Bahia mangroves

The Bahia mangroves is a tropical ecoregion of the mangroves biome, and the South American Atlantic Forest biome, located in Northeastern Brazil. Its conservation status is considered to be critical/endangered due to global climate change and other factors.[1]

Bahia mangroves
A mangrove forest of Mangue Seco, Bahia.
map of the Bahia mangroves ecoregion (outlined in yellow).
Ecology
RealmNeotropical
Biomemangroves
Borders
Geography
Area2,100 km2 (810 sq mi)
CountryBrazil
States
Conservation
Conservation statusCritical/endangered

Geography

The Bahia mangrove habitats occupy minor bays, estuaries, and river inlets along the coast from Recôncavo on Todos os Santos Bay in Bahia State;[2] north to the Doce River in Espírito Santo State.[3]

The total ecoregion comprises 2,100 square kilometers (800 square miles) of shallow coastal waters and land.[1]

Flora
Bahia mangroves

Mangrove tree species include typical Atlantic Ocean tropical mangrove species, the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) of the Rhizophoraceae, the black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) of the Acanthaceae, and the white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) of the Combretaceae family.[1]

Fauna
Ucides cordatus

Benthic macrofauna are an important basis underlying the ecological functioning of coastal food webs in the Bahia mangroves ecoregion.[4] Mangroves provide habitat for juvenile fishes and crustacea.[1] The Mangrave crab (Ucides cordatus) is particularly important as an economic and subsistence resource and as a bioindicator of environmental pollution.[5]

The ecoregion is home to five species of sea turtle: the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), green turtle (Chelonia mydas), leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), and olive turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea).[1] All of these are endangered.[6]

Both local and migratory birds utilize the Bahia mangroves. The mangroves provide homes to the black-hooded antwren (Myrmotherula urosticta), Bahia tapaculo (Scytalopus psychopompus) and Dubois' seed-eater (Sporophila falcirostris). Bahia mangroves provide nesting sites for the great egret (Casmerodius albus), little blue heron (Florida caerulea), and snowy egret (Egretta thula). The semipalmated plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) and whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) migrate to the area where they are found between September and April.[1]

Conservation

Mangrove ecosystems can naturally absorb amounts of carbon dioxide comparable to the Amazon rainforest, making them a valuable resource in countering global climate change.[7]

Global climate change is leading to rising sea levels and to rising water temperatures, which in turn threaten crabs, oysters and other creatures in the Bahia mangroves' food chain. Water levels are observed to have risen 20-30 centimeters in the past 100 years, along the coast of Bahia state. While many plants in the mangrove ecosystem are fairly resilient, other marine life is less so. Crabs, for example, depend on a narrow range of water temperature and acidity.[7]

Traditional hand-catching methods for Mangrave crabs that have developed in local communities in Brazil attempt to maintain the crab population at a subsistence level. The population is under threat in part due to predatory techniques of tangle-netting that are being introduced by members of marginalized groups entering the Bahia mangroves and exploiting them for survival.[5]

Clearing of the mangrove forests for development is also a significant conservation threat.[8] Approximately 4% of mangroves worldwide were estimated to be lost between 1980 and 2005.[9] Brazilian mangroves are threatened by coastal urban sprawl, and by managed aquiculture enterprises, such as shrimp farms in Salinas da Margarida.[10][11]

Oil-covered sea turtle

In 2019 the worst oil spill in Brazilian history polluted more than 2,400 km (1,500 mi) of Brazilian coastline, including parts of Abrolhos Marine National Park and areas of Bahia mangroves and coral reefs. Such areas are considered "particularly vulnerable to damage" and extremely difficult to clean.[12][13]

All mangroves in Brazil are legally designated as "permanent protection zones" or ‘Areas of Permanent Protection’(APPs) in 2002. An attempt was made to rescind this protection in September 2020 by Environment Minister Ricardo Salles, the National Environmental Council, and the Brazilian government of Jair Bolsonaro.[14] The attempt was blocked by a Brazilian Federal court judge who ruled that repeal of the protections would violate "the constitutional right to an ecologically balanced environment".[15]

See also

References
  1. "South America: Brazil, mainly in the state of Bahia". World Wildlife Foundation. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  2. Santos, Elisângela Costa; Celino, Joil José; Santos, Vera Lúcia Cancio Souza; Bispo De Souza, José Roberto (2013). "Source and distribution of organic matter in surface sediments from mangroves on the island of Itaparica, Bahia/Brazil". Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 185 (12): 9857–9869. doi:10.1007/s10661-013-3297-x. S2CID 38342791. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  3. "Southern Atlantic Brazilian Mangroves". One Earth. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  4. de Oliveira, Alexandra Bomfim; Rizzo, Alexandra Elaine; da Conceição, Erminda; Couto, Guerreiro (2011). "Benthic macrofauna associated with decomposition of leaves in a mangrove forest in Ilhéus, State of Bahia, Brazil". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 92 (7): 1479–1487. doi:10.1017/S0025315411001482. S2CID 86667438. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  5. Firmo, Angélica M. S.; Tognella, Mônica M. P.; Tenório, Gabrielle D.; Barboza, Raynner R. D.; Alves, Rômulo R. N. (2017). "Habits and customs of crab catchers in southern Bahia, Brazil". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 13 (1): 46. doi:10.1186/s13002-017-0174-7. PMID 28835286.
  6. Werneck, Max Rondon; Almeida, de; Baldassin, Paula; Guimarães, Suzana; Nunes, Larissa Araújo; Lacerda, Pedro Dutra; Oliveira, Ana Luiza Meira (18 July 2018). "Sea Turtle Beach Monitoring Program in Brazil". Reptiles and Amphibians. doi:10.5772/intechopen.76647. ISBN 978-1-78923-400-8. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  7. Doce, Nacho (May 28, 2019). "Brazil's mangroves on the front line of climate change". Reuters. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  8. Delabie, Jacques H.C.; Paim, Valéria R.L. de M.; Nascimento, Ivan C. do; Campiolo, Sofia; Mariano, Cléa dos S.F. (1 Sep 2006). "As formigas como indicadores biológicos do impacto humano em manguezais da costa sudeste da Bahia (Ants as biological indicators of human impact in mangroves of the southeastern coast of Bahia, Brazil)". Neotropical Entomology. 35 (5): 602–615. doi:10.1590/s1519-566x2006000500006. PMID 17144131.
  9. The world's mangroves, 1980-2005 : a thematic study in the framework of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2007. ISBN 978-92-5-105856-5. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  10. Ferreira, Alexander Cesar; Lacerda, Luiz Drude (2016). "Degradation and conservation of Brazilian mangroves, status and perspectives" (PDF). Ocean & Coastal Management. 125: 38–46. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.03.011. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  11. Pelage, Latifa; Domalain, Gilles; Lira, Alex S.; Travassos, Paulo; Frédou, Thierry (January 16, 2019). "Coastal Land Use in Northeast Brazil: Mangrove Coverage Evolution Over Three Decades". Tropical Conservation Science. 12: 194008291882241. doi:10.1177/1940082918822411.
  12. Phillips, Dom (7 Nov 2019). "Oil spill threatens vast areas of mangroves and coral reefs in Brazil". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  13. Uchôa, Victor (21 October 2019). "Danos do óleo no litoral do Nordeste vão durar décadas, dizem oceanógrafos". BBC Brasil. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  14. "Anger as Brazil revokes mangrove protection regulations". BBC News. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  15. Mendonca, Duarte; Medeiros, Marcelo; Charner, Flora; Formanek, Ingrid; Kottasová, Ivana (September 30, 2020). "Brazilian court blocks government's decision to revoke key mangrove protections". CNN World. Retrieved 19 April 2021.



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