{"id":67562,"date":"2023-06-06T12:47:25","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T04:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/?p=67562"},"modified":"2023-06-06T12:47:25","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T04:47:25","slug":"the-value-of-back-mangrove-to-bird-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/2023\/06\/06\/the-value-of-back-mangrove-to-bird-species\/","title":{"rendered":"The Value of \u2018Back-Mangrove\u2019 to Bird Species"},"content":{"rendered":"

This short note is stimulated by discussion with Dr David Wells about \u2018back-mangrove\u2019 bird species after my recent post on mangrove mixed foraging parties<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I had noted that there was greater diversity of species at the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Perak compared to that found at mangrove sites located on the coast like Bagan Datuk, Perak. The Matang mangrove has an area of about 40,000ha and much is extended further inland on brackish rivers; it is the largest mangrove ecosystem in the peninsula.<\/p>\n

David commented that some bird species are \u201cessentially back-mangrove species\u201d and they are \u201cpushed out from the coast by bunding and clearance of that vegetation zone\u201d. He went on to say that \u201cIn my estimation, back-mangroves are critical to at least half of all mangrove-recorded birds. Their loss is out of all proportion to their relative area.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are no clear definitions for \u2018back-mangrove\u2019. \u201cIn mangrove forests, 3 zones are recognized: the mangrove proper, the back-mangroves and the slightly or not saline soils.\u201d \u201cThe back-mangrove is a bushy, discontinuous vegetation type with Avicennia here and there and few other halophytes species\u201d<\/em> (see Reference 2).<\/p>\n

I have been reflecting on this, looking at my observations of birds at various mangrove sites and reading up on this issue. The government has replanted mangrove on the coast but only as a break or protection against possible tsunamis. This has meant a small fringe of mangrove forest on the coast with no sizable extension inland to form any \u2018back-mangrove\u2019 environment. This means that many back-mangrove species will not be able to thrive.<\/p>\n

Take for example Tailorbirds.
\nAt the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve in Perak I am easily able to see all four lowland Tailorbird species:<\/p>\n

\"\"
Image 1: Rufous-tailed Tailorbird Orthotomus sericeus<\/em>, Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Perak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Image 2: Ashy Tailorbird Orthotomus ruficeps<\/em>, Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Perak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Image 3: Dark-necked Tailorbird Orthotomus atrogularis<\/em>, Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Perak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Image 4: Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius<\/em>, Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Perak<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rufous-tailed and Ashy Tailorbirds tend to inhabit the interior of the mangrove forest while Dark-necked and Common Tailorbirds use the fringe and open spaces in the forest. But all are fairly easy to see and hear. This is unlike the coastal strips of mangrove forest where the predominant Tailorbird is the Ashy Tailorbird and the Rufous-tailed Tailorbird is not seen. The Common Tailorbird might be observed but more often in secondary growth or semi-urban settings.<\/p>\n

Watson (1928) observes that \u201cin terms of botanical richness, the back mangrove has the largest number of species and this richness is driven by the presence of many mangrove and coastal associates<\/em>\u201d (see Yang et al 2011).<\/p>\n

Yang and colleagues (2011) describe the back mangrove situation for Singapore. They state \u201cThe lack of a functional back mangrove will severely affect plant species diversity (mangrove trees and all the other associated plants) and the availability of micro-habitats for fauna.\u201d \u201cUnfortunately, this type of mangrove habitat is most vulnerable to human activities because it can be easily converted into other forms that are more economically rewarding such as urban development or plantation agriculture\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It would be prudent to advocate for undisturbed mangrove forests with large back mangrove sections. Or to push for mangrove replanting further inland\/up-river. This may preserve the habitat for some species of birds.<\/p>\n

References:
\n1. Wells, D.R. (2007). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 2 (Passerines)<\/em>. Christopher Helm, London.
\n2. Checklist of Mangrove species of South East India and Sri Lanka. http:\/\/amap-collaboratif.cirad.fr\/Docs_Logiciels\/Mangrove_web\/defs\/back-mangrove.html<\/a>
\n3. Watson, J. G. (1928). Mangrove forests of the Malay Peninsula<\/em>. Singapore: Fraser and Neave.
\n4. Yang Shufen, Rachel L. F. Lim, Sheue Chiou-Rong & Jean W. H. Yong (2011). The Current Status Of Mangrove Forests In Singapore. Proceedings of Nature Society, Singapore\u2019s Conference on \u2018Nature Conservation for a Sustainable Singapore\u2019<\/em>. 16th October 2011. Pg. 99\u2013120.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This short note is stimulated by discussion with Dr David Wells about \u2018back-mangrove\u2019 bird species after my recent post on mangrove mixed foraging parties. I had noted that there was greater diversity of species at the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Perak compared to that found at mangrove sites located on the coast like Bagan Datuk, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":67564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1872,957,950,1873],"tags":[1874,1876,1877,1875],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67562"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/besgroup.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}