PJB-2004-12
INSECT HERBIVORY IN POLLUTED MANGROVES OF THE INDUS DELTA
S.M. SAIFULLAH AND MAHERA S. ALI
Abstract
The study deals with estimation of insect herbivory on the attached leaves of the grey mangrove Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh., in a highly polluted habitat of the Indus Delta. A greater proportion of the leaves was affected by herbivory in varying degrees of consumption by insects and mostly less than 20% of the leaf area was consumed. A vertical zonation of herbivory was observed with an increasing trend from upper to lower canopy. The overall estimate of herbivory in mangroves revealed that insects consumed as much as 22% of the foliage with an average value of 14.38 ± 4.37%.
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