The next question is how typical the Bay of Rest is as a mangrove ecosystem.
Semeniuk et aL (1978) divided Western Australian mangroves into four zoogeographic
zones. The Bay of Rest falls into their Pilbara zone which extends from
North-West Cape to Eighty Mile Beach, a distance of700 km. Mangroves in this
area are dominated by R. stylosa and A. marina with small numbers of several
other species also occurring. With few exceptions the mangroves are all in bays
or on open coast with no permanent surface freshwater inflows. In both of these
characteristics and also factors, such as topography, rainfall, temperature, and
other climatic variables, the Bay of Rest is similar to other Pilbara areas. It can
be considered to be a microcosm of the general Pilbara situation.