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conferenceseries.com
Volume 8 Journal of Ecosystem & Ecography Biodiversity Congress 2018
July 26-27, 2018
July 26-27, 2018 Melbourne, Australia
7th International Conference on
Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management
Biodiversity of Manukau mangroves; What’s really in there?
Amrit Melissa Dencer Brown
Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Introduction: The accelerated seaward growth of the mangrove Avicennia marina subsp. australasica over the last century has
altered the ecology of estuarine and coastal ecosystems throughout North Island, New Zealand. Expansion has created a myriad
of real and perceived social-ecological issues regarding the future of the local communities who live in these areas and potential
impacts to New Zealand biodiversity. As a result, there have been many applications submitted to regional councils for their removal.
However, the social-ecological issues and related impacts are not yet well understood and there are significant knowledge gaps.
Further research is necessary for making informed and evidence-based decision-making around the removal and preservation
of these mangrove systems. Whilst there has been a strong effort to quantify benthic community compositional change following
mangrove establishment and subsequent removal, there is a lack of long-termmonitoring of other groups of organisms, particularly
terrestrial vertebrate and invertebrate species. This research presents the findings of integrated biodiversity surveys collected at four
sites in mangroves of Manukau Harbour (March-Apr 2018).
Aim: To investigate what biodiversity of species exists at fragmented mangrove sites in Auckland.
Methods: A range of different non-invasive techniques were employed to record presence/absence data of reptiles, mammals, fish
and birds utilizing mangroves. Insects and spiders were captured and preserved for identification and future research.
Results: All groups of organisms were found with the exception of reptiles; skink was observed at the marsh-mangrove edges. The
most fragmented patch of mangrove had the most species in terms of insects and spiders and bird species. The threatened bird the
Banded Rail was present at 50% of the sites. There were significant differences between the sites potentially driven by the proximity
and connectivity to nearby forested habitats.
Conclusion: Sites differ in terms of biodiversity and so each site needs to be monitored long-term before any removal. The highly
fragmented site should be preserved and protected due to its healthy and high ecological functioning, including habitat for short-
finned eels and juvenile yellow-eyed mullet. The results of these assessments have the potential to be implemented in policy for
mangrove biodiversity monitoring which may be applied across New Zealand and to mangroves internationally.
Biography
Amrit Melissa Dencer Brown is a Commonwealth Scholar from the UK in the final year of her PhD. Her work focuses on social-ecological trade-offs in mangrove
conservation in New Zealand. She has previously worked in tropical mangroves for her Masters research and has co-authored a book chapter on tropical mangrove
ecosystem services and an article on blue carbon between salt marshes, mangroves and seagrasses.
Amrit Melissa Dencer Brown, J Ecosyst Ecogr 2018, Volume 8
DOI: 10.4172/2157-7625-C4-041