Macroalgae associated with the mangrove vegetation of Gazi Bay (Kenya)
Coppejans, E.; Gallin, E. (1989). Macroalgae associated with the mangrove vegetation of Gazi Bay (Kenya). Belg. J. Bot. 122: 47-60 In: Belgian Journal of Botany. Royal Botanical Society of Belgium: Brussels. ISSN 0778-4031; e-ISSN 1781-8656, more | |
Authors | | Top | - Coppejans, E., more
- Gallin, E.
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Abstract | Three transects through the mangrove, at right angles to the coastline and at increasing distance from the sea were studied. A number of pneumatophores was collected along each transect, the epiphytic vegetation identified and quantified, and the data analyzed with different mathematical techniques. It was concluded that: 1) the lowest algal cover on each pneumatophore is in the basal zone (0-5 cm above the substratum); the cover of the other zones is not significantly different; 2) the total cover of the pneumatophores from one transect diminishes from the seaward margin towards the land (due to increasing desiccation in higher zones); 3) there are no significant differences between the epiphytic vegetation on Sonneratia and Avicennia pneumatophores; 4) Bostrychia is most resistant to desiccation (and correlated parameters), followed equally by Catenella and Caloglossa; 5) the differences between the vegetation on the pneumatophores from the seaward transects and the most landward transect are more pronounced than those between the lowermost and highest pneumatophore from a single transect. |
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