Hunter Kerley

10/30/17

Mangrove Forests

Mangroves are a delicate ecosystem with a literal web of plant that allows for interesting
intertidal zones and diverse animal life to thrive within its roots. Mangroves speckle many of the
coastlines throughout the world and are a vital ecosystem to not only animals, but humans as
well. Much of the video covers the effects of mangroves and how they played into the lifestyle of
many Indians. The mangrove forests were a dense part of much of the coastline in India, with
most of the native populations residing in the coastal regions. These mangroves provided crucial
resources for the native people with fish and vegetation.

Mangrove being a very dense network of tree roots that often expose soft mud during low
tide, allows for many young fish and crustacean species to thrive there. This provides for a very
rich fish based economy for surrounding areas, but can also spell the end for many species if they
are overfished. Due how mangroves harbor small fish and young fish, when they are constantly
harvested, the populations struggle to bounce back due to their spawning areas being destroyed.
Another detrimental effect of the mangroves being so close to Indias high population centers
was their need for the wood to be used as a heat and power source. Much of the mangroves
throughout India were completely decimated due to overharvesting from fish and from
deforestation. This ended up ruining the local economy for the people that so desperately relied
on those resources. The solution was to better educate many of the local populations about how
positively these environments can influence their lives if they only just respected its boundaries.
The regionwide movement to help replant and repair the areas that they damaged was an earnest
effort to help build awareness for the ecosystem delicacy.

The Galapagos also is largely influenced by their mangrove forests due to their ability to
feed native seabird populations and harbor young fish. Though they did not struggle with
decimation from native populations cutting them down, they do struggle with litter entanglement
and are reliant on the cleanliness of the visitors to keep them functioning and healthy.