Abstract

Since 1958, New Providence Island has lost 57% of its mangroves. Roads and other coastal development have frag-mented the remaining mangrove systems. Reduction in mangrove area, and increases in mangrove fragmentation, impairs the nursery function of mangroves. One of the largely intact mangrove systems on New Providence is within Bonefish Pond National Park, but even here, development prior to the creation of the park has altered parts of the mangrove system. In 2013, a team of researchers transplanted over 600 red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) trees to a selected the mangrove re-habilitation site within the Bonefish Pond National Park as part of the Global Environment Facility Full-size Project. The restoration consisted of converting a dead-end dredged channel that served no nursery function into a mangrove fringed tidal creek capable of supporting fish and invertebrate populations. Restoration activities consisted of increasing hydro-graphic connectivity of the channel to surrounding waters and transplanting mangroves. Transplanted trees included those from the restored dredged channel; young trees from the nurseries at the Atlantis resort; propagules from another creek site and small trees dug from a freshwater lake. They were planted using a variety of transplantation methods and variable den-sities in 10m long plots along the restored channel to determine which approach had greater growth and survivorship. Re-searchers monitored the success of the transplants over the past two years measuring survivorship and growth metrics (height, new branches, and new prop roots) to determine the most appropriate methodology of mangrove transplantation for the Bahamian environment.

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