Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Oberle, Brad

Area of Concentration

Environmental Studies

Abstract

Mangroves are unique ecosystems, bridging land and sea, and hosting a plethora of ecologically and economically valuable species. Mangroves provide a nursery habitat for marine life, protect and build shorelines, and sequester large amounts of atmospheric carbon. Mangrove trees have an interdependent relationship with the burrowing crabs which live alongside them. Burrowing crabs act as ecosystem engineers; assisting in nutrient cycling and decomposition, altering the sediment chemistry and promoting plant growth. This study takes place on a spoil mound caused by channelization in a mangrove island. Impacts of invasive tree removal techniques on mangrove growth, crab populations, and substrate characteristics are explored with the goal of identifying the invasive removal technique(s) which best support mangrove growth and burrowing crab populations. Mangrove measurements and soil and litter samples were collected in addition to conducting crab population surveys to quantify the influence of invasive removal on mangrove growth, substrate characteristics, crab presence, and crab burrow density. This allowed for an analysis of the relationship between substrate characteristics and crab burrow density. One-way ANOVA, chi squared, and regression analyses performed in JMP 16 showed no significant direct or indirect impacts of invasive removal treatment on mangrove growth or crab populations.

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