maintained supratidal facies (peats and supratidal muds) throughout their sequence and 
are remnants of once continuous coastal levees. 'Core' mudbanks nucleated upon levees 
and mangrove peats and prograded over brackish to marine packstones that 
accumulated in deeper lagoons. Intrabank lagoons filled forming one large mudbank. 
Radiocarbon dates of peat and shell material indicate that this coastal levee was 
overridden and marine mudbank accretion began about 2,500 yrs BP. Intense marine 
bioturbation blended levee and brackish sediments with overlying marine sediments as 
'core' mudbanks grew up to sea level, destroying large portions of the levee deposits 
upon which banks nucleated. Increased detrital input related to the erosion and initiation 
of tidal channels through mudbanks to the west resulted in continued bank accretion and 
infilling of intrabank lagoons creating one large mudbank. 
1986 
Smith, T. J., H. T. Chan, C. C. Mclvor and M. B. Robblee (1989) Comparisons of seed 
predation in tropical, tidal forests from three continents. Ecology . 70(1):146-51. 
An inverse relationship between the amount of seed predation and the dominance of a 
tree species in mangrove forest canopies has been hypothesized based on field studies 
conducted in Australia. Seed predation experiments have recently been performed in 
mangrove forests of North America and southeast Asia on several species of 
Avicennia, Bruguiera, and Rhizophora. The results of these experiments are compared 
with additional data from Australia to test the generality of the dominance-predation 
model. Significant differences were found in the amount of predation on four species of 
Avicennia. All Avicennia were consumed in greatest quantity where they were rarest 
in the forest canopy and in least amounts where they dominated the canopy. 
Consumption of Rhizophora apiculata in Australia and Malaysia followed patterns 
similar to that for Avicennia. For R. mangle, however, contradictory results were 
obtained. No R. mangle were eaten in Florida. In Panama, more were consumed where 
this mangrove dominated the canopy compared to a forest where it was rare. Results 
for Bruguiera cylindrica in Malaysia supported the dominance-predation model, 
whereas results from Australia for B. gymnorrhiza did not. Data for Avicennia clearly 
support the dominance - predation model. Regardless of species, seed predators exert 
an influence on the distribution of Avicennia in mangrove forests. Variation In the 
amount of predation on Rhizophora among regions is partly attributable to differences in 
the composition of the predator guilds between the forests studied. Predator guilds in 
the Malaysian and Australian forests are dominated by grapsid crabs. In Florida, crabs 
are minor consumers of propagules and three genera of snails are most important. Seed 
predation is variable among forests. The effect of seed predators on mangrove forests 
is related to the type of mangrove tree and composition of the seed predator guild. 
Sampling in Florida took place in 1986. 
1986 
Sternberg, L., and P. K. Swart (1987) Utilization of freshwater and oceanwater by coastal 
plants of south Florida. Ecology . 68:1898-905. 
The coastal vegetation of southern Florida is undergoing dramatic changes due to the 
instability of the ocean water-freshwater boundary. These vegetation changes will be 
determined by the response of each particular species to saline ocean water, 
particularly whether it can use ocean water or not. In this study, isotopic data were 
used to determine the relative usage of freshwater or ocean water by plants in the 
Florida keys. The results indicate that, with some exceptions, plants toward the 
interior of the Keys were using freshwater, while those toward the edge were using 
ocean water. A plot of the hydrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of the plant water 
yielded a mixing line between typical freshwater values and those of ocean water. In 
general, the isotopic ratios of stem water for species found in hardwood hammocks 
303 
