What is the condition of animals in mangrove swamps?
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Biotic Factors in a Flooded Ecosystem
Updated April 25, 2017
By Ethan Shaw
Ecosystems dominated by mangroves -- that loose confederacy of trees specially adapted to estuarine and intertidal zones -- are among the most productive and complex in the world. Massive quantities of decaying leaves, twigs and roots combine with an influx of organic matter from out-flowing rivers and incoming tides to anchor a rich food web. Terrestrial and aquatic animals, as well as species straddling those realms, all mingle here.
From Florida to Indonesia, mangrove swamps tend to proliferate at the margins of land and ocean: along the banks of coastal rivers, in intertidal basins and on sandbars and islets in estuaries and nearshore waters. The tropical trees called mangroves aren’t necessarily closely related to one another, but exhibit analogous adaptations -- such as stilt roots and salt-excreting leaves -- to contend with their brackish habitat. With the relentless mixing of waters and the density of the vegetation, massive quantities of detritus provide ecosystem fuel: Red mangroves in riverine forests, for example, may annually produce about four tons of organic matter per acre.
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