Weyers Wildlife Wonders is a blog series curated by Ms. Jessica Weyer, Pennsylvania Agriscience Teacher, as part of her individual professional development plan. Here previous installments:

• Encounters Part 1 – July 11th
• Encounters Part 2 – Domestic Pets – July 12th

Today I am going to share with you the experience that we had in a mangrove forest.
This was my second time ever seeing a mangrove forest. The first time I did not have a guide and I was only their a short time. Today was really a special day that I will remember. I learned how important mangroves are to our ecosystem and the amount of biodiversity found here. I also learned the impact that service learning can have on my students.

We were able to witness so many species today, but I am going to focus on two families. The mangrove tree and the mudskipper.

Mangrove trees have some really unique adaptations to live in a very harsh climate for a plant. First of all, it is directly on the ocean where there are never-ending winds. These trees must have great root structures to stay standing when only anchored in soft mud and sand.

Next is the fact that these trees are located on the ocean which is salt water. Just as salt water will kill humans, too much salt will kill plants. One of the species of mangrove tree deals with all of this salt in a unique way. The tree will uptake the salt from their roots with water. When there is too much salt in the plant it will push the salt out of the leaves. The salt will then sit on the top of leaves. We were able to lick the leaves of the tree and actually taste the salt on them. Such a cool adaptation.

These trees also have a really unique root structure. Most plants need to have a constant supply of oxygen to their roots in order for the plant to complete cellular respiration. Plants will absorb oxygen and transport it to all parts of the plant. Because mangrove tree roots are fully submerged in water for most if not all of the day there is no oxygen in roots. These trees have special roots that come out of the water. Each species of tree has its own unique way of acquiring its needed oxygen. Some pictures below are needle roots, knee roots, hanging roots, and stilt roots.

Lastly, mangrove trees reproduce uniquely as well. I could not imagine a small seedling trying to germinate and stay upright in a tidal zone where the water is constantly coming in and out. So mangrove trees will produce what I think look like fruit. But, instead of dropping the fruit a long green stem grows from the bottom of the fruit. These stems look like giant bean pods. When the stem is developed it will fall from the tree and hopefully stick upright in the mud and start growing a new tree.

This mangrove forest is home to 26 different species of mangrove trees and all of the trees are so unique. I could have spent days just learning about these unique trees.

The first species that I was intrigued by when arriving I found living in a small puddle under the bathrooms. Kind of looked like fish or maybe a salamander. I later learned that it was called a mudskipper and they do just that. These ‘fish’ live in the tidal zone that is sometimes flooded and sometimes sandy. When the water is high it acts like a fish. It uses gills to breathe underwater and its fins to swim. When the tides recede than the fish transforms into a salamander. Absorbing oxygen through its skin and walking on its pectoral fins. There is currently some debate in the scientific community as to how this fish should be classified because it is so unique.

Overall, a great day with lots of wildlife. Here is a list of the wildlife that we viewed today (I think all of the names are correct I might have some of the names incorrect due to translating):

• White-collared kingfisher,
• red eagle,
• leaf snake,
• mudskipper,
• red berry snail,
• mangroves king salamander,
• piei plant.

Jessica Weyer (@JessWeyer) is a secondary agriscience teacher from Pennsylvania.