Our first hike of the trip was out into the dead mangrove forest. The reason why the entire forest had died was due to a hurricane.
Red Mangroves are one of the few plants which can grow in salt water and in anaerobic soil.
They have made specific adaptations which allow them to exist in such an environment. These adaptations unfortunately proved their downfall when the hurricane hit. The Red Mangroves died because the winds from the hurricane blew salt water on the upper part of the plant. The fact that salt got onto the upper part of the plant is what killed it. It's somewhat ironic that the roots of the plant are specifically built to withstand a salt environment, but the leaves of the plant cannot.