Satellite view of the Bahia mangroves, Brazil Photograph by USGS   South America: Brazil, mainly in the state of Bahia Mangroves   800 square miles (2,100 square kilometers) -- about the size of Rhode Island Critical/Endangered

· The Forest between Land and Sea
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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The Forest between Land and Sea

If you were to travel by canoe along the northeast coast of Brazil, paddling carefully into the many inner bays and estuaries, you would see narrow fringes of mangroves dotting the muddy shoreline. As you traveled farther south, where the climate shifts from semi-arid to humid tropical, the mangrove forests would become more extensive in response to higher levels of rainfall. In the Bahia Mangroves ecoregion, it can rain more than 150 days of the year! This dense mangrove forest is home to many species of animals.

Special Features

Steering your boat offshore, near the point where the Caravelas River drains into the Atlantic Ocean, you would see the Abrolhos Reefs, the most extensive coral reef formation in Brazil and in all of the southern Atlantic Ocean. Just passing by, you might not realize the delicate relationship this reef has with the mangrove forest. The mangroves growing along the shore trap sediments and help maintain the clarity and purity of the water. And that helps maintain the health of the coral reef in the waters beyond. In turn, the coral reefs protect the mangroves by forming a barrier against the strong waves that would otherwise erode the shoreline. Mangroves provide similar services to the neighboring forests by providing protection from storm swells, coastal erosion, and salt spray--not to mention a refuge for many species of migratory and resident birds.

	In the sixteenth century, sailors on long voyages would capture sea turtles and keep them alive on board the ship as a source of fresh meat. Even today, some Caribbean cultures consider sea turtle eggs to be an aphrodisiac and illegally dig up nests along the beach for the treasured eggs.

Wild Side

Mangrove trees have specially adapted salt-filtering roots and leaves. These roots, in combination with salt-excreting leaves, enable these trees to live in the saline wetlands where other plant life cannot survive. Amidst the gnarled branches of these trees, birds such as the bicolored conebill and the American oystercatcher find spaces for nesting. Many bird species find sanctuary--and plenty of food--here during their migrations. On the shore, a boat-billed heron watches eagerly for a chance to fill his large bill with the shrimp, insects, frogs, or fish that hide among the twisted network of roots. Five species of sea turtles swim in the waters of this region, and some nest on isolated beaches among these mangroves.

Cause for Concern

As is often the case, humans are the Bahia Mangroves’ greatest threat. The expansion of urban areas, the discharge of untreated sewage from municipal areas, deforestation, industrial pollution, land reclamation, agricultural pesticides, and offshore oil drilling all place heavy burdens on the mangrove forest. Without the mangroves to trap sediment, the coral reefs offshore will "suffocate," leading to an even more devastating loss of species.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.