Talking Mangroves for TV
Network Coastal Ecologist Ches Vervaeke is getting the word out about mangrove populations increasing in Northeast Florida and more specifically, in Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Ches recently talked with News4Jax's River City Live host Eden Kendall on a segment of In Your Backyard, sharing details about how mangroves get started with a little "show and tell" featuring a couple of mangrove propagules. In a CBS 47 report from meteorogist Mike Buresh, Ches explained why the mangroves have taken root at the preserve, a result of fewer hard freezes in the area. He presented the benefits including storm surge protection and greater carbon storage, but also outlined the concerns if the inevitable freeze kills off the mangroves, leaving the depleted marsh exposed to sea level rise. Along with his role of leading the network's coastal program, Ches is studying elevation dynamics of black mangroves as they expand their northern range in the University of Louisiana at Lafeyette's Environmental and Evolutionary Biology PhD program. Check out the segments here:
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/more-mangroves-growing-northeast-florida/0403dccf-0cf8-4a0e-92cb-76193c9b91f4/
https://www.news4jax.com/river-city-live/2022/02/11/why-mangroves-are-so-important-for-the-jax-ecosystem/
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service