Kevin Spear

But within the slender, 30-mile long Mosquito Lagoon in Brevard and Volusia counties, mangroves are asserting dominance. Scientists think that mangroves have an ally in the rising level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is trapping more of the sun’s heat and rapidly warming the planet.

Within a coastal refuge of tiny islands and sea water saltier than the ocean is a climate battle among natural Florida’s titans.It’s happening in Central Florida’s remote and alluring Mosquito Lagoon, which nearly abuts Kennedy Space Center launch pads at the Atlantic Ocean.Reigning guardians of the lagoon are oysters. They assemble in fortresses of low mounds, or reefs that appear above water at low tide. Their closely clustered shells suggest an invincible bristle of daggers and shields.Invaders of Mosquito Lagoon are mangroves. Leafy and leggy, they are the only tree species fond of saltwater. Mangroves expand their turf by launching hordes of floating invaders that are sort of like elongated seeds and are called propagules.