Category Archives: Mangrove Ecosystem

Mangrove Ecosystem

Fish On Land

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Species: Mudskipper (Actinopterygii : Gobiiformes)

Known Range: Indo-Pacific, India, Africa

Size: (Adult) Up to 25 cm long

Interviewed: Khaironizam Md Zain, freshwater ecologist (khaironizam@usm.my)

(Photo: Gold-spotted Mudskippers (Periophthalmus chrysospilos) waddling in the mudflats at Bako National Park, Sarawak | Pic by Chien Lee)

WHAT IS an animal that walks on mud, breathes through its skin, and swims using fins? A mudskipper! While they are fish and classified in the fish family Gobiidae, mudskippers don’t quite look like one. 

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Mangrove Ecosystem

How Do Mangroves Escape the Salt?

Interviewed: Alison Kim Shan Wee, molecular ecologist (kimshan.wee[at]nottingham.edu.my)

(Photo: Awash in sea water twice daily, mangrove trees have adapted to the challenging environment | Pic by Alison Kim)

HOW ARE mangroves, which grow by tropical and subtropical coasts, the same as plants in the deserts or the Arctic? Well, they are all extremophiles — a group of organisms that are able to thrive in extreme environments. 

According to molecular ecology researcher Alison Kim Shan Wee, mangrove trees can live in soil of high salt levels, which could kill most other trees.

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Mangrove Ecosystem, Species

Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)

Species: Crocodylus porosus (Reptilia : Crocodilia)

Known Range: South Asia to northern Australia

Size: (Adult) 6 m

Interviewed: Wan Nor Fitri Wan Jaafar, wildlife reproduction biologist (wannorfitri[at]gmail.com)

(Photo: Saltwater crocodile by Wan Nor Fitri Wan Jaafar)

IN MANGROVES, the saltwater crocodile claims top predator position. 

And this largest of the crocodiles (adults grow more than 7 meters long) doesn’t just live in saltwater, but thrives in rivers and the intertidal zones on the coast.

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