Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T23:07:57.747Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Herbivory as an ecological process in a Kandelia candel (Rhizophoraceae) mangal in Hong Kong

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

S. Y. Lee
S. Y. Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology and The Swire Marine Laboratory, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Natural levels and consequences of insect herbivory were studied for a Kandelia candel (Rhizophoraceae) dominated mangal at the Mai Po Marshes, Hong Kong. Grazing insects (mainly lepidopteran larvae) consumed, on average, 10.3% of the leaf area on K. candel, with >90% of the leaves suffering <30% loss. Natural median leaf longevity was significantly different between winter and summer-exposed leaves, being, respectively, 423.2 and 269.6 days. Observations showed that herbivore damage caused a reduction of leaf longevity, as severely damaged leaves were abscissed before intact, older leaves on the same branch. Experimental leaf area removal suggested that leaf life span reduction was significantly influenced by leaf age and degree of damage. However, the reduction was only significant (>40 days) when area loss was >40%. Leaves produced in summer were also more sensitive to damage than those produced in winter. As <5% of the leaves suffered >40% of area removal by insect grazing in nature, insect herbivory is considered an unimportant regulator of leaf litter dynamics for K. candel. At this intensity level, herbivory consumes 2.8–3.5% of the net above-ground primary production of the mangrove. There was also no significant difference in the final number of leaves and twigs produced by the branches with various degrees of leaf area removal. Other observed impacts of insects on the structure and function of the K. candel mangal are discussed.

Keywords

herbivoryHong KongKandelia candelleaf longevitymangroves
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , August 1991 , pp. 337 - 348
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Alongi, D. M. 1987. The influence of mangrove-derived tannins on intertidal meiobenthos in tropical estuaries. Oecologia (Berlin) 71:537–540.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beever, J. W., Simberloff, D. & King, L. L. 1979. Herbivory and predation by the mangrove tree crab, Aralus pisonii. Oecotogia (Berlin). 43:317–328.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Belsky, A. J. 1986. Docs hcrbivory benefit plants? A review of the evidence. American Naturalist 127:870–892.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boucher, D. H. & Sork, V. L. 1979. Early drop of nuts in response to insect infestation. Oikos 33:440–443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bray, J. R. 1964. Primary consumption in three forest canopies. Ecology 45:165–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chabot, B. F. & Hicks, D. J. 1982. The ecology of leaf life spans. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 13:229–259Google Scholar
Choudhury, D. 1988. Herbivore induced changes in leaf-litter resource quality: a neglected aspect of hcrbivory in ecosystem nutrient dynamics. Oikos 51:389–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christensen, B. 1978. Biomass and primary production of Rhizophora apiculata Bl. in a mangrove in northern Thailand. Aquatic Botany 4:43–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conover, W. J. 1980. Practical non-parametric statistics. John Wiley & Sons, New YorkGoogle Scholar
Crawley, M. J. 1983. Herbivory: the dynamics of animal-plant interactions. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford. 437 pp.Google Scholar
De La Cruz, M. & Dirzo, R. 1987. A survey of the standing levels of herbivory in seedlings from a Mexican rain forest. Biotropica 19:98–106CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, P. J. 1989. Insect herbivory and plant defence theory. Pp. 275–297 in Grubb, P. J. & Whittaker, J. B. (eds). Toward a more exact ecology. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.Google Scholar
Fitter, A. H. 1986. Acquisition and utilization of resources. Pp. 375–406 in Crawley, M. J. (ed.). Plant ecology. Blackwell Scientific Publications, OxfordGoogle Scholar
Harper, J. L. 1979. Population biology of plants. Academic Press, London. 892 pp.Google Scholar
Heald, E. J. 1971. The production of organic detritus in a south Florida estuary. University of Miami Sea Grant Technical Bulletin No. 6, Miami. 110 ppGoogle Scholar
Hollinger, D. Y. 1986. Herbivory and the cycling of nitrogen and phosphorus in isolated California oak trees. Oecologia (Berlin) 70:291–297.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hutchings, P. & Saenger, P.. 1987. Ecology of mangroves. Queensland University Press, St. Lucia.Google Scholar
Irving, R. T. A. & Morton, B. 1988. A geography of the Mai Po Marshes. World Wide Fund For Nature Hong Kong, Hong Kong. 58 ppGoogle Scholar
Janzen, D. H. 1979. New horizons in the biology of plant defences. Pp. 331–350 in Rosenthal, G. A. & Janzen, D. H. (eds). Herbivores: their interaction with secondary plant metabolites. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Johnstone, I. M. 1981. Consumption of leaves by herbivores in mixed mangrove stands. Biotropica 13:252–259.Google Scholar
Lam, P. K. S. & Dudgeon, D. 1985. The effects and possible implications of artificial damage on the lifespan of Ficus fistulosa leaves. Journal of Tropical Ecology 1:187–190CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, S. Y. 1989. Litter production and turnover of the mangrove Kandelia candel (L.) Druce in a Hong Kong tidal shrimp pond. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 29:75–87.Google Scholar
Lee, S. Y. 1990a. The intensity and consequences of herbivory on the mangrove Kandelia candel (L.) Druce at the Mai Po Marshes, Hong Kong. Pp. 717–725 in Morton, B. (ed.). The marine flora and fauna of Hong Kong and south China II. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong.Google Scholar
Lee, S. Y. 1990b. Primary productivity and particulate organic matter (low in an estuarine mangrove-wetland in Hong Kong. Marine Biology 106:453–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, P. 1987. The mangrove ecosystem in China. Pp. 40–52 in Field, C. D. & Dartnall, A. J. (eds). Mangrove ecosystems of Asia and the Pacific: status, exploitation and management. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville.Google Scholar
Louda, S. M. 1984. Herbivore effect on stature, fruiting, and leaf dynamics on a native crucifier. Ecology 65:1379–1386.Google Scholar
Lowman, M. D. & Heatwole, H. 1987. The impact of defoliating insects on the growth of eucalypt seedlings. Australian Journal of Ecology 12:175–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mooney, H. A. & Gulmon, S. L. 1982. Constraints on leaf structure and function in reference to herbivory. BioScience 32:198–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Odum, W. E. & Heald, E. J. 1975. The detritus-based food web of an estuarine mangrove community. Pp. 265–286 in Cronin, L. E. (ed.). Estuarine research, Volume I. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Odum, W. E., Mcinvor, C. C. & Smith, T. J. III 1982. The ecology of the mangroves of south Florida: a community profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services, Washington, D.C., 144 ppGoogle Scholar
Onuf, C. P., Teal, J. M. & Valiela, I. 1977. Interactions of nutrients, plant growth and herbivory in a mangrove ecosystem. Ecology 58:514–526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, D. F. 1978. The effect of a consumer, Phytomyza ilicis, on seasonal leaf-fall in the holly, Ilex aquifolium. Oikos 31:268–271.Google Scholar
Piyakarnchana, T. 1981. Severe defoliation of Avicennia alba Bl. by larvae of Cleora injeclaria Walker. Journal of the Science Society of Thailand 7:33–36.Google Scholar
Pullin, A. S. 1987. Changes in leaf quality following clipping and regrowth of Urtica dioica, and consequences for a specialist insect herbivore, Aglais urticae. Oikos 49:39–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, A. I. & Duke, N. C. 1987. Insect herbivory on mangrove leaves in north Queensland. Australian Journal of Ecology 12:1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, A. I., Giddins, R. & Smith, T. J. III 1990. Seed predation by insects in tropical mangrove forests: extent and effects on seed viability and the growth of seedlings. Oecologia (Berlin) 83:213–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, T. J. III 1987a. Effects of seed predators and light levels on the distribution of Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh. in tropical, tidal forests. Esluarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 25:43–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, T. J. III 1987b. Seed predation in relation to tree dominance and distribution in mangrove forests. Ecology 68:266–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sokal, R. R. & Rohlf, F. J. 1981. Biometry. W. H. Freeman Company, New York. Second edition.Google Scholar
Walsh, G. E. 1974. Mangroves: a review. Pp. 51–174 in Reinhold, R. & Queen, W. M. (eds). Ecology of halophytes. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Weis, A. E. & Berenbaum, M. R. 1989. Herbivorous insects and green plants. Pp. 123–162 in Abrahamson, W. G. (ed.). Plant-animal interactions. McGraw-Hill, New York.Google Scholar
Whitham, T. G. & Mopper, S. 1985. Chronic herbivory: impacts on architecture and sex expression of Pinyon pine. Science 228:1089–1091.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whitten, A. J. & Damanik, S. J. 1986. Mass defoliation of mangroves in Sumatra, Indonesia. Biotropica 18:176.Google Scholar
Williams, A. G. & Whitham, T. G. 1986. Premature leaf abscission: an induced plant defense against gall aphids. Ecology 67:1619–1627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wint, G. R. W. 1983. Leaf damage in tropical rain forest canopies. Pp. 229–238 in Whitmore, T. C. & Chadwick, A. C. (eds). Tropical rain forest: ecology and management. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.Google Scholar
Wium-Andersen, S. & Christensen, B. 1977. Seasonal growth of mangrove trees in southern Thailand. II. Phenology of Bruguiera cylindrica, Ceriops tagal, Lumnitzera littorea and Avicennia marina. Aquatic Botanyr 5:383–390.Google Scholar