2024-04-16 09:24:37
We are increasingly talking about these ecosystems located between the sea and the land for their essential role in capturing and storing carbon, in protection against coastal erosion and against storms. But what is less said is that mangroves are also the habitat of abundant biodiversity. In Cambodia, researchers have recorded, in just one year, more than 700 species of animals in one of the largest mangrove forests in Southeast Asia.
These are Peam Krasop and Koh Kapik, two adjacent reserves in the south of Cambodia and protected since the 1990s. Together, they cover an area of nearly 26,000 hectares. And so that’s where scientists – in collaboration with the Cambodian Ministry of Environment and the Royal University of Agriculture, conducted a field investigation last year. So, as you can imagine, it is not at all easy to move through this wild ecosystem made of roots, water and mud. This is why, in addition to personally going to the mangroves, the researchers installed camera traps: 57 cameras, which filmed more than 4,000 nights of wildlife.
Presence of rare species
These cameras provide proof of the presence of rare species: the fishing cat, a solitary and elusive predator, a little larger than a domestic cat, which loves water and feeds on fish and shellfish… Or even the Hairy-nosed otter, one of the rarest otter species on our planet, threatened with extinction, just like 15 of the 150 bird species that scientists have been able to record. Not to mention the several dozen species of bats, exceptional reptiles, pangolins, insects including a dragonfly no larger than a fingernail or even seahorses and more than 74 species of fish and crustaceans . More than 700 species recorded in one year, and scientists estimate that there are – at least! – 10 times more.
Abundant biodiversity
Mangroves are real ecological niches that are difficult to access for humans. And when they are preserved, they constitute a real nursery for many species which choose them to reproduce. We know today that the protection of this biodiversity ultimately also benefits local populations, for fishing for example. But it’s all about balance. Because it is indeed human activities, such as shrimp farming, salt marshes or charcoal production, which have been responsible for the disappearance of 40% of mangroves in Cambodia since the 1980s. This study on the Biodiversity of the mangroves of Peam Krasop and Koh Kapik is therefore also a call to continue to protect them.
#mangrove #forests #important #biodiversity