Interviewed: Alison Kim Shan Wee, molecular ecologist (kimshan.wee[at]nottingham.edu.my)

(Photo: Awash in sea water twice daily, mangrove trees have adapted to the challenging environment | Pic by Alison Kim)

HOW ARE mangroves, which grow by tropical and subtropical coasts, the same as plants in the deserts or the Arctic? Well, they are all extremophiles — a group of organisms that are able to thrive in extreme environments. 

According to molecular ecology researcher Alison Kim Shan Wee, mangrove trees can live in soil of high salt levels, which could kill most other trees.