50272 -101 



REPORT DOCUMENTATION 

 PAGE 



l._REPORT NO. 



FWS/OBS-81/24 



3. Recipient's Accession No. 



4. Title and Subtitle 



THE ECOLOGY OF THE MANGROVES OF SOUTH FLORIDA: 

 PROFILE 



A COMMUNITY 



5. Report Date 



January 1982 



7. Author(s) 



William E. Odum, Carole C. Mclvor, Thomas J. Smith, III 



8. Performing Organization Rept. No. 



s. Address of Authors 



Department of Environmental Sciences 

 University of Virginia 

 Charlottesville, Virginia 22901 



10. Proiect/Task/Work Unit No. 



11. Contract(C) or Grant(G) No. 

 (C) 



(G) 



12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Address 



Office of Biological Services 

 Fish and Wildlife Service 

 U.S. Department of the Interior 

 Washington, D.C. 20240 



New Orleans OCS Office 

 Bureau of Land Management 

 U.S. Department of the Interior 

 New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 



13. Type of Report & Period Covered 



15. Supplementary Notes 



16. Abstract (Limit: 200 words) 



A detailed description is given of the community structure and ecosystem processes 

 of the mangrove forests of south Florida. This description is based upon a compilation of 

 data and hypotheses from published and unpublished sources. 



Information covered ranges from details of mangrove distribution, primary production, 

 and diseases to aspects of reproduction, biomass partitioning, and adaptations to stress. 

 Mangrove ecosystems are considered in terms of zonation, succession, litter fall and 

 decomposition, carbon export, and energy flow. 



Most of the components of mangrove communities are cataloged and discussed; these 

 include microorganisms, plants other than mangroves, invertebrates, fishes, reptiles, 

 amphibians, birds, and mammals. 



Finally, two sections summarize the value of mangrove ecosystems to man and present 

 ways to manage this type of habitat. It is concluded that mangrove forests, which cover 

 between 430,000 and 500,000 acres (174,000 - 202,000 ha) in Florida, are a resource of 

 great value and should be protected and preserved wherever possible. 



17. Document Analysis a. Descriptors 



Ecology, value, management, fauna 



b. Identifiers/Open Ended Terms 



Mangroves, halophytes, coastal wetlands, ecosystem, South Florida 



c. COSATI Field/Group 



18. Availability Statement 



Unlimited 



19. Security Class (This Report) 



Unr.lassifipH 



20. Security Class (This Page) 



21. No. of Pages 



154 



22. Price 



(See ANSI-Z39.18) 



See Instructions on Reverse 



OPTIONAL FORM 272 (4-77) 

 (Formerly NTIS-35) 

 Department of Commerce 



«U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1982-572-346 



