Mangroves

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...
May 7, 2013 - 9:45AM
This beautiful bromeliad, also called an air plant because it gets its...
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...
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Arching mangrove roots like these help keep trunks upright in the soft sediments at water’s edge. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Jan 27 2010 - 3:24pm
In Edgewater, Maryland, scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center examine the influences of climate change, excess nutrients, and surrounding habitats on mangroves. They have also established additional study sites in mangrove forests in Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and Saudi...
Oct 25 2012 - 9:45am
The Island Leaf-Toed Gecko (Phyllodactylus insularis) is one of several species of geckos that live in the mangroves of the Caribbean’s Mangal Cay. More about mangroves can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Jul 22 2010 - 6:28pm
The sun sets over marshland near Ocean City, N.J.
Jul 26 2010 - 3:15pm
Happy International Mangrove Action Day! This occasion is a small but vibrant tradition that has been observed annually on July 26th for nearly a decade in countries around the globe, including the U.S., India, Ecuador, Micronesia, and many others. To celebrate, some communities organize protests...
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...
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.
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.
May 7 2013 - 9:45am
This beautiful bromeliad, also called an air plant because it gets its nutrients and water from the air, is a flowering plant in the pineapple family. All of them are epiphytes, meaning they get their support from and grow on other plants. Many are found in mangrove forests, such as this one making...
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
A scorpion found in a mangrove. More about mangrove ecosystem can be found in our Mangroves featured story.
Nov 19 2009 - 5:01pm
Smithsonian scientists and their colleagues are investigating important questions and issues related to mangrove ecosystems. • At the Smithsonian Marine Field Station on Carrie Bow Cay in Belize, scientists from a wide variety of disciplines examine the impacts of environmental change on...
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...
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Dip your head below the water's surface in a mangrove forest and an entirely new ecosystem is revealed. The twisting mangrove roots, which appear to float unrooted in the water, support a great diversity of life—including sea anemones, brittle stars, and sea urchins. The roots also serve as a...
Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
This orchid (Brassavola sp.) grows in the mangroves of Belize—providing a spot of grace and beauty amidst the mud. More about the plants and animals found in mangrove forests can be found in the Mangroves section.
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.
Feb 17 2011 - 12:18pm
Mangroves thrive in hot, muddy, salty conditions that would kill most plants. But even these tough trees are threatened by human development. This lone mangrove shoot in South Bimini, Bahamas stands strong in the path of a backhoe dredging a lagoon. Mangroves, which provide habitat to diverse...