Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T23:00:00.509Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Relict mangrove stand on Last Interglacial terrace, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Colin D. Woodroffe
Colin D. Woodroffe
Affiliation:
Northern Australia Research Unit, Australian National University, Darwin, NT, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A unique stand of mangroves of the genus Bruguiera occurs on the shore terrace at Hosnies Spring, Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. The mangrove stand, of about 0.33 ha, occurs 120 m inland and over an elevational range of 13 m, from 24 to 37 m above sea level. It is flooded by freshwater from a spring which trickles over a partially-cemented calcsinter concretion gravel with mud. Trees reach 30–40 m high, and 80 cm diameter breast height. The size structure is bimodal with few trees in the 10–25 cm dbh size classes, but abundant propagules, seedlings and saplings. The shore terrace contains corals, some in their position of growth, and has been shown by Uranium-series dating to be Last Interglacial in age. Several alternative explanations of how the mangroves reached this site are examined. One explanation is that this stand of mangroves has persisted at the site for approximately 120,000 years since the Last Interglacial. While this cannot be proved it does appear that the stand is relict and is actively regenerating in this unusual location.

Keywords

BruguieraChristmas IslandIndian OceanLast Interglacialmangrovepaleo-ecologyrelict forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , February 1988 , pp. 1 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Adams, C. G. & Belford, D. J. 1974. Foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Oligocene-Miocenc limestones of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). Palaeontology 17:476–506.Google Scholar
Allen, G. R. & Steene, R. G. 1979. The fishes of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, Special Publication 2. 81 pp.Google Scholar
Andrews, C. W. 1899. A description of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). Geographical Journal 13:17–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andrews, C. W. 1900. A monograph of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). British Museum (Natural History), London. 337 pp.Google Scholar
Barrie, J. 1967. The geology of Christmas Island. Bureau of Mineral Resources of Australia, Record 1967/37. 46 pp. (unpublished).Google Scholar
Beard, J. S. 1967. An inland occurrence of mangrove. Western Australian Naturalist 10:112–115.Google Scholar
Bloom, A. L., Broeker, W. S., Chappell, J., Matthews, R. S. & Mesolella, K. J. 1974. Quaternary sea level fluctuations on a tectonic coast, new Th230/U234 dates from New Guinea. Quaternary Research 4:185–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chappell, J. M. A. 1974. Geology of coral terraces, Huon Peninsula, New Guinea. A case study of Quaternary tectonic movements and sea level changes. Geological Society of America Bulletin 85:553–570.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chappell, J. & Shackleton, N. J. 1986. Oxygen isotopes and sea level. Nature 324:137–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chappell, J. & Thom, B. G. 1977. Sea levels and coasts. Pp. 275–291 in Allen, J., Golson, J. & Jones, R. (eds). Sunda and Sahul, Prehistoric studies in Southeast Asia, Melanesia and Australia. London, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Chappell, J. & Veeh, H. H. 1978. Late Quaternary tectonic movements and sea-level changes at Timor and Atauro Island. Geological Society of America Bulletin 89:356–368.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cintron, G., Lugo, A. E., Pool, D. J. & Morris, G. 1978. Mangroves of arid environments in Puerto Rico and adjacent islands. Biotropica 10:101–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ding, Hou 1957. A conspectus of the genus Bruguiera (Rhizophoraceae). Nova Guinea n.s. 8:163–171.Google Scholar
Flenley, J. R. 1979. The equatorial rainforest, a geological history. London, Butterworths. 162 pp.Google Scholar
Fosberg, F. R. 1947. Micronesian mangroves. Journal of the New York Botanical Garden 48:128–138.Google Scholar
Fosberg, F. R. 1960. The vegetation of Micronesia. 1. General descriptions, the vegetation of the Marianas Islands, and a detailed consideration of the vegetation of Guam. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 119:1–75.Google Scholar
Gibson-Hill, C. A. 1947. Notes on the Cocos Keeling Islands. Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 20:140–202.Google Scholar
Gray, H. 1981. Christmas Island – naturally. Howard Gray, PO Box 1559, Geraldton, W. Australia. 133 pp.Google Scholar
Gregory, J. W. 1900. The fossil corals of Christmas Island. Pp. 206–225 in Andrews, C. W. (ed.). A monograph of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). British Museum (Natural History), London.Google Scholar
Guppy, H. B. 1889. The Cocos-Keeling Islands. Part II. Scottish Geographical Magazine 5:457–474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guppy, H. B. 1890. The dispersal of plants as illustrated by the flora of the Keeling or Cocos Islands. Journal and Transactions of the Victoria Institute, London 24:267–306.Google Scholar
Hamilton, A. C. 1982. Environmental history of East Africa. London, Academic Press. 328 pp.Google Scholar
Harper, J. L. 1977. Population biology of plants. London, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Lister, J. J. 1888. On the natural history of Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1888:512–531.Google Scholar
Ludbrook, N. H. 1965. Tertiary fossils from Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). Journal of the Geological Society of Australia 12:285–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lugo, A. E. 1981. The inland mangroves of Inagua. Journal of Natural History 15:845–852.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lugo, A. E. & Snedaker, S. C. 1974. The ecology of mangroves. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 5:39–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCusker, A. 1984. Rhizophoraceae. Flora of Australia vol. 22 (Rhizophorales to Celastrales) Bureau of Flora and Fauna. Canberra AGPS 1–10.Google Scholar
Mitchell, B. A. 1974. The forest flora of Christmas Island. Commonwealth Forestry Review 53:19–29.Google Scholar
Mitra, R. L. & Banerjee, L. K. 1979. The genus Bruguiera Lamk. (Rhizophoraceae) in India. Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India 21:142–150.Google Scholar
Mueller-Dombois, D. & Ellenberg, H. 1974. Aims and methods of vegetation ecology. New York, Wiley. 547 pp.Google Scholar
Nuttall, W. L. F. 1926. A revision of the Orbitoides of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 82:22–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ogden, J. 1985. Past, present and future, studies on the population dynamics of some long-lived trees. Pp. 3–16 in White, J. (ed.). Studies on plant demography. A festschrift for John L. Harper. London, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Polak, E. J. 1976. Christmas Island Indian Ocean), geophysical survey for groundwater. Bureau of Mineral Resources of Australia, Record 1976/100. 37 pp. (unpublished).Google Scholar
Potts, D. C. 1984. Generation times and the Quaternary evolution of reef-building corals. Paleobiology 10:48–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ridley, A. N. 1906. The botany of Christmas Island. Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 45:156–271.Google Scholar
Rivereau, J. C. 1965. Notes on a geomorphological study of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Bureau of Mineral Resources of Australia, Record 1965/116. 2 pp. (unpublished).Google Scholar
Sauer, J. D. 1982. Cayman Islands seashore vegetation, a study in comparative biogeography. University of California Publications in Geography, University of California Press, Berkeley. 161 pp.Google Scholar
Simpson, B. B. & Haffer, J. 1978. Speciation patterns in the Amazonian forest biota. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 9:497–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, W. C. 1926. The volcanic rocks of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). Quarterly Journal of the eological Society of London 82:44–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SteenisC. G. G. J., van C. G. G. J., van 1963. Miscellaneous notes on New Guinea plants. Nova Guinea, Botany 12:189.Google Scholar
SteenisC. G. G. J., van C. G. G. J., van 1984. Three more mangrove trees growing locally in nature in freshwater. Blumea 29:395–397.Google Scholar
Stoddart, D. R. 1971a. Rainfall on Indian Ocean coral islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 147:1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stoddart, D. R. 1971b. Environment and history in Indian Ocean reef morphology. Pp. 3–38 in Stoddart, D. R. & Yonge, M. (eds). Regional variation in Indian Ocean coral reefs. Symposium of the Zoological Society of London 28.Google Scholar
Stoddart, D. R. 1973. Coral reefs of the Indian Ocean. Pp. 51–92 in Jones, O. A. & Endean, R. (eds). Biology and geology of coral reefs 1. Geology 1. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stoddart, D. R. 1980. Vegetation of Little Cayman. Atoll Research Bulletin 241:53–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stoddart, D. R., Bryan, G. W. & Gibbs, P. E. 1973. Inland mangroves and water chemistry, Barbuda, West Indies. Journal of Natural History 7:33–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tjia, H. D. 1975. Holocene eustatic sea levels and glacial-isostatic rebound. Zeitschrift für geomorphologie. N.F. Supplementband 22:57–71.Google Scholar
Tomlinson, P. B. 1986. The botany of mangroves. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 413 pp.Google Scholar
Trueman, N. A. 1965. The phosphate, volcanic and carbonate rocks of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). Journal of the Geological Society of Australia 12:261–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veeh, H. H. 1985. Uranium-series dating applied to phosphate deposits on coral reef islands. Proceedings of the 5th International Coral Reef Congress 3:463–469.Google Scholar
Weiss, H. 1966. Apercu préliminaire sur une mangrove naturelle a l'interieure des terres au sud de Tuléar. Recueil des Travaux de la Station marine d'Endoume, Faculte des sciences de Marseille. Fasc H.Série Suppl. 5:175–178.Google Scholar
Wharton, W. J. L. 1888. Account of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society 10:613–624.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodroffe, C. D. 1983. Development of mangrove swamps behind beach ridges, Grand Cayman Island, West Indies. Bulletin of Marine Science 33:864–880.Google Scholar