Danos foliares por herbivoria em florestas de mangue em três estuários do estado da Paraíba

Abstract

The frequency of damage and herbivory rate on leaves of Avicennia schaueriana Stapf & Leechm ex Moldenke, Laguncularia racemosa (L.) Gaertn.f. and Rhizophora mangle L. were evaluated in three mangroves forest (Sites 1, 2 and 3) adjacent to hypersaline areas in Paraíba, State of Brazil, in order to verify interspecific and intraspecific variation. Nine types of damage were identified: hole, fungus, gall, undefined, damage on the leaf margin, mine, necrosis, egg and rasping. Laguncularia racemosa presented the highest frequency of damage and higher average rate of herbivory (3.17 to 7.07 %) compared to Rhizophora mangle (0.77 to 1.76%) and Avicennia schaueriana (0.36 to 0.91%). There were significant intraspecific differences in leaf damage and herbivory rates among study sites, with no specific pattern. Laguncularia racemosa presented the hardest leaves (weight/area) in relation to other species. In general, the correlation between the hardness of the leaves (weight/area) and grazing rates were low or positive, suggesting that other factors, such as chemical, soil conditions (eg. interstitial salinity) and herbivores involved, can affect on herbivory process. The grazing values obtained in this study are considered low compared to other mangrove.