Mangroves come from the east

Biologists give first insight into distribution of ecologically important mangroves in the West Indian Ocean. Mangrove forests are of great ecological and socio-economic importance. They have a permanent place on the international climate agenda because of their extensive carbon storage. Researchers from the Department of Biology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel have now studied the genetic structure and diversity of mangrove forests in the Western Indian Ocean, a region where these aspects have been less studied until now. The study, published in , shows among other things that mangroves arrived and established earlier on the Seychelles, Madagascar and Aldabra, i.e. on the islands off the East African coast, than on the East African mainland coast itself. Dr Tom Van der Stocken, lead author of the study: " This study provides a clear picture of the connections between mangrove populations in this region and illustrates the role of ocean surface currents therein. This knowledge is of fundamental ecological importance.