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Paleoecology of mangroves along the Sibun River, Belize

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Natalie M. Monacci ,
Ursula Meier-Grünhagen ,
Bruce P. Finney ,
Hermann Behling  and
Matthew J. Wooller
Natalie M. Monacci
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Science, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, O'Neil Building, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775 USA Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, Water and Environmental Research Center, Duckering Building, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775 USA
Ursula Meier-Grünhagen
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Sciences, Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research, Victoria Road 26-28, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Bruce P. Finney
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences and Geosciences, Idaho State University, Gale Life Sciences Building, Pocatello, ID 83209 USA
Hermann Behling
Affiliation:
Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Matthew J. Wooller*
Affiliation:
Institute of Marine Science, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, O'Neil Building, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775 USA Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, Water and Environmental Research Center, Duckering Building, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775 USA
*
⁎Corresponding author at: Institute of Marine Science, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, O'Neil Building, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775 USA. E-mail address:[email protected] (M.J. Wooller).
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Abstract

This study examines a sediment core (SR-63) from a mangrove ecosystem along the Sibun River in Belize, which is subject to both changes in sea-level and in the characteristics of the river's drainage basin. Radiocarbon dates from the core show a decreased sedimentation rate from ~ 6 ka to 1 cal ka BP and a marked change in lithology from primarily mangrove peat to fluvial-derived material at ~ 2.5 cal ka BP. Changes in the sedimentation rates observed in mangrove ecosystems offshore have previously been attributed to changes in relative sea-level and the rate of sea-level rise. Pollen analyses show a decreased abundance of Rhizophora (red mangrove) pollen and an increased abundance of Avicennia (black mangrove) pollen and non-mangrove pollen coeval with the decreased sedimentation rates. Elemental ratios ([N:C]a) and stable isotope analyses (δ15N and δ13C) show that changes in the composition of the organic material are also coeval with the change in lithology. The decrease in sedimentation rate at the site of core SR-63 and at offshore sites supports the idea that regional changes in hydrology occurred during the Holocene in Belize, influencing both mainland and offshore mangrove ecosystems.

Keywords

BelizeSibun RiverHoloceneMangroveStable isotopesPaleoecologySea level
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 76 , Issue 2 , September 2011 , pp. 220 - 228
Copyright
University of Washington

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