Leaf herbivory in a mangrove forest in Ceará, Brazil

ABSTRACT

Mangroves are common coastal ecosystems in tropical regions around the world. Ecological interactions are recurrent in these forest environments, including herbivory. In this sense, the present study aimed to evaluate leaf herbivory in three mangrove species, Laguncularia racemosa, Avicennia schaueriana and Rhizophora mangle, in a mangrove forest at Arpoeiras Beach, in Acaraú, Ceará and to compare it between the dry and rainy seasons in the region. Initially, ten trees of each mangrove species were selected and marked with a minimum distance of five meters apart. Next, ten leaves were randomly collected from each tree, 100 per species, i.e., 300 per collection, and a total of 1800. Three collections were made in the dry period (August, September and October) and three more in the rainy period (January, February and March). In the laboratory, the leaves were measured for width and length and weighed. They were classified according to herbivory damage and had their leaf area and herbivorous restored area were determined. The damages that were more frequent were scraping, hole I, hole II, spot I, spot II, gall and mine. Other damage was present but with low representativeness. Hole I and mine were more frequently in the leaves of Laguncularia racemosa. In Avicennia schaueriana, scraping, spot I and gall were more frequent. In Rhizophora mangle, hole II frequently occurred, with great loss of leaf surface and undefined damage. It is concluded that herbivores show preference among plant species and some injuries are more frequent. The salinity of the environment was a determining factor for herbivory, since it was in the rainy season that there were the highest values of leaf herbivory in mangrove species.

Keywords:
Mangroves; Ecological interactions; Leaf injuries