A Trophic Model Of The Cameroon Estuary Mangrove With Simulations Of Mangrove Impacts

A network model of trophic interactions in the Cameroon estuary mangrove was developed with the objective to coherently quantify state variables as well as matter and energy flows between system components. A mass balance model was constructed using a dataset collected in the field in 2010 to 2015 supplemented from the literature. A model of 26 compartments groups was analysed and parameters pertaining to ecosystem health in terms of productivity structure and resilience derived. To predict the effects of disturbances anthropogenic or natural biomass removal simulations were evaluated using Ecosim routines. The results indicate that Cameroon mangrove estuary is relatively mature system. Ninty eight percent of the total throughput is confined to the 1st and 2nd trophic level with the overall system strongly depending on the consumption of detritus. The distribution of energy and the poor structure of the flows suggest that the network is able to reflect prominent features of the ecosystem .Simulation of mangrove biomass indicates that 40 reduction will reduce crabs biomass population considerably within 5 years. Mixed trophic impacts showed that detritus and low trophic levels had a positive influence on most groups.