Madagascar mangroves are a coastal

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

in the

mangrove forest Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fr ...

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

found on the west coast of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. They are included in the WWF's

Global 200 The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or w ...

list of most outstanding ecoregions.

Geography

Mangrove swamps are located in flat coastal areas where the ocean tides wash saltwater high into the mouths of rivers which are bringing nutrient-rich soil down to the coast. For mangroves to thrive, there needs to be some natural feature such as

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s to shelter the coast from

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

storms and

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

s. In Madagascar, they are mostly found on the more sheltered west coast along the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...

, where they stretch along roughly of coastline. The largest areas are in the estuaries of the

Betsiboka River Betsiboka River is a long river in central-north Madagascar. It flows northwestward and empties to Bombetoka Bay, forming a large river delta, delta. It originates to the east of Antananarivo. The river is surrounded in mangroves. The river is di ...

(in Bombetoka Bay near the city of Mahajanga),

Besalampy Besalampy is a rural municipality on the west coast of Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Besalampy, which is a part of Melaky Region. The population of the municipality was 11331 in 2018. Besalampy is served by a local Besalampy Airpo ...

, the Mahajamba and

South Mahavavy The Mahavavy Sud, also known as the Mahavavy South, is a river in western Madagascar. It flows from south to north through the regions of Melaky, Betsiboka, and Boeny. It has a length of approximately 1000 km, and drains a basin of 16,475 km2. It i ...

river, and near

Maintirano Maintirano is a coastal city, commune urbaine (urban municipality), ( mg, kaominina) and Catholic bishopric in western Madagascar approximately 325 kilometres west of the capital Antananarivo. It belongs to the district of Maintirano, which is a ...

. The climate is warm all along the coast but more humid in the north.

Flora

The mangrove trees found in Madagascar are mainly ''

Rhizophora mucronata ''Rhizophora mucronata'' (loop-root mangrove, red mangrove or Asiatic mangrove) is a species of mangrove found on coasts and river banks in East Africa and the Indo-Pacific region. Description ''Rhizophora mucronata'' is a small to medium si ...

'', Black Mangrove (''

Bruguiera gymnorhiza ''Bruguiera gymnorhiza'', the large-leafed orange mangrove or oriental mangrove,) is a mangrove tree that grows usually to 7-20m high, but sometimes up to 35m, that belongs to the family Rhizophoraceae. It is found on the seaward side of mangrov ...

''), ''

Ceriops tagal ''Ceriops tagal'', commonly known as spurred mangrove or Indian mangrove, is a mangrove tree species in the family Rhizophoraceae. It is a protected tree in South Africa. The specific epithet ' is a plant name from the Tagalog language. Descrip ...

'', White Mangrove (''

Avicennia marina ''Avicennia marina'', commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove, is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae (formerly in the Verbenaceae or Avicenniaceae). As with other mangroves, it occurs in the intertid ...

''), ''

Sonneratia alba ''Sonneratia alba'' is a mangrove tree in the family Lythraceae. The specific epithet ' is from the Latin meaning "white", referring to the flowers. Description ''S. alba'' grows up to tall with a trunk diameter up to . The cracked to fissured ...

'' and ''

Lumnitzera racemosa ''Lumnitzera racemosa'', commonly known as the white-flowered black mangrove, is a species of mangrove in the family Combretaceae. It is found on the eastern coast of Africa and other places in the western Indo-Pacific region. It has one accep ...

''. Other species are ''

Xylocarpus granatum ''Xylocarpus granatum'', commonly known as the cannonball mangrove, cedar mangrove, or puzzlenut tree, is a species of mangrove in the mahogany family (Meliaceae). It is found in Africa, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific Islands. It is a commo ...

'' and ''

Heritiera littoralis ''Heritiera littoralis'', commonly known as the looking-glass mangrove or tulip mangrove, is a mangrove tree in the family Malvaceae native to coastal areas of eastern Africa, Asia, Melanesia and northern Australia. The common name refers to the ...

''.

Fauna

Mangrove swamps, in Madagascar and around the world, are an important habitat for wildlife. They are a vital breeding ground for many species of fish and a feeding place for migratory birds. The waters of the Madagascar mangroves are rich in fish and other animals such as waterbirds, crocodiles, green turtle (''

Chelonia mydas The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

''), hawksbill turtle (''

Eretmochelys imbricata The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is large ...

''), and

dugongs The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...

. Birds include the African spoonbill,

great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...

, sakalava rail and

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...

. Much of this wildlife is endemic to Madagascar. The many fish found in the waters include the families

Mugilidae The mullets or grey mullets are a family (Mugilidae) of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since R ...

Serranidae The Serranidae are a large family of fishes belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species in 65 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers (subfamily Epinephelinae). Although many species are small, in some case ...

Carangidae The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the only family ...

Gerridae The Gerridae are a family of insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water striders, water skeeters, water scooters, water bugs, pond skaters, water skippers, or water skimmers. Consistent with the classification of the Gerridae as tr ...

Hemiramphidae Hemiramphidae is a family of fishes that are commonly called halfbeaks, spipe fish or spipefish. They are a geographically widespread and numerically abundant family of epipelagic fish inhabiting warm waters around the world. The halfbeaks are ...

, Plectorhinchinae, and

Elopidae The Elopidae are a family of ray-finned fish containing a single living genus '' Elops''. They are commonly known as ladyfish, skipjacks, jack-rashes, or tenpounders. The ladyfish are a coastal-dwelling fish found throughout the tropical and sub ...

. Neighbouring coral reefs are also extremely diverse.

Threats and conservation

Mangroves are vulnerable to clearance for timber, urban expansion, over-fishing, and erosion in the

highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

. Activities such as rice growing, salt-panning and shrimp cultivation are also threats. Urban areas near the mangroves include the cities

Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name was adopted ...

and Mahajanga.

Mananara Nord National Park Mananara Nord National Park is a national park near Mananara Nord in the Analanjirofo Region of Madagascar. The closest city is Toamasina. It also includes a marine park of 1000 ha near the village Sahasoa, with 3 islands, 3.5 km off Sahaso ...

protects some mangrove swamps.

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

is produced in mangroves as a source of (non-destructive) income generation (which can help in preventing people from destroying the mangroves (i.e. for charcoal production). In addition, silk pods from endemic silkworm species are also collected in the Madagascar mangroves for

wild silk Wild silks have been known and used in many countries from early times, although the scale of production is far smaller than that from cultivated silkworms. Silk cocoons and nests often resemble paper or cloth, and their use has arisen independent ...

production.The secret life of mangroves documentary (episode 2)
/ref>

References

External links