Hurricanes and Mangroves Topic of Rookery Bay Science Nite Series

This year’s Science Nite Series at Rookery Bay focused on the benefits of mangrove forests and the cutting-edge research at the Reserve, and also included after-hours mingling, fun and trivia. 

The first of the series topic was presented on February 24th by Dr. Danielle Ogurcak, a Research Assistant Professor in the Institute of Environment at Florida International University. She shared her studies on the role of disturbances in mangrove forests throughout South Florida and the Caribbean.

Dr. Ogurcak reminded the attendees of the painful lessons learned when, in 2017, Hurricane Irma came through Marco and Naples. Around that same time, a very large storm named Hurricane Maria went through Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Irma made landfall first in the lower Keys as a Category Five hurricane and came through Cape Romano and the Ten Thousand Islands as a Category Three hurricane.

Dr. Ogurcak explained that as a very large storm, Irma brought a very large storm surge and high winds both in the Keys and in the Marco/Naples area. 

Imagine what it will be like without the mangroves? Mangroves act as a natural barrier, defending against storm surges and high tides and mitigating flooding by reducing wave energy, slowing down storm surges and providing stabilization. Mangroves provide an incredible living shoreline, a living barrier that reduces the storm surge to coastal communities behind them.

The study published by Nature Conservancy “Valuing the Flood Risk Reduction Benefits of Florida Mangroves,” led by a team of scientist from the engineering, insurance and conservation sectors, concluded that mangroves significantly reduced flood levels during a catastrophic event such as Irma and are a strong first line of defense for coastal communities like Marco.

* Reduced flood damages by 25% to properties behind them in Collier County.

* During Hurricane Irma, mangroves averted $1.5 billion in surge-related damages to properties, which represents a 25% savings in counties with mangroves.

According to the FWC website more than 50 species of mangroves exist worldwide. Of the three species found in Florida, the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) is probably the most well-known and typically grows along the water's edge. It is easily identified by its tangled, reddish roots called "prop-roots” appearing to be standing or “walking on the surface” of the water. They have long cylindrical green propagules.

The black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), the middling mangrove, is usually upland from the red mangrove. It can be identified by numerous finger-like projections, called pneumatophores, that protrude from the soil around the tree's trunk. Their propagules are small flattened and lima bean like.

The white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa), the most upland of the three, is usually occupying the highest elevations. The leaves are elliptical, light yellow-green and have two distinguishing glands at the base of the leaf blade where the stem starts. Propagules are the size of a pea.

Frequency of hurricanes. According to Dr. Ogurcak, for a Category three to five in the Naples area, there is a return period of 17-18 years to expect a strong storm like Irma. For a Category one to three, there is a return period of seven to eight years.

Hurricane Trivia. From 1852-2020, for 170 years, there have been a total of 78 storms that came within 60 nautical miles of the Naples area.

Please Save the Dates & Register Early for these Science Nite at Rookery Bay events.

March 31, 2022, Where have all the mangroves gone? Laura Flynn, President of the Coastal Resource Group, will talk about the restoration of a large mangrove die-off on San Marco Road on Marco. You’ve seen the die-offs on your way to Goodland.

April 21, 2022, Let’s Dig into Mangroves. Zoe Shribman talks about what lies beneath the surface.

Science Nite doors open at 5:30PM and feature heavy hors d’oeuvres and trivia questions with the chance to win a kayak tour for two!