The Mangroves of Puerto Rico are found along the shorelines, fringing the bays and around the lagoons, where there is no wave action.

Puerto Rico has three types of mangroves: Red mangroves, Black mangroves and White mangroves (named for the color of their bark) and Buttonwood which is related and sometimes called a mangrove. All of these line the lagoons and shorelines. What you most readily see from the water is the Red mangrove with its noticeable prop roots. The black and the white mangroves grow behind them. Under normal conditions these trees would reach 60 to 100 feet high but almost all of these trees were leveled by Hurricane Hugo and are recovering. They grow very slowly.

The mangroves shed leaves copiously all year long, creating the basic source of food. Bark, twigs, root material, guano from birds roosting in the trees, and organic matter of all kinds including dead animals and loose sea grass trapped in the maze of roots add to it. All decompose to begin the food chain. Bacteria and fungi are the agents that produce edible detritus and are themselves eaten by marine animals often too small to see. They in turn are eaten by larger animals. And finally, larger predators, including humans, come along to harvest the bounty.

EXPLORE THE MANGROVES WITH ELENA - A WALKING/SWIMMING TOUR

A variety of organisms utilize mangrove habitats. Marine species inhabitant the underwater prop root complex and tidal channels. All fish and shellfish caught commercially, and by recreational means, utilize mangrove habitat at some point in their life cycle. Amphipods, fiddler crabs, killifish and minnows live in mangroves and eat detritus. Lobster larvae floating in the plankton, migrate to the roots of red mangroves. They consume both plant and animal material. The sea trouts (from the croaker family) tolerate higher turbidity and feed on fish in mangroves and sea grass beds. Also carnivorous, snook can be found in the mangroves. In addition to the marine organisms, both terrestrial organisms and birds utilize the forest floor, root complex and the canopy. Mangrove communities are also known to provide habitat for a number of threatened and endangered species.

Mangroves reproduce by dropping their 'propagules' into the water which float across the oceans until they lodge into the ground, on perhaps a distant seashore. There they take root and form a new plant, if allowed to grow. Propagules contain no seeds. They have already matured on the plant and are 'ready to go' plants that only need lodge themselves to send out their roots and leaves. They are viable, floating in the ocean, for up to a year.

The elusive Mangrove Cuckoo - Red Mangrove Propagules - Iguanas inhabit the mangroves

Here are several websites that have lots of information about mangrove ecosystems: They all open in new windows so to come back to this website just close the new window.

The Mangrove Action Project.

Mangroves.Org curious website also has good links

All kinds of uses for Mangroves, even medicinal - Purdue University

Great Resource page for lots of Links