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PHOTO GALLERIA - WORLD ENDANGERING SPECIES DUE TO MANGROVE ENDANGER! :(
 YELLOW-SHOULDERED BLACKBIRD This endangered blackbird (Agelaius xanthomus) doesn't live exclusively in Puerto Rico's mangrove forests—it can also make a home in pastures and seashore cliffs. But because its other habitat has suffered heavy losses, largely due to expanding agriculture and development, it has become more dependent on the mangrove retreats.
RED-VENTED COCKATOO Also known as the red-vented cockatoo (owing to its red under-tail feathers), the Cacatua Haematuropygia is native to the Philippine archipelago. Trapping the rare birds for illegal trade as pets—along with habitat loss—has led to its current IUCN status of "critically endangered". 
MADAGASCAR TEAL Madagascar teals, also called Bernier's Teal (Anas bernieri) live only in mangrove forests along the west coast of this Indian Ocean island nation. The endangered ducks, which measure about 16 to 18 inches (40 to 45 centimeters) long, feed on invertebrates in the brackish waters and make their nests in the mangrove trees. 
PROBOSCIS MONKEY Although most mangrove residents are birds and reptiles, some mammals also make their home in the tangled trees, including bats and even a sloth. The distinctive proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) is one of six threatened mammals that are restricted to mangrove habitats. The unusual, endangered primate, whose noses can grow to be up to seven inches (18 centimeters) long, lives in Borneo. 
MANGROVE TERRAPIN The mangrove terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin), aka the diamondback terrapin, is one of the only turtle species that can survive in brackish water and is a common coastal resident along the East Coast. But the subspecies rhizophorarum is restricted to mangrove areas in Florida and is now listed as "near threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
MANGROVES ARE DYING !!!!!!!!!!!
Mangroves are being endangered, global mangrove forests are being lost up to four times faster than land forests. Mangroves, which inhabit fringe areas between fresh water and salt water systems, are mainly lost due to urban development or to make way for agriculture or aquaculture, such as shrimp farms. Mangroves are also chopped down to make way for urban development. Hence, the entire ecosystem has been greatly affected!
MANGROVES ARE CASE IMPORTANT !!!!
Place to Live: Tree climbing crabs and sea snails climb up their aerial roots at high tide to avoid aquatic predators. The roots provide a surface for all kinds of creatures from algae to shellfish. And the tangle of roots provide hiding places for young fishes and shrimps from larger predators. Their branches provide shelter for creatures from Proboscis Monkeys and nesting sites for large herons, to crevices for insects and other tiny creatures.
Food: While on the tree, leaves are eaten by all kinds of creatures. Monkey snack on the shoots and leaves, small insects nibble on them. Fallen leaves are an important source of nutrients both within the mangrove habitat and when it is flushed out to the coral reefs. The leaves are rapidly broken up by crabs and other small creatures, and further broken down by micro-organisms into useful minerals. There are even tiny moth larvae that feed on pneumatophores.
Water filter: Underwater, a huge number of filter-feeders are fastened on the tangle of roots: barnacles, sponges, shellfish. These filter feeders clean the water of nutrients and silt. As a result, clear water washes out into the sea, allowing the coral reef ecosystem to flourish.
Stabilise Coasts: Their roots prevents mud and sand from being washed away with the tide and river currents. Mangrove trees also slowly regenerate the soil by penetrating and aerating it (other creatures such as crabs and mud lobsters also help in . As the mud builds up and soil conditions improve, other plants can take root. Mangrove trees also reduce the damage from violent storms.
ADAPTATIONS -Offspring
Many mangrove trees have special adaptations to give their offspring the best chance in their harsh habitat. Many provide their seedlings with a good store of food and floatation devices.
In some, the fruit does not fall away when it ripens. Instead, the seed within the fruit starts to germinate while it is still on the mother tree, and the mother tree channels nutrients to the growing seedling
In some plants, the growing seed does not break through the fruit wall while the seed is on the mother plant but only after the fruit falls off. This is the case with Avicennia and the seed coat of its fruits drops away more quickly in water of the right warmth and salinity, usually in a spot best suited for an Avicennia seedling.
In others, the growing seedling breaks through the fruit wall to form a stem (called a hypocotyl), sometimes even roots (Rhizophora, Bruguiera). The whole seedling is then called a propagule (potential plant). In some trees, the seedlings only fall at high tide! When the propagule finally falls, at first it floats horizontally, and drifts with the tide. It can survive for long periods at sea. The tip is water absorbent while the top end is water repellent. After some weeks, the tip gradually absorbs water and the seedling floats vertically and starts to sprout its first leaf from the top, and roots from the bottom. When it hits land, it hauls itself upright by growing more roots, then sprouts more leaves. The long stem is a short-cut to sunlight, and oxygen as seedlings are often completely submerged at high tide. Amazingly, young seedlings can survive being completely underwater until they are big enough to grow aerial roots, at about 1-2 years. Meanwhile, they depend on stores of air in air spaces (aerenchyma) in their stems.
ADAPTATIONS- Roots
There are 3 types of roots of mangroves!
Each type helping the different species of mangroves in different ways.
The roots contain wide aerenchyma to facilitate oxygen transport within the plant.
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Pencil like roots(AERIAL ROOTS) : Avicennia
Knee like(KNEED ROOTS): Bruguiera 
PROP ROOTS: Rhizophora 
ADAPTATIONS-Water Loss + nutrients
Because of the limited freshwater availability in salty intertidal soils, mangroves limit the amount of water that they lose through their leaves. They can restrict the opening of their stomata. They also vary the orientation of their leaves to avoid the harsh midday sun and so reduce evaporation from the leaves.
Nutrient uptake is a major obstacle of mangroves. The soil is perpetually waterlogged, there is little free oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria liberate nitrogen gas, soluble iron, inorganic phosphates, sulfides, and methane, which makes the soil much less nutritious and contributes to mangroves' pungent odor. Hence, the roots of mangroves are very important! It aids greatly in all the obstacles that mangroves face as mention above ! :)
ADAPTATIONS- Salt
The environment in which mangroves live in contains high level of salt. There are a couple of ways in which different species of mangroves remove or limit the salt intake of the mangrove plant.
Red mangroves - Rhizophora
Exclude salt by having significantly impermeable roots which are highly suberised, acting as an ultra-filtration mechanism to exclude sodium salts from the rest of the plant.Salt which does accumulate in the shoot concentrates in old leaves of the plant which then after sheds. They can also store salt in cell vacuoles, which would not affect the plant.
White mangroves - Avicennia
Secretes salts directly; they have two salt glands at each leaf base, where salt leaves the mangrove. Their name also means that they are covered in salts.
Salt glands!
SO? WONDERING WHAT ARE MANGROVES?
Mangroves are:
- Trees and shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes 25° N and 25° S; Grow along coastal regions! Found in areas experiencing tropical climate.
- Form a characteristic saline woodland or shrubland habitat, called mangrove swamp or mangrove forest and are found in depositional coastal environments where fine sediments (often with high organic content) collect in areas protected from high energy wave action; Found also where rivers constantly deposit clay and silt.
- Mangroves dominate three quarters of tropical coastlines!
Distribution of MANGROVES !
Mangroves are found at coastal areas. In Singapore, mangroves can be found at Sungeh Buloh Wetlands Reserve. The map shows where mangroves can be found in Singapore.
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