Marine Science

Jan.14 2009Mrs. Harris

Today

• Mangroves

– Different types & mechanisms for survival– Food webs & ecological significance– Environmental protection– Walk-through of Assignment 3.3.3 ~A & B

How do they survive salty conditions?

What are the funky roots for?

What role do mangroves have in environment?

Red Mangrove

• Wide, dark green leaves• Prop roots• Lives closest to edge of

water

Black Mangrove

• Roots poke back through surface

• Pneumatophores• Excretes salt through

leaf surface

White Mangrove

• Live further inland• Secrete salts from

specialized glands at the base of the leaves

Ecology of Mangroves

• The mangrove trees support a rich and varied food web. The sediments around the prop roots and the pneumatophores are teeming with bacteria. All types of worms and arthropods live in these sediments also. The roots also provide attachment sites for organisms like sponges, anemones, worms, barnacles, and tunicates. Swimming among the roots at high tide would be plankton, jellyfish, stingrays, and fish.

Assignment 3.3.3a

• Part 1: Go to the following websites (and look for others) and look at different mangrove trees and where mangrove trees are located. Using the map in the resource section, color in the areas where mangrove trees are found.

Assignment 3.3.3a

• Part 2: Use the websites below to help you visualize the interactions at mangrove communities.

• Draw and label a food web with at least ten organisms that demonstrates the interactions that occur in a mangrove community.

Assignment 3.3.3a

• Part 3: You are a new land owner in Mexico or Australia. You once lived in Florida, and you remember learning about mangrove trees in your marine science course. You do not want your new community to cut down the mangrove trees. In preparation to address the community regarding your position, review the following websites that provide information about laws and regulations related to mangrove trees.

• Explain in a one-page typed letter to your community organization why mangroves are important. Persuade the community leaders not to cut them down, and let them know that laws to protect these type of trees are/or will be a part of the future for your community.

Next week:

• Walk-through of mangrove lab 3.3.3b

• Review module 3

• Preview test