Ria Celestun N.P., Mexico Photograph by Fulvio Eccardi/SEMARNAP   Southern North America: Yucatàn Peninsula in southern Mexico Mangroves   800 square miles (2,000 square kilometers) -- about the size of Rhode Island Relatively Stable/Intact

· Black, Red, and White Mangroves
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Black, Red, and White Mangroves

The Petenes Mangroves host the most diverse reservoir of aquatic plants in Mesoamerica. Among the great diversity of mangrove trees and other plants thrives a bustling community of some 300 species of birds, over 30 species of mammals, and 5 species of reptiles. More than 100 species of fish in the Petenes mangroves find refuge for themselves and their young among the tree roots and aquatic plants. The diverse bird community feasts on invertebrates in the mangrove’s waters, which in turn feed on material retained by mangrove roots. In addition to providing habitat, mangroves perform many other important ecological roles. For example, they filter nutrients, stabilize lagoon shores, help to form soil, and prevent erosion of the coast. In fact, mangroves can eventually create islands by accumulating enough soil around their numerous aerial roots.

Special Features

One of the prominent characteristics of this ecoregion is that natural springs found among the mangrove trees supply freshwater and nutrients to these rich habitats. In all, three types of mangrove habitats occur here: the lower mangrove, characterized by plants reaching no more than 16 feet (5 m) in height; the fringe mangrove, in which trees reach almost 65 feet (20 m) in height; and the Peten mangrove, a rare type of mangrove habitat in which irregular hummocks of moist forests grow among the mangroves.

	Mangrove cuckoos are brown and fly fast and straight. Unless you watch closely, they seem to quickly disappear when they land among mangrove trees.

Wild Side

The Petenes Mangroves are one of only two known refuges for the endangered American flamingo. These long-legged birds are pink because of the carotene found in the shrimp and other crustaceans that they eat. More than a hundred different kinds of fish live here, many of which use mangrove tree roots as natural refuges during the day. Others use the mangroves as breeding grounds, traveling here to lay their eggs. Thousands of migratory birds rely on mangroves as habitats to rest and feed during their long migrations. Many species of endangered turtles and crocodiles, including the black crocodile, nest along nearby beaches and stream banks. An amazing diversity of birds feed in the mangroves, from Neotropical cormorants eating fish to Mexican sheartail hummingbirds sipping nectar.

Cause for Concern

While water pollution has deteriorated a large portion of the mangroves in the Yucatán Peninsula, this ecoregion is one of the largest areas in Mexico where mangroves remain intact. The greatest threat to these mangroves is from growing human settlements that include road openings for industrial activities and that alter and block the natural flow of water to these fragile mangroves. Another threat is poaching of wildlife such as palm trees and turtle eggs for sale in local and tourist markets.

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