Mangrove ecosystems are being increasingly threatened by human activities. Their biotic productivity supplies food and other resources to the human populations that inhabit or make use of them. This volume highlights the results of a ten-year German / Brazilian research project, called MADAM, in one of the largest continuous mangrove areas of the world, located in northern Brazil. Based on the analysis of the ecosystem dynamics, management strategies for the conversation and sustainable use of mangroves are presented and discussed. Beyond the scientific results, this book also provides guidelines for the development of international cooperation projects.

The Need for a Holistic Approach in Mangrove Research and Management

MADAM, Concept and Reality
Geography and Biogeochemistry
The Geography of the Bragança Coastal Region
Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction
The Biogeochemistry of the Caeté Mangrove-Shelf System
Floristic and Faunistic Studies in Mangroves
Mangrove Vegetation of the Caeté Estuary
Mangrove Infauna and Sessile Epifauna
Dynamics in the Mangrove System
Drivers of Temporal Changes in Mangrove Vegetation Boundaries and Consequences for Land Use
System Processes and Forest Development
Synoptic Analysis of Mangroves for Coastal Zone Management
Ecology and Fishery of Fin-Fish in the Mangrove System
Distribution Pattern of Fish in a Mangrove Estuary
Dynamics in Mangrove Fish Assemblages on a Macrotidal Coast
An Evaluation of the Larval Fish Assemblage in a North Brazilian Mangrove Area
Molecular Phylogenetic and Population Genetic Structuring of Macrodon sp., a Coastal and Estuarine Fish of the Western Atlantic Ocean
Fisheries and Management
Ecology and Fishery of Mangrove Crabs
The Brachyuran Crab Community of the Caeté Estuary, North Brazil: Species Richness, Zonation and Abundance
Feeding Ecology and Ecological Role of North Brazilian Mangrove Crabs
Comparative Population Dynamics and Life Histories of North Brazilian Mangrove Crabs, Genera Uca and Ucides (Ocypodoidea)
Artisanal Fishery of the Mangrove Crab Ucides cordatus (Ucididae) and First Steps Toward a Successful Co-Management in Bragança, North Brazil
Simulating Ucides cordatus Population Recovery on Fished Grounds
Mangroves and People
Mangroves and People: A Social-Ecological System
Data Synthesis and Assessment Tools
The Mangrove Information System MAIS: Managing and IntegratingInterdisciplinary Research Data
Coastal Zone Management Tool: A GIS-Based Vulnerability Assessment to Natural Hazards
Closing Remarks
Epilog.