John Booker

Program Director at SeaCamp /Newfound Harbor Marine Institute on Big Pine Key, FL

Mangroves are sturdy and healthy trees, but may be threatened by some natural occurrences. The aerial drop roots may clog with a reduction in filtering ability if the water becomes excessively turbid. Prolonged flooding permits boring organisms to attack them. Insects (family Diptera) can bore holes in the leaves and bark and produce scar-like galls that may interfere with photosynthesis and transport. Some parasitic lichens grow on all species, and weaken the trees. And mangroves, although they have evolved to cope with severe storms, can be devastated by major hurricanes.

In the Florida Keys, the impact of human development has been the greatest threat to mangrove communities. Insults such as dredging, filling and diking, herbicides and human waste runoff have destroyed thousands of acres of this valuable habitat. Because of the finite nature of this resource, mangrove preservation is of utmost concern. The threat has been addressed by the Mangrove Protection Act of 1985, which makes it illegal to destroy or damage mangroves in the State of Florida (some removal may be done by permit). These trees have also been designated a species of special concern.