title: A baseline measure of tree and gastropod biodiversity in replanted and natural mangrove stands in malaysia: langkawi island and sungai merbok.
abstract: THE DIVERSITIES OF MANGROVE TREES AND OF THEIR ASSOCIATED GASTROPODS WERE ASSESSED FOR TWO MANGROVE REGIONS ON THE WEST COAST OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA: Langkawi Island and Sungai Merbok. The mangrove area sampled on Langkawi Island was recently logged and replanted, whereas the area sampled in Sungai Merbok was part of a protected nature reserve. Mangrove and gastropod diversity were assessed in four 50 m(2) (10 × 5 m) sites per region. The species richness (S), Shannon Index (H') and Evenness Index (J') were calculated for each site, and the mean S, H' and J' values were calculated for each region. We report low tree and gastropod S, H' and J' values in all sites from both regions. For Langkawi Island, the mean S, H' and J' values for mangrove trees were S = 2.00±0, H' = 0.44±0.17 and J' = 0.44±0.17; the mean S, H' and J' values for gastropods were S = 4.00±1.63, H' = 0.96±0.41 and J' = 0.49±0.06. In Sungai Merbok, the mean S, H' and J' values for mangrove trees were S = 1.33±0.58, H' = 0.22±0.39 and J' = 0.22 ±0.39; the mean S, H' and J' values for gastropods were S = 4.75±2.22, H' = 1.23±0.63 and J' = 0.55±0.12. This study emphasises the need for baseline biodiversity measures to be established in mangrove ecosystems to track the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances and to inform management and restoration efforts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Victoria, PO Box 3020 STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 3N5, Canada.
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hookham
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Aileen Tan
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Shau-Hwai
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, 5200 North Lake Rd, Merced, CA 95343, USA.
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dayrat
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Victoria, PO Box 3020 STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 3N5, Canada.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hintz
keywords: Gastropod Biodiversity; Mangrove Biodiversity; Restoration Biology; Tree Biodiversity