Hi Everyone.
Mangroves are shoreline plants, and thus are often (except on fringing reefs) quite distant from the main biomass of hard corals that form the massive reef crest and fore reef. However, when present these plants have the capacity to contribute a good deal to coral reef ecosystem productivity and biological diversity by providing food and shelter for a variety of other forms of marine plant and animal life.
In the Caribbean region, research has demonstrated that these plants have a strong influence on nearby coral reef fish community structure.
When associated with adult habitat such as seagrass meadows or coral reefs, they substantially increase the biomass of some commercially valuable species.
The complex prop root system serves as a nursery habitat that increases the survival rates of young reef fish, as well as a substrate to which all manner of algae, sponges, and other invertebrate coral reef animals may attach.
Falling leaves and nesting birds add nutrients to the water below, thereby enhancing opportunities for the growth of other nearby marine life.
That is very interesting Tania.
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