The impact of inundation and sandstorms on the growth and survival of the mangrove Avicennia marina seedlings in the southern Red Sea

Jeff Bogart R.  Abrogueña; Andrea  Anton; Sau  Pinn Woo; Miguel Baptista; Carlos M.  Duarte; Syed  Azher Hussain; Mohammed  Shoeb; Mohammed  Qurban

doi:10.3989/scimar.05277.041

Authors

Jeff Bogart R. Abrogueña Environmental Protection and Control Department, Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Jazan City for Primary and Downstream Industries https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1935-1567
Andrea Anton Global Change Research Group, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4104-2966
Sau Pinn Woo Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS), Universiti Sains Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7016-6466
Miguel Baptista MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Laboratório Marítimo da Guia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8833-4766
Carlos M. Duarte Red Sea Research Center, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1213-1361
Syed Azher Hussain Center for Environment & Water, Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1386-1091
Mohammed Shoeb Center for Environment & Water, Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2840-1813
Mohammed Qurban National Center for Wildlife https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6948-5021

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.05277.041

Keywords:

Jizan, burial, temperature, stressor, dehydration, conservation

Abstract

Mangroves occur in tropical and subtropical regions, including harsh arid areas. Little is known about how the environmental conditions of deserts influence the ecology of mangrove seedlings. The seedlings of the mangrove Avicennia marina were examined in situ in a natural stand of the southern Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia to (1) estimate and compare the growth rate of A. marina between selected microhabitats with different tidal exposures, and (2) examine the influence of sandstorms on the growth and survival of the seedlings. Samplings were conducted in four zones established according to their tidal exposure: low tidal exposure (Z1), medium tidal exposure (Z2), high tidal exposure with numerous burrows (Z3), and high tidal exposure with a few or no burrows (Z4). Vertical growth and mortality of the seedlings and selected environmental variables were quantified. The results show that seedling growth rates differed significantly between the sampling zones, the highest growth being found in the high tidal regions (Z3 followed by Z4) and the lowest growth in Z1. Growth rate followed a significant decreasing pattern over time, coinciding with increasing air temperature and decreasing relative humidity. Sandstorms showed a marked increase in July, leading to massive dust deposition that caused extensive mortality of the seedlings by burial. Our study highlights that seedling growth can be affected by the extent of tidal inundation and that sandstorms act as a natural stressor.

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