Marine biologyLesson 2 of 3 in the course Marine ecosystems

Mangrove Biology: Adaptations, Ecology, Reproduction, and Conservation

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Mangroves are remarkable coastal plants that survive where salt water, tides, and oxygen-poor mud make life difficult for most plants. This lesson introduces what mangroves are, where they grow, and the environmental conditions that shape their habitat.

A mangrove can mean an individual shrub or tree adapted to coastal saline or brackish water. The word can also refer to the whole coastal habitat or plant community, called a mangal or mangrove forest. In its narrowest use, it refers to trees in the genus Rhizophora.

All flashcards

What is aerenchyma?
Internal air spaces that help transport gases through a plant.
How can mangroves reduce water loss?
They can restrict stomatal opening and adjust leaf orientation to avoid intense sunlight.
What is a microbiome?
A community of microorganisms associated with a particular environment or host.
What are true mangroves?
Species that occur almost exclusively in mangrove habitats.
What is a nursery ground?
A relatively sheltered habitat where young animals can feed and grow.

Quiz questions

  1. What allows gases to enter the prop roots of red mangroves?Answer: Lenticels, which are small openings in the bark.
  2. What role can highly suberized roots play in some mangroves?Answer: They can exclude much of the sodium salt from absorbed water.
  3. How can mangrove roots encourage sediment to accumulate?Answer: They slow tidal water, allowing suspended sediment to settle.
  4. Where is much of the carbon stored by mangrove forests found?Answer: In soil and dead material from roots below ground.
  5. What can remote sensing help researchers monitor in mangrove forests?Answer: Their area, condition, and changes such as deforestation.

Based on the Wikipedia article Mangrove, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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