services, including fisheries enhancement, coastal protection, carbon storage and sequestration. However, in the Maldives, even though their role is even more important, knowledge about their distribution and biodiversity is scarce and their importance is still underestimated. The aim of our project is to conduct the first-ever survey of all mangroves in the Maldives to enhance and increase the understanding of its unique ecosystems in order to take more action to preserve them from human impact and help research teams plan mangrove-related activities in the archipelago. As a first step, we reviewed all the information about mangroves in the Maldives and found 11 true and 4 controversial mangrove species, unevenly distributed from north to south on 109 islands (9% of all islands) with various fauna and flora species associated. The next step was a preliminary exploration of the Maldives. We visited several islands, particularly those in the Gnaviyani and Addu Atolls, finding 2 islands with previously unreported mangroves. In addition, we noted the presence of the four macro-types of mangroves, i.e. fringing, lacustrine-based, banked and swamp-based, with different sub-types and instances of different types even within a single island. In relation to biodiversity, seven mangrove species and several crab and fish species were visually identified with distribution influenced according to the mangrove type. Future prospects will be the nationwide assessment of the mangrove species’ composition and distribution and related fauna and flora with the help of molecular analyses, aerial mapping of areas, and the assessment of the temperature, pH, and salinity of these environments, with the fund of National Biodiversity Future Center.
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