The Trinidad mangroves

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

(WWF ID: NT1436) covers the separate mangrove forest areas on the coast of the island of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, in the country of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. The character of the mangroves is affected by the large amount of fresh water flowing out of the

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

and Amazon River to the south, which flow northwest around the island. The mangroves of Trinidad are found on all coasts, and are usually in the estuaries of rivers, but also found in coastal lagoons.

Location and description

The largest mangrove wetland on Trinidad is the

Nariva Swamp The Nariva Swamp is the largest freshwater wetland in Trinidad and Tobago and has been designated a ''Wetland of International Importance'' under the Ramsar Convention. The swamp is located on the east coast of Trinidad, immediately inland from ...

, a permanent brackish lagoon, on the east coast. It is separated from the sea by a sand bar, and has a salinity of 18-25 ‰. The water level typically fluctuates by 0.6 - 1.9 meters. The second largest is the

Caroni Swamp The Caroni Swamp is the second largest mangrove wetland in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located on the west coast of Trinidad, south of Port of Spain and northwest of Chaguanas, where the Caroni River meets the Gulf of Paria. The Caroni Swamp ...

, formed where the Caroni River enters

Gulf of Paria The Gulf of Paria ( ; es, Golfo de Paria) is a shallow (180 m at its deepest) semi-enclosed inland sea located between the island of Trinidad (Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) and the east coast of Venezuela. It separates the two countries ...

just south of Port of Spain in the northwest of the island. The ecoregion surrounding the mangroves on the inland side is Trinidad and Tobago moist forests, except for the Caroni Swamp, which is surrounded by a thin band of

Trinidad and Tobago dry forests Trinidad and Tobago dry forests are tropical dry forests located primarily in western and southern parts of the island of Trinidad, in southern parts of the island of Tobago and on smaller offshore islands including Chacachacare, Monos, Huevos ...

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is ''

Tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

(Af)). This climate is characterized as hot, humid, and having at least 60 mm of precipitation every month. Precipitation in the ecoregion averages 1,556 mm/year. The wet season is June to November.

Flora and fauna

The most common mangrove tree species is red mangrove (''

Rhizophora mangle ''Rhizophora mangle'', the red mangrove, is distributed in estuarine ecosystems throughout the tropics. Its viviparous "seeds", in actuality called propagules, become fully mature plants before dropping off the parent tree. These are disperse ...

''), which can reach 17 meters in height and is typically found along the margins of channels with other Rhizophora species. These include ''

Rhizophora harrisonii ''Rhizophora harrisonni'' is a species of plant in the family Rhizophoraceae. It can be found in Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad, Tobago, and Venezuela. De ...

'' and ''

Rhizophora racemosa ''Rhizophora racemosa'' is a species of mangrove tree in the family Rhizophoraceae. It has a patchy distribution on the Pacific coast of Central and South America, occurs in places on the Atlantic coast of that continent, and has a more widesprea ...

'', especially on the east coast swamps. Black mangrove (''

Avicennia germinans ''Avicennia germinans'', the black mangrove, is a shrub or small tree growing up to 12 meters (39 feet) in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, ...

'') generally grow in stands by themselves and may reach 23 meters in height. Other species, such as ''

Avicennia schaueriana ''Avicennia'' is a genus of flowering plants currently placed in the bear's breeches family, Acanthaceae. It contains mangrove trees, which occur in the intertidal zones of estuarine areas and are characterized by its "pencil roots", which are ...

'', white mangrove (''

Laguncularia racemosa ''Laguncularia racemosa'', the white mangrove, is a species of flowering plant in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae. It is native to the coasts of western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon, the Atlantic Coast of the Americas from Bermuda an ...

''), and button mangrove (''

Conocarpus erectus ''Conocarpus erectus'', commonly called buttonwood or button mangrove, is a mangrove shrub in the family Combretaceae. This species grows on shorelines in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Range Locations it is known from inc ...

'') are found in small stands.

Protected areas

There are officially protected areas in the two largest mangrove areas: *

, a patchwork of mangrove swamp forest, palm forest, swamp, and freshwater marsh. *

* Bon Accord Lagoon http://www.biodiversity.gov.tt/home/images/stories/pdf/ramsar%20site-%20buccoo%20reef%20bon%20accord%20lagoon.pdf

References

{{reflist Neotropical ecoregions Mangrove ecoregions Ecoregions of Trinidad and Tobago