Cambodia’s largest mangrove forest ‘teems with life’, biodiversity study finds

A recent in-depth biodiversity survey in Cambodia revealed hundreds of unique species swimming, flying, crawling and prowling in one of Southeast Asia’s largest mangrove forests.

The abundance of wildlife in the kingdom’s Pream Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary and Koh Kapik Ramsar site ranged from endangered otters and rare cats to migratory birds and unique bats. The report by Fauna & Flora and the Fishing Cat Ecological Enterprise identified more than 700 unique species across several taxonomic groups using camera traps and rapid biodiversity surveys.

“Mangroves are often seen as a swampy, dirty place. But this report shows that they are teeming with life,” said Stefanie Rog, co-author of the report. “Mangroves are a vibrant connection between different species that live in this harsh environment. It is a fascinating world of wonders that must be protected.”

Mangrove forests form contiguous strips of densely forested, semi-submerged land on the coasts of Southeast Asia.

The large distribution of Pream Krasop and Koh Kapik, their remote location, coastal tides and variety of microhabitats make this forest particularly viable, explains Vanessa Herranz Muñoz, who led several studies and co-authored the report.

The ecosystem serves as both a marine and terrestrial habitat. This, says Herranz Muñoz, makes it “difficult when it comes to studying biodiversity or even protecting it” because environmental laws and management “very often separate the land from the sea.”

The study highlights the abundance of life in the mangroves, but also paints a sobering picture of what the mangroves have lost in recent years through hunting, development-induced deforestation and excessive salinization. These threats are still present.

“Just because we see a lot of biodiversity in the mangroves now, doesn’t mean it’s complete. Decades ago, in this same area, there were tigers, two species of crocodiles and more marine animals, like dugongs,” said Herranz Muñoz. “We’re lucky to have found so many species. But in the past, there were many more.”

In the coming months, Herranz Muñoz plans to conduct a marine survey along the coast. She hopes to publish a second edition of the biodiversity report early next year, which will include conservation recommendations and details on the growing threats to this coastal forest.

From the canopy to the forest floor

For the first edition of the mangrove biodiversity study, researchers spent several weeks of the dry and wet seasons last year in the mangrove forest, which covers part of the coast of Koh Kong province in southwestern Cambodia.

Data from 57 camera traps monitored over four months and from targeted rapid surveys revealed a range of bats, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, juvenile fish and plants present in the mangrove forests.

The researchers recorded 62 plant species, including trees, climbers, shrubs and palms.

The report found that at least 16 and possibly as many as 19 different bat species flutter among the branches and leaves, about a fifth of all known bats in Cambodia.

During the survey, more than 1,200 individual arthropods were found in Peam Krasop, divided over 350 species.

The forest floor is home to 12 species of amphibians and 5 species of reptiles, identified during a herpetological survey lasting about a week.

The study also identified more than 20 different species of migratory birds that visited the forest, adding to the permanent residents of the coastal forest. A total of 157 bird species have been recorded in recent years, the study found. Fifteen of these are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

Nearly 75 species of fish larvae and young help feed this flock of birds. Over the course of five days, researchers captured nearly 3,800 individual fish, including the spotted seahorse.

Researchers also identified 23 mammal species and Herranz Muñoz highlighted that almost half of them are considered endangered, such as the fishing cat, the hairy otter, the civet cat and the pangolin.

Despite this flood of new information about the dynamic inner workings of Pream Krasop and Koh Kapik, Rog noted that the study “is not a perfect report. It is not comprehensive.” She stressed the need to continue research in conjunction with intentional conservation management.

“The risk with more research is that you’re just watching things as they go downhill,” Rog said. “We can do a lot more research, and that would be very interesting from an ecological point of view, but don’t use more research to delay protection.”

While increased poaching and climate change due to salinization undermine the overall health of Pream Krasop and Koh Kapik, habitat loss – caused by large-scale coastal development – ​​remains the greatest threat.

Cambodia’s mangrove forests declined by more than 40 percent in the decades between 1989 and 2017, the report said, citing another study published five years ago.

“We see that Cambodia, like many other countries in the world, is developing,” Rog said. “We want to grow tourism, grow economically. There is a lot of population growth, we want to give people jobs. But we have to keep thinking about the natural values ​​and that they are not lost in that momentum of economic growth.”

These concerns about Cambodia’s mangrove forests are relatively common across Southeast Asia, said Dominic Wodehouse, executive director of the Mangrove Action Project, in an interview with Monga Bay.

“Every nation must decide which ecosystems must be sacrificed to develop,” Wodehouse said. “Society after society makes appropriate choices about where development is essential and where ecosystems must be protected.”

Banner image: A camera trap captures a young long-tailed macaque clinging to its mother at the Koh Kapik Ramsar site. Photo courtesy of Fishing Cat Ecological Enterprise.

Young Siamese crocodiles are a ‘promising sign’ in Cambodia, but more protection needed

FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post. If you would like to leave a public comment, you can do so at the bottom of the page.