TITLE:
Review on Possible Factors for Outbreak of Wood Boring Isopod, Sphaeroma spp. Which Causes Destructive Impact on Mangrove Forest in China
AUTHORS:
Myat Thiri, Yunan Yang
KEYWORDS:
Isopod’s Outbreak, Sphaeroma Species, Destructive Impact, Mangrove Forest, Restoration
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.12 No.3,
March
15,
2022
ABSTRACT: The tropical and subtropical mangrove biomes form the foundation of a highly productive and biologically rich ecosystem providing essential goods and services to human beings. Despite its values, the stability and survival of mangroves are consistently threatened by anthropogenic activities and their associated degradation, resulting in their disappearance. After realizing their ecological importance, in recent years, rehabilitation and restoration programs for mangrove forests have been launched globally. Unfortunately, most mangrove restoration efforts yielded negative results and failed to re-establish mangrove forests because of technical and social failures. Besides, the continued outbreak of wood borer, Sphaeroma spp., in mangrove forests has become one of the destructive causes of natural and restored mangrove forests in some nations including China. However, few studies on the biology of Sphaeroma spp. found in Chinese mangrove ecosystem have been done, and little is known concerning the factors affecting their outbreak in China. In this review, we discussed the possible factors that affect the rapid growth and recruitment of Sphaeroma spp. in the mangrove ecosystem by examining the information of the wood borer Sphaeroma spp. from the scattered pieces of literature with great regard. We discussed the relationship between the recruitment of Sphaeroma spp. and the tide and flow of water, food availability from the surrounding water and water quality including salinity, temperature, and the pollution of water. In addition to these factors, the reduced biodiversity of restored mangrove forest could be one of the main reasons for the outbreak of isopod. We also discussed the destructive impact of the isopod’s outbreak and the possible ways to control their outbreak in mangrove forest.