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Mangroves are hardy shrubs and trees that thrive in salt water and have specialised adaptations so they can survive the volatile energies of intertidal zones along marine coasts. A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal ...
Why mangroves can be bad: They displace the marsh habitat that acts as a nursery for some fish and shrimp and where endangered whooping cranes spend winters. And when mangroves die during a freeze ...
Mangrove plants require a number of physiological adaptations to overcome the problems of low environmental oxygen levels, high salinity, and frequent tidal flooding.Each species has its own solutions to these problems; this may be the primary reason why, on some shorelines, mangrove tree species show distinct zonation.
The mangroves in this estuary are some of the most degraded in Ecuador with only 19% of 1971 mangrove area remaining as of 1998, although mangrove has recovered since this date. [31] Within Manabí the major mangrove holding estuary is the Chone estuary situated near the city of Bahía de Caráquez.
Mangroves, like salt marshes, create habitats for wildlife and fish, improve water quality, reduce storm damage and erosion, and even support economic growth through tourism.
Black mangrove flower Excreted salt on the underside of a mangrove leaf. Avicennia germinans — black mangrove; Black mangrove trees grow to a heights of 133 feet and average 66 feet. They are characterized by vertically erect aerating branches (pneumatophores) extending up to 20 cm above the soil. The bark is dark and scaly and the upper ...
Mangroves also help protect the health and overall biodiversity of surrounding ecosystems by acting as a water filter. Filtration is enabled by the mangrove's capability to absorb and store heavy metals that would otherwise result in the release of metal pollution into nearshore water bodies. [59] Mangroves are also efficient sites of carbon ...
Because of coastal development, resource exploitation, pollution and other environmental hazards, mangrove forests are in danger of extinction worldwide. “In the Caribbean, the rate of mainland mangrove deforestation is 1.4–1.7% annually, comparable to rates for threatened tropical rainforests.