| Leaf morphology was measured and aerodynamical attributes as well as transpiration rates were calculated for the mangrove Conocarpus erecta from sites naturally sheltered or sites exposed to oceanic winds at Socorro Island, Mexico, and compared with those of C. erecta, Laguncularia racemosa, and Rhizophora mangle at a mainland estuary near La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico. Leaves of C. erecta, 5.98 cm in length and 2.03 cm in width, were the smallest and most streamlined of the mainland mangroves. Moreover, both leaf dimensions were 32 % smaller for trees from the exposed sites on Socorro Island than on the mainland. For a given wind velocity, Reynolds numbers were 10 to 33 % lower at Socorro Island than on the mainland for leaves of C. erecta, leading to a... |
