| The value of mangrove ecosystems and the wide variety of useful functions that they perform have been well documented (Turner, 1977; Robertson, 1986; Singh, 1987; Bailey, 1988). For marine fishes especially, and many aquatic organisms, mangrove provide spawning, nursery and forage grounds for post larvae and juveniles (Weistein, 1979; Shenker and Dean, 1979; Robertson and Duke, 1987; Sasekumar et al., 1992). The dependence of juveniles of many marine species on mangrove ecosystems is attributed to their higher productivity as compared to adjacent marine areas (Robertson, 1986). Mc Hugh (1966) estimated that approximately two thirds of commercially important fishes depend on estuarine habitats for the growth of their young. In fact, good correlation has... |
