Abstract

MORALES-RODRIGUEZ, Neil Ebeth Meled et al. Vascular epiphyte community of an inland mangrove of Tabasco: composition and similarity with coastal mangroves and adjacent tropical vegetation. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2026, vol.97, e975597.  Epub Feb 04, 2026. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2026.97.5597.

El Cacahuate Lagoon, Tabasco, Mexico, is located 170 km from the current coastline and contains an inland mangrove ecosystem, surrounded by remnants of tropical forest. This inland mangrove is the habitat of an epiphyte community whose species composition and relationship with other epiphyte communities are unknown. This study describes the composition of vascular epiphytes associated with this inland mangrove, evaluates their similarity to epiphyte communities in coastal mangroves and adjacent vegetation within a 220 km radius of the study site, using the Jaccard Index and floristic turnover with β-diversity. We hypothesize that the similarity in the composition of the epiphytes of the inland mangrove should be greater with that of nearby forests than with coastal mangroves, since the seeds of forest epiphytes can easily reach the inland mangrove. The epiphyte community of the Cacahuate mangrove comprises 27 species and is more similar to the epiphyte communities of the coastal mangroves of Tabasco. This affinity could be related to the Pleistocene isolation of this mangrove, or to the long-distance dispersal of epiphytes from coastal mangroves.

Keywords : Biodiversity; Floristics; Red mangrove; Rhizophora mangle; Wanha’ Biosphere Reserve.

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