DOI: 10.5061/dryad.59zw3r2k4
title: Data from: The ecology of marginality—linking the informal settlement of mangrove forests and the rise of ecological novelty

description: The human habitation of mangrove forests in coastal cities of Latin
 America has historically been seen as a signature of the marginalization
 of low-income ethnic minorities, but the ecological consequences of these
 dwelling practices are far from being understood. This study examines the
 impact of chronic stress from expanding low-income urban settlements on
 plant and intertidal macrofaunal communities in Colombian Caribbean
 mangroves commonly dominated by Rhizophora mangle, comparing urban, rural,
 and wild mangrove stands. In urbanized mangrove forests, R. mangle was
 replaced by Laguncularia racemosa, a hallmark of urbanization in Caribbean
 mangroves. Intriguingly, urban forests experienced a significant increase
 in species richness compared to wild counterparts. This suggests
 reconsidering this variable as an indicator of ecosystem degradation.
 Urbanized mangroves host novel assemblages of mangrove species, alien
 species, utilized plants, generalist weeds or pests, and freshwater
 species. These assemblages reflect typical urbanization processes in
 low-income coastal areas from the Global South, with wastewater runoff
 shaping biotic structure and providing food subsidies for opportunistic
 species. The use of rubble and timber for landfilling in urban mangroves
 alters tidal regimes and flood patterns, adding stress to remaining forest
 patches and promoting the proliferation of utilized plants and alien
 freshwater species, representing a threat to human health. This study
 highlights the complex interplay between ecological and social processes
 in creating ecological novelty.
description: # Data from: The ecology of marginality—linking the informal settlement of
 mangrove forests and the rise of ecological novelty
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.59zw3r2k4](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.59zw3r2k4) ## Description of the data and file structure Data are matrices of abundance and species composition of plant and animal (macrobenthic) species collected in plots and environmental/anthropogenic disturbance metrics taken in three types of mangrove forests (urban, rural, wild) in the Urabá Gulf (Colombian Caribbean)  ### Files and variables #### File: Animal_matrixC.csv **Description:**  Matrix of species composition and abundance of animal taxa in three types of mangrove forest. The code for each column has three keys separated by hyphens: the first letter denotes the type of mangrove (U=urban, R=rural, W= wild); the second is a number from 1 to 5, denoting the intertidal level (1= lowest intertidal to 5 = higher intertidal). and then testing the numberreplicatescate (From R1 to R5) ##### Variables * Rows are taxa, and columns are abundances per square meter. #### File: Environmental_data.xlsx **Description:**  Matrix of metrics of environmental factors or anthropogenic disturbances registered in plots from three types of mangrove forests. See Appendix S1 for further description on the associated methods to estimate these factors.  ##### Variables * Salinity * Anthropogenic litter (items m ^-2^) * Number of built structures in a 196 m^2^ plot * Logging (number in a 196 m^2^ plot) * Holdridge Complexity Index #### File: Plant_matrix.xlsx **Description:**  Matrix of species composition and cover of plant taxa in three types of mangrove forest. The code for each column has three keys separated by hyphens: the first letter denotes the type of mangrove (U=urban, R=rural, W= wild); the second is a number from 1 to 5, denoting the intertidal level (1= lowest intertidal to 5 = higher intertidal), and the denoting the number of replicates (From R1 to R5) ##### Variables * Rows are species/taxa; columns are cover (% in a 196 m2 plot) of each species in the corresponding plots ## Code/software Data are provided as Excel files. No additional software or code is required to visualize the data.