In coastal wetlands, one of the most striking examples of climate change is the poleward range expansion of mangrove forests in response to warming winters. In North America, the Cedar Key region has often been considered the range limit for mangroves along the western coast of Florida (USA). However, within the past several decades, robust stands of Avicennia germinans and Rhizophora mangle have been observed in the Apalachicola Bay region, which is 200 km northwest of Cedar Key. This dataset characterizes the distribution and structure of the mangroves in the Apalachicola Bay area of Florida identified via extensive ground surveys and photointerpretation of aerial imagery from 2018 to 2019.

Global climate change is leading to large-scale shifts in species’ range limits. For example, rising winter temperatures are shifting the abundance and distributions of tropical, cold sensitive plant species towards higher latitudes. Coastal wetlands provide a prime example of such shifts, with tropical mangrove forests expanding into temperate salt marshes as winter warming alleviates past geographic limits set by cold intolerance. These rapid changes are dynamic and challenging to monitor, and uncertainty remains regarding the extent of mangrove expansion near poleward range limits. Here, we synthesized existing datasets and expert knowledge to assess the current (i.e., 2021) distribution of mangroves near dynamic range limits in eastern North America. Each grid cell has a resolution of 0.125 degrees, or approximately 14 x 16 km, within which the presence or absence of mangrove has been independently determined using existing datasets and expert knowledge.

Global climate change is leading to large-scale shifts in species’ range limits. For example, rising winter temperatures are shifting the abundance and distributions of tropical, cold sensitive plant species towards higher latitudes. Coastal wetlands provide a prime example of such shifts, with tropical mangrove forests expanding into temperate salt marshes as winter warming alleviates past geographic limits set by cold intolerance. These rapid changes are dynamic and challenging to monitor, and uncertainty remains regarding the extent of mangrove expansion near poleward range limits. Here, we synthesized existing datasets and expert knowledge to assess the current (i.e., 2021) distribution of mangroves near dynamic range limits in eastern North America. Each grid cell has a resolution of 0.125 degrees, or approximately 14 x 16 km, within which the presence or absence of mangrove has been independently determined using existing datasets and expert knowledge.

This shapefile compares the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2005 to their location in 2014.

This shapefile compares the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2005 to their location in 2014.

This data set contains biological information from important coastal mangrove areas situated at the border of, or near the targeted seascapes of the Caribbean Marine Biodiversity Program (CMBP). The data covers: raw species density, diameter at breast height, canopy cover and average heights; GIS data on all locations where data was collected. Targeted seascapes and corresponding countries include: 1) The Mangroves of Bajo Yuna and Los Corozos - Samana Bay - Dominican Republic 2) The Mangroves of Protected Area of Three Bays - Haiti This file reports density data on mangroves of Bajo Yuna and Los Corozos in Samana Bay, Dominican Republic. The two datasets, "data" and "density" together describe each area.

This shapefile is the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2005.

This shapefile is the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2005.

This shapefile is the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2014.

This shapefile is the approximate location of mangroves within the boundary of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in 2014.