Sunday, March 22, 2009

Reflective Journal 4

Did You Know?

1. Mangrove are disappearing at a rate of 0.8 percent a year in Casamance (Africa). The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that mangroves are critically endangered or approaching extinction in 26 out of the 120 countries in which they are found.

2. The Sea snake has 10 TIMES more venom than the King Cobra!

Taken From: Group presentation [mangrove]

3. Do you think that mangroves are more threatened than rainforests?
Ans: Yes! Surprisingly, it is! Destruction of mangrove forests could leave the world deprived of their important ecological services by the end of a century.

4. With their dense vegetation, thick and often smelly mud, mangroves are not generally perceived to be particularly appealing habitats to visit. Yet this ecosystem has a diverse and fascinating flora and fauna, and plays a critical role in the conservation of the coast and the productivity of the sea.



MUDFLATS
5.Mud flats or tidal flats are also held in poor regard by many visitors to the coast. In fact, in Thailand, mud flats are in many places part of the mangrove system, being areas not yet colonised by the salt-tolerant trees. They are important feeding grounds for molluscs and marine invertebrates that crawl into the thick shifting sediments, emerging from their burrows to feed when the tide is in. They also attract millions of shore birds, including migrating and over-wintering waders. Over 40 coastal species of birds use the mud flats of Thailand. Bird watching enthusiasts will be very familiar with the significance of tidal mud flats for shore birds throughout the world, not just in Thailand.
Below is a picture on mudflats.

Adapted from an illustration in Reefs to Rainforests by Thom Henley.


Edited From: http://www.geocities.com/~nesst/mangrove.htm

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.- Steve Jobs

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