Macroalgae associated with the mangrove vegetation of Gazi Bay (Kenya)

Three transects through the mangrove, at right angles to the coastline and at increasing distance from the sea were studied. A number of pneumatophores was collected along each transect, the epiphytic vegetation identified and quantified, and the data analyzed with different mathematical techniques. It was concluded that: 1) the lowest algal cover on each pneumatophore is in the basal zone (0-5 cm above the substratum); the cover of the other zones is not significantly different; 2) the total cover of the pneumatophores from one transect diminishes from the seaward margin towards the land (due to increasing desiccation in higher zones); 3) there are no significant differences between the epiphytic vegetation on Sonneratia and Avicennia pneumatophores; 4) Bostrychia is most resistant to desiccation (and correlated parameters), followed equally by Catenella and Caloglossa; 5) the differences between the vegetation on the pneumatophores from the seaward transects and the most landward transect are more pronounced than those between the lowermost and highest pneumatophore from a single transect