3 research outputs found
C868T Single Nucleotide Polymorphism and HIV Type 1 Disease Progression Among Postpartum Women in Kenya
Wide Ranging Insect Infestation of the Pioneer Mangrove Sonneratia alba by Two Insect Species along the Kenyan Coast
Do the crabs Goniopsis cruentata and Ucides cordatus compete for mangrove propagules? A field-based experimental approach
Mangroves are under threat worldwide by
deforestation, overexploitation and climate change.
The availability and consumption rates of propagules
influence mangrove recruitment and can play a major
role in their viability and restoration potential. We
assess the potential trophic competition between
Goniopsis cruentata and Ucides cordatus, two dominant
crab species in the New World, by experimentally
comparing herbivory levels between forest stands with
varying crab abundance. We hypothesize that herbivory
rates (HR) of G. cruentata will be lower in
mangroves where it coexists with U. cordatus than in
mangroves where U. cordatus is absent. The removal
of Rhizophora mangle propagules was very rapid, and
HR were overall high and increased through time.
However, HR did not differ significantly between
mangroves with and without the potential trophic
competitor U. cordatus. Our study did not support
previous literature indications of food competition
between these two crab species, which seem to have
developed strategies for competition avoidance