Oh, wait, if the mangrove swamps get developed, the beaches go out to sea! Hmmm. I got the email version of a postcard from my family, who are spending a week in the Caribbean, and everyone is upset at the lack of fish and destruction of mangrove forests. My mother studied reefs and seaweeds while a college student in the Virgin Islands more than thirty years ago. She told me stories of snorkeling in creepy eel-filled mangrove swamps, marvelous for a marine biology student to observe: mangroves are nurseries for many marine species, e.g. several species of sharks and fish. Mangroves are unique habitats because the plants live in saltwater, brackish water and freshwater; they are on the fringe between the land and sea. Those in the Caribbean have declined by 42% over the last 25 years, according to the Mangrove Action Project. http://mangroveactionproject.org/mangroves For a fact sheet on the importance of mangroves (published by Fish & Wildlife, USVI) seehttp://bcrc.bio.umass.edu/vifishandwildlife/Education/FactSheet/PDF_Docs/
28Mangroves.pdf
Negril’s beaches (Jamaica) have undergone severe damages due to mangrove destruction, according to a study by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Division of Early Warning and Assessment. See: Final Throes for Jamaica’s ‘Hippie Paradise’?(April 2010) http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50980
In addition to development pressure, mangrove charcoal, highly prized for its long-lasting heat, provides income for several communities in the Caribbean. Caribbean charcoal comes from two sources—mangrove swamps and dry forests. For a video on mangroves, see: http://www.channelg.tv/video.php?project_id=8
According to a recent Coastal Living article, “9 coastal wonders to see now,” mangrove forests are on the list of places to visit sooner rather than later due to the environmental pressures they currently face and their looming fate.http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/04/06/coastal.wonders/ (Incidentally, Casco Bay, Maine is also on the list but because of nitrogen run-off problems on beaches. USM’s Muskie School of Public Service also presented a recent study on the warming of Casco Bay with another set of warnings and their potential impact on the bay area. http://blogs.usm.maine.edu/muskie/2010/02/01/report-reveals-the-warming-of-casco-bay/) Mangroves are also affected by climate change impacts: Caribbean mangroves adjust to rising sea level through biotic controls on change in soil elevation by Karen L. McKee et. al. (2007)http://www.serc.si.edu/labs/animal_plant_interaction/pubs/McKee%20et%20al%202007.pdf
Update: Vital Mangroves On The Edge Of Extinction Thanks to All-You-Can-Eat Shrimp (Book Review) – Treehugger.com August 2011
Strange Wetlands™ 