Wednesday April 23, 2025
Earth.com —
At first glance, mangroves might appear as quiet coastal sentinels, swaying gently between land and sea. But beneath the surface, these tangled root systems harbor a world that is teeming with life. For centuries, coastal communities have fished and foraged in mangrove-rich waters, relying on their resources to survive.
Today, new research reveals the extent of that support. A global study led by Philine S. E. zu Ermgassen and colleagues from the University of Edinburgh offers one of the most detailed estimates yet of the role that mangroves play in sustaining marine life.
The findings are staggering. Each year, mangroves nurture over 700 billion juvenile fish and invertebrates from commercially important species. These include prawns, finfish, crabs, and bivalves.
While this abundance doesn’t automatically translate into food on our plates, it highlights the irreplaceable role that mangroves play in ecological and economic systems worldwide.