From Marsh to Mangrove

October 15, 2012 5:14 pm by: Kimberly Johnson

Researcher Anna Armitage with mangrove on Pelican Island. Photo by Dave Fehling/StateImpact Texas

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By Dave Fehling, StateImpact Texas

The coastline of Texas is changing, but this isn’t a story about rising sea levels – it has to do with what’s growing along the Gulf Coast.

Much of the Texas Gulf Coast is undeveloped like here along Pelican Island at the mouth of Galveston Bay. There are vast stretches of shoreline and wetlands that you might be tempted to think have looked like this for centuries, but they haven’t. Mangroves – trees and shrubs that grow in salt water – are replacing the marsh grasses, and they’re multiplying fast. Anna Armitage teaches marine biology at Texas A&M at Galveston.

“Across the whole Texas coast, we’ve seen a 70 percent increase in mangrove area over the last 20 years,” she says.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

For the rest of the story, click the audio player above or visit the StateImpact Texas website.

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