Greater Antilles mangroves

American flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber) feeding in a saltwater lagoon surrounded by a mangrove forest in Cuba.
Ecoregion territory (in red)
Ecology
RealmNeotropical
Biomemangroves
Borders
Geography
Area10,600 km2 (4,100 sq mi)
Countries
Conservation
Conservation statusCritical/endangered
Protected30.5%(2007)

The Greater Antilles mangroves is a mangrove ecoregion that includes the coastal mangrove forests of the Greater AntillesCuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.

Geography

Mangroves are estimated to cover 5,569 km2 in Cuba (or 4.8% of the country); 134 km2 in Haiti; 325 km2 in the Dominican Republic; and 106 km2 in Jamaica.

Some ecoregion systems include the Greater Antilles mangroves, Bahamian mangroves, and Lesser Antilles mangroves within a single Bahamian-Antillean mangroves ecoregion.

Protected areas

30.5% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. These include the Zapata Swamp in Cuba, La Cahouane and Three Bays Protected Area in Haiti, Los Haitises National Park in the Dominican Republic, and the Piñones State Forest and Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Puerto Rico.