Mangroves

EDUCATOR RESOURCES

LATEST TODAY'S CATCH

West Indian Manatee Portrait

May 17, 2013 - 9:24AMWest Indian Manatees, Trichechus manatus, are found in warm, shallow coastal ecosystems along the southeastern North America and northeastern South America. They graze plants in mangrove ecosystems and seagrass beds, occasionally...

Dancing Bulb
May 7, 2013 - 9:45AM
This beautiful bromeliad, also called an air plant because it gets its...

Investigating Nutrient Pollution's Impact on Mangroves
Apr 26, 2013 - 9:47AM
At Carrie Bow Cay in Belize, Dr. Candy Feller explains her research on the...

SPOTLIGHT

Mangroves

Mangroves are survivors. With their roots submerged in water, mangrove trees thrive in hot, muddy, salty conditions that...
Caribbean Mangroves
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This creek lined with mangroves is located near the Smithsonian Institution’s field station in Bocas del Toro, Panama. The tangled roots support an amazing array of life. Learn more about mangroves in the Ocean Portal's mangrove section.  
Mangroves at the Sea’s Edge
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
From the water, red mangroves appear to form an impenetrable tangle of roots, trunks, and leaves—a protective barrier against storms and tsunamis. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Mangrove Roots Flush with Life
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Mangrove roots provide a support structure for filter-feeding organisms such as mussels, oysters, and barnacles. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Biodiversity in the Coastal Zone
Aug 29 2012 - 6:02pm
Logistically speaking, the nearshore zone of the ocean -- the coastal areas to a depth of around 65 feet (20 meters) -- is the most-studied region of the ocean because of its accessibility. But, surprisingly, the estimates for how many species live in this region worldwide vary widely, from 178,000...
Field Research in Panama
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
At the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, Dr. Wayne Sousa (right) studies how gaps in the canopy caused by lightning help mangrove forests regenerate. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Mangroves
Jul 24 2012 - 1:02pm
Mangroves are survivors. With their roots submerged in water, mangrove trees thrive in hot, muddy, salty conditions that would quickly kill most plants. How do they do it? Through a series of impressive adaptations—including a filtration system that keeps out much of the salt and a complex root...
Mangrove Island Clear-Cut for Tourism
Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
This mangrove island in the Pelican Cays, Belize, was clear-cut and filled with dredged sand and coral from the adjacent reef flat. Developers are clearing and dredging mangroves in an attempt to create sand-based islands for tourists. Unfortunately, mangroves help prevent erosion and submergence...
Mangrove Roots in Belize
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
The dense aerial root system of this mangrove forest in Pelican Cays, Belize, creates a strong but permeable barrier to waves and currents. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Check out the array of tiny shrimps, fishes and nudibranchs that call this sargassum algae home.
A World Adrift: Life in the Sargassum
May 18 2012 - 4:43pm
Smithsonian Marine Science Network Postdoctoral Fellow, Seabird McKeon, returns from the Smithsonian field site in Belize. Together with Dan Barshis of Stanford University, Seabird reports on the seemingly invisible inhabitants of drifting sargassum seaweeds. As with many parts of the ocean, a ball...
Mangroves: A Mudflat Fiddler Crab
Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
A male mudflat fiddler crab (Uca rapax) waves its huge claw to impress females and threaten male competitors. More about mangrove swamps and forests can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Dr. Candy Feller in the Field
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Dr. Feller at White Pond on the island of Twin Cays, Belize. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Climate Change and the Chesapeake Bay
Climate Change and the Chesapeake Bay
Feb 14 2011 - 4:14pm
Students are working with the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Md., to develop an informal education plan that will communicate information about Chesapeake Bay marsh restoration and explain the effects of climate change and sea-level rise on the bay's marshes. As part of the Third Student Summit...
Pelican Nest in Mangroves
Dec 7 2012 - 9:13am
In Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) nest at the top of a mangrove tree. Many other kinds of birds—as well as insects, frogs, snakes, and lizards—live in the canopy of mangroves. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Mangroves abut blue ocean waters.
Mangroves: One Species at a Time
Jul 14 2010 - 10:01pm
Follow researchers Candy Feller and Dennis Whigham from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center as they scramble, climb, crawl, and creep through the tangled roots of a mangrove forest. In this episode of the  Podcast of Life, learn what’s threatening these unique ecosystems where the...
Mangroves Protect Against Erosion
Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
This is a close-up view of the peat soil surface in an intact mangrove forest. Mangrove roots help to build the peat underlying mangrove islands. Their accumulation over thousands of years has built organic deposits that are many meters thick. The peat surface is highly resistant to erosion and...
CO2 Marsh Study
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
How do plants respond to rising CO2 levels? To find out, plant physiologist Bert Drake at SERC exposed marsh plants near the Chesapeake Bay to CO2 levels expected in 50 and 100 years. Different species and ecosystems respond differently—leaving uncertainty about the ability of plants to act as...