PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Mangroves expand north as Florida freezes decline

2013-12-31
(Press-News.org) Contact information: David Orenstein
David_Orenstein@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University
Mangroves expand north as Florida freezes decline

Mangrove forests have been expanding northward along the Atlantic coast of Florida for the last few decades not because of a general warming trend, but likely because cold snaps there are becoming a thing of the past. That surprising finding, reported by a team of ecologists the week of Dec. 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides a new and unique illustration of the speed and scale on which alterations in climate extremes have affected crucial ecosystems.

Going back 28 years, as the study based on a sophisticated analysis of satellite imagery does, a resident of Palm Coast could have encountered some mangrove forest, but the size of those forests would now be about 100 percent greater according to the researchers' measurements of the coastal area mangroves now occupy.

"Before this work there had been some scattered anecdotal accounts and observations of mangroves appearing in areas where people had not seen them, but they were very local," said study lead author Kyle Cavanaugh, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University and at the Smithsonian Institution. "One unique aspect of this work is that we were able to use this incredible time series of large scale satellite imagery to show that this expansion is a regional phenomenon. It's a very large scale change."

Brown Assistant Professor James Kellner, a senior co-author, added that the paper goes beyond merely documenting the northward push of mangrove forests by accounting for the most likely cause. Cavanaugh and his colleagues tested various hypotheses by correlating the satellite observations with reams of other data. What emerged from their tests of statistical significance was the area's decline in the frequency of days where temperature dips below negative 4 degrees Celcius, or 25 degrees Farenheit. That, not coincidentally, is a physiological temperature limit of mangrove survival.

"The most intuitive explanation is not the explanation that actually explains this pattern," said Kellner, who teaches in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology and is part of Brown's Environmental Change Initiative. "The one people would most probably point to is an increase in mean temperature."

But in the analysis, the team, which also includes researchers at the University of Maryland, had to rule out increases in mean annual or winter temperatures as well as changes in precipitation and changes in nearby urban and agricultural landcover. They also ruled out sea level rise.

Instead seemingly subtle differences from1984 through 2011 of just 1.4 fewer days a year below 25 degrees in Daytona Beach or 1.2 days a year in Titusville appear to explain as much as a doubling of mangrove habitat in those areas.

Ecosystem upheaval?

In a state where mangroves enjoy environmental protections and where the plants are the namesake of streets, parks, businesses, and at least one golf course, it might appear at first blush that more mangrove habitat could be a good thing. Florida orange growers might be happy to kiss hard freezes goodbye. But Cavanagh and Kellner caution against any celebration of this apparent consequence of climate change.

"The expansion isn't happening in a vacuum," Cavanaugh said. "The mangroves are expanding into and invading salt marsh, which also provides an important habitat for a variety of species."

The next question is to understand how these changes affect the lives and interactions of the species in each ecosystem.

"There's an enormous amount of uncertainty as to what these changes mean for the food webs," Cavanaugh said.

For now, what's apparent is that changes that are well underway in Florida's climate have seemingly led to significant changes along hundreds of miles of coastline.



INFORMATION:

In addition to Cavanaugh and Kellner, the paper's other authors are Alexander Forde and Daniel Gruner of Maryland, and John Parker, Wilfrid Rodriguez and Ilka Feller of the Smithsonian.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (grant NNX11AO94G) and the National Science Foundation (grants 1065821 and 1065098) supported the research.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

With few hard frosts, tropical mangroves push north

2013-12-31
With few hard frosts, tropical mangroves push north N Florida coast transformed by extreme weather change, not overall warming COLLEGE PARK, MD – Cold-sensitive mangrove forests have expanded dramatically along Florida's Atlantic Coast as the frequency of killing frosts ...

Minority physicians care for a majority of underserved patients in the US

2013-12-31
Minority physicians care for a majority of underserved patients in the US Minority physicians also play a large role in the care of patients with poorer health, according to a new study in JAMA Internal Medicine CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Black, Hispanic and Asian ...

Conversations on sex lacking between doctors and teens

2013-12-31
Conversations on sex lacking between doctors and teens DURHAM, N.C. – Doctors are missing a prime opportunity to share information about sex with their teenage patients by failing to broach the subject during checkups, according to researchers ...

High good and low bad cholesterol levels are healthy for the brain, too

2013-12-31
High good and low bad cholesterol levels are healthy for the brain, too (SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- High levels of "good" cholesterol and low levels of "bad" cholesterol are correlated with lower levels of the amyloid plaque deposition ...

Field trial with lignin modified poplars shows potential for bio-based economy

2013-12-31
Field trial with lignin modified poplars shows potential for bio-based economy But work still needs to be done The results of a field trial with genetically modified poplar trees in Zwijnaarde, Belgium, shows that the wood of lignin ...

Most clinical studies on vitamins flawed by poor methodology

2013-12-31
Most clinical studies on vitamins flawed by poor methodology CORVALLIS, Ore. – Most large, clinical trials of vitamin supplements, including some that have concluded they are of no value or even harmful, have a flawed methodology that renders them largely ...

Molecular evolution of genetic sex-determination switch in honeybees

2013-12-31
Molecular evolution of genetic sex-determination switch in honeybees 5 amino acid differences separate males from females It's taken nearly 200 years, but scientists in Arizona and Europe have teased out how the molecular switch for sex gradually ...

Medicaid beneficiaries use emergency services due to lack of alternatives

2013-12-31
Medicaid beneficiaries use emergency services due to lack of alternatives AURORA, Colo. (Dec. 30, 2013) – A study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine shows patients with Medicaid insurance seeking care in an emergency department may be ...

Major reductions in seafloor marine life from climate change by 2100

2013-12-31
Major reductions in seafloor marine life from climate change by 2100 A new study quantifies for the first time future losses in deep-sea marine life, using advanced climate models. Results show that even the most remote deep-sea ecosystems ...

Contralateral needling at unblocked collaterals for post-stroke hemiplegia

2013-12-30
Contralateral needling at unblocked collaterals for post-stroke hemiplegia Hemiplegia caused by stroke indicates the dysfunctions of the neurological network between the brain and limbs. Under this condition, conventional acupuncture at the acupoints on the affected ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mount Sinai experts present research at SLEEP 2025

Medigap protection and plan switching among Medicare advantage enrollees with cancer

Bubbles are key to new surface coating method for lightweight magnesium alloys

Carbon stable isotope values yield different dietary associations with added sugars in children compared to adults

Scientists discover 230 new giant viruses that shape ocean life and health

Hurricanes create powerful changes deep in the ocean, study reveals

Genetic link found between iron deficiency and Crohn’s disease

Biologists target lifecycle of deadly parasite

nTIDE June 2025 Jobs Report: Employment of people with disabilities holds steady in the face of uncertainty

Throughput computing enables astronomers to use AI to decode iconic black holes

Why some kids respond better to myopia lenses? Genes might hold the answer

Kelp forest collapse alters food web and energy dynamics in the Gulf of Maine

Improving T cell responses to vaccines

Nurses speak out: fixing care for disadvantaged patients

Fecal transplants: Promising treatment or potential health risk?

US workers’ self-reported mental health outcomes by industry and occupation

Support for care economy policies by political affiliation and caregiving responsibilities

Mailed self-collection HPV tests boost cervical cancer screening rates

AMS announces 1,000 broadcast meteorologists certified

Many Americans unaware high blood pressure usually has no noticeable symptoms

IEEE study describes polymer waveguides for reliable, high-capacity optical communication

Motor protein myosin XI is crucial for active boron uptake in plants

Ultra-selective aptamers give viruses a taste of their own medicine

How the brain distinguishes between ambiguous hypotheses

New AI reimagines infectious disease forecasting

Scientific community urges greater action against the silent rise of liver diseases

Tiny but mighty: sophisticated next-gen transistors hold great promise

World's first practical surface-emitting laser for optical fiber communications developed: advancing miniaturization, energy efficiency, and cost reduction of light sources

Statins may reduce risk of death by 39% for patients with life-threatening sepsis

Paradigm shift: Chinese scientists transform "dispensable" spleen into universal regenerative hub

[Press-News.org] Mangroves expand north as Florida freezes decline