There were many amazing things about the Vester field trip. Besides learning that a few of us have zero talent at canoeing, we focused on learning about the mangroves in the estuary. These plants do so much for Florida that many people don't even realize. However, there are also issues that people may not realize that come from pollution that mangroves may deal with.
Protection from Water
One of the basic functions for mangroves is to act as a sea wall. These trees often grow into a thick line of trees in estuaries and serve as a natural sea wall that protects the coast from storm surge. While most of the homes on waterways use expensive sea walls, using mangroves instead would cut down on the cost and provide a natural privacy barrier. However, when it comes to beaches mangroves would be a large help to the erosion that is constantly taking place and becomes even worse during large hurricanes.
Supporting Biological Diversity
As mangroves grow they gradually form into miniature islands. These small islands help to support populations of many species. Birds will nest in the trees and birds that consume fish will come to live near or within the mangroves. The fish that come to live within the roots of the mangroves and the shallow waters that come with the gradual land, built by the sands that get moved by the water and by animals that end up around mangrove roots.
Mangroves and Pollution
While mangroves are necessary for protection from water and to support biological diversity they also have to deal with pollution. The forms of pollution that affects the mangroves is trash left by humans, and over fertilization of the water. Any trash that gets caught up in the roots of the mangroves has a chance of being eaten by fish, which harms other fish and birds that eat those fish. Fishing line can get caught up in branches, and when fishers cut their lines or the lines snap the line can end up even more tangled and there is a chance that birds can get caught up in those lines.
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