Mangroves can be damaged by storms or freezes but usually recover. Their bird life, much of which is endangered or threatened, includes ospreys, great egrets, cormorants, roseate spoonbills, reddish egrets, black-whiskered vireos, and mangrove cuckoos. Our commercial fisheries also depend on mangroves for the perpetuation of important species such as lobster, shrimp, and snapper. While total mangrove losses do not appear as significant as those of some other Florida ecosystems, the losses in a number of areas have been sizable. Mangroves are especially vulnerable to pollution, including petroleum and some kinds of man-made sediments, because the pores in their root systems can easily become clogged.
Some varieties are extremely sensitive to herbicides.
The trees are also affected by changes in freshwater frequency and flows caused by human activities elsewhere. In Florida Bay, many mangrove islands are dying, probably because freshwater flows from Lake Okeechobee that once diluted the bay's salinity have been diverted for agricultural and urban use. Red mangroves appear to be especially at risk. Mangrove pruning continues to cause habitat deterioration. Recent research by DNR shows that pruned red mangroves grow fewer prop roots and fruits and thus provide lower quality habitat.