title: Are we failing to protect threatened mangroves in the Sundarbans world heritage ecosystem?
abstract: The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove ecosystem in the world, is under threat from historical and future human exploitation and sea level rise. Limited scientific knowledge on the spatial ecology of the mangroves in this world heritage ecosystem has been a major impediment to conservation efforts. Here, for the first time, we report on habitat suitability analyses and spatial density maps for the four most prominent mangrove species--Heritiera fomes, Excoecaria agallocha, Ceriops decandra and Xylocarpus mekongensis. Globally endangered H. fomes abundances declined as salinity increased. Responses to nutrients, elevation, and stem density varied between species. H. fomes and X. mekongensis preferred upstream habitats. E. agallocha and C. decandra preferred down-stream and mid-stream habitats. Historical harvesting had negative influences on H. fomes, C. decandra and X. mekongensis abundances. The established protected area network does not support the most suitable habitats of these threatened species. We therefore recommend a reconfiguration of the network to include these suitable habitats and ensure their immediate protection. These novel habitat insights and spatial predictions can form the basis for future forest studies and spatial conservation planning, and have implications for more effective conservation of the Sundarbans mangroves and the many other species that rely on them.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom.|Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Shahjalal University of Science &Technology, Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Swapan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sarker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reeve
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology &Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Management Plan Division, Bangladesh Forest Department, Khulna 9100, Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Nirmal K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matthiopoulos
mesh_terms: D001459:Bangladesh; D017753:Ecosystem; D056727:Endangered Species; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011156:Population Density; D043982:Rhizophoraceae