Along Florida's south coast and halfway up the peninsula, mangrove swamps hug the shoreline. These dense forests grow at the high tide line, and help stabilize the shoreline, filter pollution, and provide nesting and nursery areas for many aquatic organisms.

They are particularly threatened by shoreline development and pollution. This ecosystem now has legal protection. Trails in Everglades National Park, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Collier Seminole State Park, and Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge are just a few places to view this fascinating natural community.

• For the Contest

  Each year the contest takes on two ecosystems on a four-year rotation. At this station, when mangrove forests is one of the featured ecosystems:

  • Juniors and Intermediates will answer multiple choice/true false questions about each ecosystem.
    • To prepare, Juniors should read the ecosystem story; Intermediates should read the ecosystem description*. 
  • Intermediates will be asked multiple choice/true false questions that reference identifying characteristics of the four representative plant species for mangrove forests:

  1) black mangrove
  2) buttonwood
  3) red mangrove
  4) white mangrove

  *Note: the mangrove forests story and informational text are being revised. Updated versions will be posted for the 2025 contest.