Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisal

During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), when global sea levels dropped by ∼132 m, the Caribbean continental shelf was fully exposed, which drastically reduced the flat topographical habitat necessary for mangrove growth. It has been proposed that mangroves survived in flat microsites beyond the shelf...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Rull, Valentí
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/400963
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/400963
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Caribbean Sea
Mangroves
Last Glacial Maximum
Postglacial recolonization
(micro)refugia
Sea-level rise
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spelling Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisalRull, ValentíCaribbean SeaMangrovesLast Glacial MaximumPostglacial recolonization(micro)refugiaSea-level riseDuring the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), when global sea levels dropped by ∼132 m, the Caribbean continental shelf was fully exposed, which drastically reduced the flat topographical habitat necessary for mangrove growth. It has been proposed that mangroves survived in flat microsites beyond the shelf break and later expanded from these microrefugia to their current distribution after the LGM. However, this hypothesis remains untested. This study aims to identify potential refugia by locating flat areas around the −132 m isobath using Global Multiresolution Topography (GMRT) images. A significant ∼200-km-long potential refugium was identified on the northern Trinidad (NT) shelf, along with several scattered kilometer-scale microrefugia near the Cariaco Basin (CB) in northeastern Venezuela. Additionally, two isolated prospective microrefugia were detected in northern Colombia (NC) and western Hispaniola (WH). The remaining LGM Caribbean coasts were considered unsuitable for mangrove growth. The NT refugium, along with the CB microrefugia, may have served as the primary sources for subsequent mangrove expansion. This expansion was likely facilitated by postglacial sea-level rise and the SE-NE Caribbean Current (CC), which would have acted as a major agent for propagule dispersal. This microtopographical survey not only supports the microrefugial hypothesis but also narrows the focus to the most promising areas, significantly reducing the time, effort and resources required for future seismic and coring campaigns.No financial support was required specifically for the development of this work.Peer reviewedElsevier BVConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]202520252025info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Publisher's versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/400963reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Ingléshttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109404Síinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/4009632026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisal
title Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisal
spellingShingle Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisal
Rull, Valentí
Caribbean Sea
Mangroves
Last Glacial Maximum
Postglacial recolonization
(micro)refugia
Sea-level rise
title_short Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisal
title_full Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisal
title_fullStr Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisal
title_full_unstemmed Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisal
title_sort Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisal
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Rull, Valentí
author Rull, Valentí
author_facet Rull, Valentí
author_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Caribbean Sea
Mangroves
Last Glacial Maximum
Postglacial recolonization
(micro)refugia
Sea-level rise
topic Caribbean Sea
Mangroves
Last Glacial Maximum
Postglacial recolonization
(micro)refugia
Sea-level rise
description During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), when global sea levels dropped by ∼132 m, the Caribbean continental shelf was fully exposed, which drastically reduced the flat topographical habitat necessary for mangrove growth. It has been proposed that mangroves survived in flat microsites beyond the shelf break and later expanded from these microrefugia to their current distribution after the LGM. However, this hypothesis remains untested. This study aims to identify potential refugia by locating flat areas around the −132 m isobath using Global Multiresolution Topography (GMRT) images. A significant ∼200-km-long potential refugium was identified on the northern Trinidad (NT) shelf, along with several scattered kilometer-scale microrefugia near the Cariaco Basin (CB) in northeastern Venezuela. Additionally, two isolated prospective microrefugia were detected in northern Colombia (NC) and western Hispaniola (WH). The remaining LGM Caribbean coasts were considered unsuitable for mangrove growth. The NT refugium, along with the CB microrefugia, may have served as the primary sources for subsequent mangrove expansion. This expansion was likely facilitated by postglacial sea-level rise and the SE-NE Caribbean Current (CC), which would have acted as a major agent for propagule dispersal. This microtopographical survey not only supports the microrefugial hypothesis but also narrows the focus to the most promising areas, significantly reducing the time, effort and resources required for future seismic and coring campaigns.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025
2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Publisher's version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/400963
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/400963
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109404
Sí
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier BV
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier BV
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15.812429

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