The Mangroves Expert

The mangrove forest is a major feature of Australia's tropical climate. These forests require certain environmental conditions for their occurrence. Although a few mangrove trees can occur even on rocky shores in the tropics, a soft muddy bottom is a must for the development of extensive mangrove forests. Rivers carry silt-laden water down to the coast, where much of it settles out into estuaries, providing the ideal muddy environment for mangrove trees to take root. They usually do not penetrate a long distance up the river, because as the salt content (salinity) of the water decreases, they cannot compete with plants which are better adapted to fresh water. The most extensive mangrove forests develop along the coast behind a coral reef. Trees, shrubs, and a few non-flowering plants structurally dominate the mangroves.

Some categories of animals that live in the Mangroves are:

Amphibians - they are cold blooded and live in warmer parts of continents. They tend to be aquatic and are limited to moist surroundings.

Insects - they have hard jointed exoskeletons. The adult body has three parts: the head, thorax, and abdomen.

Worms - their bodies are divided into 100 or more body segments. This phylum includes such things as earthworms, leeches, and tapeworms.

Mammals - they are warm blooded animals consisting of three main groups: marsupial, monotreme, and placental.

Fish -they are cold blooded and can be found in both fresh and salt water. Unlike humans, they breath through gills. Categories of fish include: jaw less fish, cartilaginous fish, and bony fish.

Reptiles - they are cold blooded and limited to temperate and tropical areas. They usually creep or swim, which is similar to amphibians. Reptiles lay large shelled eggs or in some cases give birth to live young.

Mollusks - tend to have soft, segmented bodies, like octopus, jellyfish, and slugs but can have a protective shell, like snails.

Birds - they are warm blooded and most species are capable of flying; however some are sedentary and some are flightless. They lay shelled eggs and care for young in a nest.

Here are some questions to keep in mind as you are gathering information about these animals:

1. Is this animal a vertebrate or invertebrate? 
2. What type of animal is this: mammal, fish, bird, etc.? 
3. Is this animal native to Australia, if not where is it from? 
4. What are some defining characteristics of this animal? 
5. Is this animal poisonous?

Search the following web sites to learn more about animals that live in the Mangroves:

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