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Environments Unit: Mangroves
NSF Grant DRL-1316782
Living on the Edge
Mangroves of Southern Florida
Everglades Foundation Copyright ©2006-2015
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Mangrove Swamp
A mangrove swamp contains dense forests of one or
more mangrove species. It has saltwater to brackish areas
subject to tidal fluctuations, sheltered from high energy
wave action. These areas often serve as nursing grounds
where young marine life is protected during development.
Mangrove Swamp - Common Plants
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Red mangroves
Black mangroves
White mangroves
Buttonwood
String lily
Because of fluctuation in water’s salt content, plants
often have salt-secreting glands that remove ingested
salt particles. Root adaptations increase stability of
mangrove trees in the soft sediments along shorelines.
Mangrove Swamp
Common Animals
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Mangrove tree crab
Horseshoe crab
Blue crab
Grey snapper
Mangrove water snake
Loggerhead sea turtle
Roseate Spoonbill
Wood Stork
Brown Pelican
Bald Eagle
Raccoon
West Indian manatee
Red Mangrove
The red mangrove’s shallow prop roots extend from
the lower stem like arching spider legs, giving it the
nickname “the walking tree”. Drop roots hang down
from the branches of the upper stem.
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Salt Extruder
Parts of the roots that are above ground (and above water)
contain small pores or lenticels that allow the roots to take
in oxygen, which then moves down through the tissue and
prevents water and salt from entering during high tide.
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Red Mangrove Leaf
The dark green leaves of the red mangrove are larger
than those of the other mangrove species, and help the
tree retain water. The red mangrove gets its name from
the reddish layer just beneath its thin greyish bark.
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Cigar-like Propagule
Its seedling, or propagule, is long and cigar shaped. The red mangrove
grows closest to the coast and is even found in off-shore mud flats and
sand bars. Propagules contain fresh water and are often preyed upon by
animals such as raccoons or crabs for their fresh water content.
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Black Mangrove
More inland is the black mangrove. Its root system
consists of shallow underground cable-like roots that
radiate outward many feet away from the stem.
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Pneumatophores
Black mangroves have peg-like aerial roots called pneumatophores
that extend upwards from the cable roots. These pneumatophores
contain lenticels that help in oxygen exchange.
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Silvery underside of leaf
The black mangrove gets its name from the dark, blackish bark.
The leaves have a silvery underside and are able to excrete salt.
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Lima bean-shaped propagule
Its propagule looks like a lima bean.
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White mangrove
The white mangrove is found even further inland and its root
system is able to exclude salt by filtering brackish water.
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Glands on petioles
It is the smallest of the true mangroves and has oval shaped leaves
with a distinct gland-like opening on the leaf stem, called a petiole.
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Triangular propagule
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Mangrove Zonation
Intertidal
zone
white
black
red
What are Ecosystem Services?
Ecosystem services are benefits that people get from healthy
ecosystems. Things like clean drinking water, clean air, and
the plants used for many medicines are all examples of
ecosystem services.
The health and well-being of people depend on these
services. Natural ecosystems of south Florida and the plants
and animals within them provide people with benefits that
would be very difficult to duplicate. Many of these benefits are
performed for ‘free’, but are worth trillions of dollars.
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Mangrove Ecosystem Services
The mangrove swamp provides many ecosystem services,
such as providing nurseries for the young of about 30% of
commercial fishes and recreation. Mangroves are also a first
line of defense to protect the coast from soil erosion.
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Effects of Climate Change on
Mangroves
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Temperature
CO2 Concentrations
Changes in Salinity
Sea Level Rise
Severe Weather
– Hurricanes, Storm Surge