A New Perspective on Mangroves

An intricate tangle of a mangrove root system provides a perch for a resident of Isla Concepción, at La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve in Mexico. These complex forests of trees and shrubs that grow in tropical and subtropical climates serve crucial functions: They protect coastlines, provide habitats for critical marine life, filter water, and sequester carbon. But an estimated 35 percent of global mangrove coverage has been lost over the past three decades. Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, a Pew marine fellow and scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, is using photography and high-resolution satellite imagery to assess real-time changes in mangroves, a project that will help guide conservation efforts to preserve these important ecosystems.