Flood regime as a driver of the distribution of mangrove and salt marsh species in a subtropical estuary

Tidal patterns of the subtropical Paranaguá Estuarine Complex, in southern Brazil, are strongly affected by episodic cold fronts and by the coastal geometry and bottom topography, resulting in high temporal variability and marked gradients in flood regime. We delimit tolerance ranges of submersion a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of marine systems Vol. 161; pp. 11 - 25
Main Authors Spier, Daphne, Gerum, Humberto L.N., Noernberg, Maurício A., Lana, Paulo C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 01.09.2016
Subjects
Brackish
Cold fronts
Estuaries
Floods
Hydroperiod
Marine
Mean sea level
Paranaguá estuarine complex
Quantitative analysis
Salinity
Salt marshes
Southern Brazil
Spartina
Tide
Tolerances
Topography
ASW, Brazil
Hydroperiod
Spartina
Tide
Paranaguá estuarine complex
Southern Brazil
Mean sea level
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Summary:Tidal patterns of the subtropical Paranaguá Estuarine Complex, in southern Brazil, are strongly affected by episodic cold fronts and by the coastal geometry and bottom topography, resulting in high temporal variability and marked gradients in flood regime. We delimit tolerance ranges of submersion and exposure for representative plant and animal species from local mangroves and salt marshes, through a quantitative analysis of flooding patterns in three estuarine sectors. Our results are consistent with flood regime being the leading factor on how species are distributed over the intertidal flats of the PEC. Subleading factors might be related to salinity, sediment composition and nutrient flow. •Gradients in flood regime are measured at different sectors of the Paranagua Estuary.•Tolerance ranges of submersion and exposure are quantified for different species.•Flooding patterns are found to be the leading factor in the distribution of mangroves.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0924-7963
1879-1573
DOI:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2016.05.004