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Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand

show  that  even  relatively  small  mangrove  protected  areas  like  SIEP  have  an  important  place  in  biodiversity  banking.  When  such  discoveries  occur  in  relatively  small  protected  areas  like  SIEP  which  themselves  are  located  within  globally  importantly  biodiversity  hotspots  like  Thailand,  the  significance  of  SIEP is  magnified. Subtle  or  covert  biodiversity  can  be  hard  to  find  in  mangrove  ecosystems  that  are  often  dominated  by  one  or  a  few  tree  species.  This  is  the  case  in  Florida  (USA)  where  Rhizophora  mangle  rules  and  hides  a  huge  hidden  non-tree  biodiversity  of  ~4,000  insect  species  (Wilson &  Simberloff,  1969  In:  Molles, 2016).  Part  of  the  covert  biodiversity  of  which  this  impressive  non-tree  animal  biodiversity  is  an  example,  lies  in  the  bio-complexity  associated  with  such  mangrove  morphology  as  tangled  root  architecture.  These  complex  forms furnish  complex  habitats  over  microgeographic  scales.  This  covert  (hidden)  unexpected  and  impressive  mangrove  ecosystem  biodiversity  was  also  highlighted  for  Singapore’s mangrove mudflats  by  Tan  (2016).  Here  mangrove  tree  and  shrub  biodiversity  is  low  yet.  Tan  reports  from  the  Comprehensive  Marine  Biodiversity  of  Singapore  (CMBS)  five  year  study,  an  outstandingly  diverse  mud  fauna. Perhaps  the most  attractive  (in  terms  of research  grants  from  industry)  and  exciting  (in  terms  of  Health  science)  covert  mangrove  biodiversity  comes  from  their  importance  to  medicine  and  pharmacy.  The  bioactive  and  biomedically  important  compounds  so  far  identified  from  mangroves  invites  much  more  work  to  extend  the  limited  yet.  encouraging  findings  to  date.  Following  the  Indian  Ocean  tsunami  of  2004,  some  inspiring  work  was  reported  from  Thailand  (e.g.  Homhual  et.  al.,  2004  with  Bruguiera  gymnorrhiza).  More  recently,  this  theme  has  been  kept  in  welcome  focus  by  Baba  et.  al.  (2016,  a)  with  Xylocarpus granatum  and  Avicennia  marina  (Baba  et.  al.,  2016,  b)  and  Maxwell  (2015)  with  mangrove  species  biodiversity  generally. It  is  wise  to  mention  that  some  of  the  potential  values  of  mangrove  bioactive  products  are  very  hidden  and  may  e.g.  lie  within  the  subtle  biochemistry  of  interactions  between  endophytes  within  a  mangrove  higher  plant.  The  recent  work  by  Zheng  et.  al.,  (2014)  is  an  example  of  just  how  covert  the  biology  may  be.  The  Zheng  group  identified  anti-proliferative  metabolites  from  the  endophytic  fungus  Penicillium  sp  FJ-1  isolated  from  Avicennia  marina. Several  decades  ago  Maxwell  (1968;  1971)  demonstrated  that  the  well-known  plant  destroyer,  Phytophthora  had  limited  pathogenic power  with  the  New  Zealand  ecotype  of  Avicennia  marina.  Here  we  have  an  example  of  how  both  overt  and  covert  levels  of  mangrove  b i o d i v e r s i t y   may  c o m b i n e :   f o r   t h i s  biogeograhically  diverse  mangrove,  A.  marina,  has  a  wide  spectrum  of  ecological  tolerance  and  economic  importance. It  is  time  to  broaden  our  perspectives  and  consider  some  more  eco-physiological  issues. III. WHAT MANGROVE  SPECIES  ARE  THE  MOST  TOLERANT  OF  ENVIRONMENTAL  CHANGE? 3.1  Essentially,  this  question  asks  mangrove  ecologists,  forests  and  managers  to  identify  the  mangroves  best  adapted  to  cope  with  climate  change  and  its  many  ecological  consequences. 3.2  As  mentioned  above,  the  big  challenge  facing  mangrove  science  today  is  that  of  mangrove  eco-restoration:  perhaps  the  most  appropriate  paradigm  for  the  21st  Century  Proceedings  of  the  International  Conference  on  Climate  Change,  Biodiversity  and  Ecosystem  Services  for  the 73 Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs):  Policy  and  Practice  27-29  June  2016,  Cha-am,  Phetchaburi,  Thailand


Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
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