Validation of Rapid Assessment of Damage in Urban Mangrove Forests and Relationships With Molluscan Assemblages

Abstract

Six mangrove forests in the urban region of Sydney, Australia, were examined to determine whether there were relationships between levels of human-induced damage and the structure of molluscan assemblages, the first stage in the validation of a technique for rapid assessment of the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance in urban mangroves. All six mangrove forests showed some damage but the amount varied considerably among and within each forest. Significant correlations between the levels of damage and abundance of different taxa, and changes in the structure of the molluscan assemblage along gradients of damage, suggest that indices based on measures of damage have the potential to provide a means for the rapid, wide scale evaluation of mangroves affected by impacts associated with human activities in urban areas.