Adaptations of living things in the mangrove ecosystem.
Life in the mangrove ecosystem has had to adapt to many changes, these being things such as their tidal environment, larger animals, and more.
Mangrove Roots
Mangrove roots are from the mangrove tree, the part of the root that sticks out of the ground is called the Pneumatophore. The pneumatophore collects carbon dioxide for the roots, which then turns it into oxygen. Mangrove roots are well adapted because the mud is low in carbon dioxide, so the roots stand above the mud collecting it. Inside of every single pneumatophore are air cells, which are located at the centre of it, creating the sponginess.
Mangrove Leaves
Mangrove leaves are a darker green on the top, and a lighter green on the underside. On the top (the darker green) side of the leaf is where photosynthesis takes place, photosynthesis is the process of which green plants and other organisms use sunlight to create food from carbon dioxide and water, and by doing this the leaf creates oxygen as a byproduct. Mangrove leaves are also extremely equipped for its environment, the leaf can turn away from the sun to limit the evaporation happening. Mangrove leaves are an essential part of mangrove trees because the tree must remove the salt that it has acquired, otherwise the tree would dry out and die, so the salt travels to the leaves and is then pushed out of the leaf creating the saltiness of the leaf.
Mangrove Snails
Mangrove snails are quite small but they have adapted far more than other species, the mangrove snail spends most of its life in its shell. This is to protect it from the salt in the environment, if it did not have its shell the snail would be the same as the tree, it would dry out and die. The mangrove snail also uses a smart adaptation for protecting itself from other animals, when the snail defecates it moves in a circular motion so that the faeces will look like a worm. This distracts birds from the snails as it tries to get the fake worm.