PDF 8302.pdf | Request a copy Full text restricted Available under University of Tasmania Standard License.

Abstract

Bermuda is the northern latitudinal limit
for mangroves, but communities are diverse and
productive. Two pollen diagrams from the largest
mangrove area show vegetation changes over the last
5000 years. From 5000 to 2100 years ago this was a
marsh wetland, and pollen evidence is also shown
of the dryland endemic forest before colonisation of
Bermuda. Establishment of mangroves has only
occurred in the last 3000 years, when sea-level rise
slowed from 26 to 7 cm/l00 years. Flotation
experiments indicate that propagules could readily colonize from the Caribbean, and evidence both of
cooler climate during the glacial and that none of
Bermuda's many endemics utilize a mangrove habitat
suggests that mangroves have had discontinuous
presence in Bermuda through the Late Pleistocene.
This study shows that mangrove ranges may be more
plastic than was previously thought, subject to
availability of habitats rather than dispersal capability.

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Ellison, JC
Keywords:	Mangrove, Holocene, Bermuda, dispersal, pollen
Journal or Publication Title:	Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters
ISSN:	0960-7447
Additional Information:	© 1996 Blackwell Science Ltd
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

Actions (login required)

Item Control Page