Florida's estimated 496,000 acres of mangrove forests contribute to the overall health of the state's southern coastal zone. Mangroves trap and cycle various organic materials, chemical elements, and important nutrients throughout the larger ecosystem. Mangrove roots act not only as physical traps for sediments and other matter, but provide attachment surfaces for various marine organisms. Many of these attached organisms filter water through their bodies and, in turn, trap and cycle nutrients. The relationship between mangroves and their associated marine life cannot be overemphasized.
Mangroves provide protected nursery areas for fishes, crustaceans, and shellfish.
They also provide food for a multitude of marine species such as snook, snapper, tarpon, jack, sheepshead, red drum, oyster, and shrimp. Florida's important recreational and commercial fisheries will decline without healthy mangrove forests to support them. Many animals find shelter either in the roots or branches of mangroves. Mangrove branches are rookeries, or nesting areas, for beautiful coastal birds such as brown pelicans and roseate spoonbills.