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Mangrove Roots Above Water

Mangrove roots provide an underwater habitat for many marine species.
(Boricuaeddie via Wikimedia Commons)

This view of mangrove roots above the water misses a lot of the action. The roots extend far below the water’s surface, anchoring the forest to the sea and providing a tangled habitat for a variety of marine organisms. These mangroves are in Salinas, Puerto Rico. Other types of mangrove trees have roots that point upward from the mud surface and bring oxygen to the roots. More about mangroves can be found in the the Ocean Portal Mangroves section