been used in transplanting. As we men- 

 tioned in section 11, black mangroves seem 

 to have certain advantages over red man- 

 groves. Properly designed plantings are 

 usually 75% to 90% successful, although 

 the larger the transplanted tree, the 

 lower its survival rate (Teas 1977). 

 Pruning probably enhances survival of 

 trees other than seedlings (Carlton 1974). 

 Important considerations (Lewis 1979b; 

 Teas 1977) in transplanting mangroves are: 

 (1) to plant in the intertidal zone and 

 avoid planting at too high or too low an 

 elevation, (2) to avoid planting where the 

 shoreline energy is too great, (3) to 

 avoid human vandalism, and (4) to avoid 

 accumulations of dead sea grass and other 

 wrack. 



Costs of transplanting have been 

 variously estimated. Teas (1977) suggests 

 $462 an acre ($l,140/ha) for unrooted 

 propagules planted 3 ft (0.9 m) apart, 

 $1,017 an acre ($2,500/ha) for established 

 seedlings planted 3 ft (0.9 m) apart and 

 $87,500 ($21 6,130/ha) for 3 year-old nur- 

 sery trees planted 4 ft (1.2 m) apart. 

 Lewis (1979b) criticized Teas' costs as 

 unrealistically low and reported a project 

 in Puerto Rico which used established 

 seedlings at a cost of $5,060 an acre 

 ($12,500/ha); he did suggest that this 

 cost could be cut in half for larger 

 projects. 



12.6 ECOLOGICAL VALUE OF BLACK VS. RED 

 MANGROVES 



One unanswered question of current 

 interest in Florida concerns the ecologi- 

 cal value of black mangrove forests com- 

 pared to intertidal red mangrove forests. 

 In many respects, this is identical to the 

 "high marsh" versus "low marsh" debate in 

 temperate wetlands. One hypothetical 

 argument which has been presented fre- 

 quently in court cases during the past 

 decade suggests that black mangrove 

 forests have less ecological value than 

 red mangrove forests to both man and 

 coastal ecosystems. This argument is 

 based on an apparent lack of substantial 

 particulate detritus export from black 

 mangrove forests above mean high tide and 



the generally perceived lack of organisms, 

 particularly gamefishes, which use black 

 mangrove forests as habitat. 



The counter argument states that 

 black mangrove forests are important for 

 the support of wildlife and the export of 

 substantial quantities of dissolved 

 organic matter (DOM). Lugo et al. (1980) 

 provide evidence that black mangrove 

 forests do, in fact, export large quanti- 

 ties of DOM. They point out that (1 ) 

 black mangrove leaves decompose more 

 rapidly than red mangrove leaves and thus 

 produce relatively more DOM and (2) abso- 

 lute export of carbon from these forests, 

 on a statewide scale, is equal or greater 

 than from red mangrove forests. 



12.7 THE IMPORTANCE OF INTER-COMMUNITY 

 EXCHANGE 



From previous discussions (sections 6 

 and 7.5 and Appendices B, C, D and E) it 

 is clear that many species of fishes, 

 invertebrates, birds, and mammals move 

 between mangrove forest communities and 

 other habitats including sea grass beds, 

 coral reefs, terrestrial forests, and the 

 freshwater Everglades. For example, the 

 gray snapper, Lut janus gri seus , spends 

 part of its juvenile life in sea grass 

 beds, moves to mangrove-lined bays and 

 rivers, and then migrates to deeper water 

 and coral reefs as an adult (Croaker 1962; 

 Starck and Schroeder 1971). The pink 

 shrimp, Penaeus duorarum , spends its juve- 

 nile life in mangrove-lined bays and 

 rivers before moving offshore to the 

 Tortugas grounds as an adult. During its 

 juvenile period it appears to move back 

 and forth from mangrove-dominated areas to 

 sea grass beds. The spiny lobster, 

 Panulirus argus , as a juvenile frequently 

 uses mangrove prop root communities as a 

 refuge; when nearing maturity this species 

 moves to deeper water in sea grass and 

 coral reef communities (see discussion 

 section 6.1). Many of the mammals (sec- 

 tion 10) and birds (section 9) move back 

 and forth between mangrove communities and 

 a variety of other environments. 



These are only a few of many 



85 



