TITLE:
Species Composition, Diversity and Habitat Assessment of Mangroves in the Selected Area along Butuan Bay, Agusan Del Norte, Philippines
AUTHORS:
Alvin B. Goloran, Calagui Laurence, Betco Glenn, Mulgado April Tricia
KEYWORDS:
Diversity, Mangrove Assessment, Anthropogenic Factors, Butuan Bay
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.7 No.4,
April
8,
2020
ABSTRACT: Philippines has about 7100 islands with 3 major islands, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and has about 18,000 km of shorelines with vast areas of mangrove ecosystem. Government policies, which dictated development in both the uplands and coastal areas, have been based mainly on abundant available resources without due consideration for sustainability. The study was conducted for the purpose to identify mangroves diversity and assessment in selected area along Butuan Bay, Agusan del Norte, particularly in the coastal line of Butuan City, Magallanes and Buenavista. Random sampling was used and had a total number of 9 stations having three (3) 10 × 10 meters’ quadrat each area. Results revealed a total of 12 species of mangroves within the areas along Butuan Bay. Family Avicenniaceae and Rhizoporaceae dominated the area. Avicennia alba and Rhizopora mucronata dominated in all sampling stations. Eleven (11) species were recorded to be Least Concern and only one species was considered Vulnerable (Avicennia rumphiana). Among the species, Acanthus ebracteatus was the most dominant species followed by palm mangrove Nypa fruticans. Based on the results, mangrove areas in the selected area along Butuan Bay fall under the category of very low biodiversity with a value of 1.79. This means that all selected areas experienced very high disturbances from anthropogenic activity.