Linkages between Mangrove Forests and Coral Reefs: quantifying disturbance effects and energy flow between systems

Abstract

Interface habitats, areas where aquatic and terrestrial habitats intersect, play important functional roles. Interface habitats mediate the exchange of resources (e.g.. energy, nutrients, water), alter abiotic gradients (e.g.. temperature, salinity, pH. sedimentation, nutrients), insulate abutting habitats from disturbances, and serve as critical habitat in their own right for certain life history stages of species from the adjacent habitats. Though often referred to as transition zones or ecotones (e.g.. rocky shores, salt marshes, riparian zones), they are not just a mixture of species from the abutting ecosystems, but also harbor unique species assemblages.