Abstract: Mangrove habitats are under severe land use pressure throughout the world and
Australia is no exception. Here we describe the heterogeneity of mangrove habitat and its
relationship with mangrove bird diversity. We examined the role of mangrove habitat
complexity in determining the richness of avian mangrove dependent species (MDS) and
interior species, overall bird species richness and density. High species richness (overall and
MDS) and density in the mangroves was associated with plant species richness, the density
of the understory and food resource distribution. Furthermore, habitat heterogeneity rather
than patch area per se was a more important predictor of species richness in the mangroves.
These findings stress the importance of habitat diversity and quality to the diversity and
density of birds in mangroves. Thus, habitat heterogeneity within mangroves is a crucial
patch characteristic, independent of mangrove patch size, for maintaining diverse avian
species assemblages.