Rhizophora mucronata regenerates easily from seed but the seedlings are often damaged by crabs.[4] The leaves are also eaten by crabs [5] and form part of the diet of the crab-eating macaque (Macaca irus). The tree is attacked by the beetle Poecilus fallax.[4] In the Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary near Cochin, India, it grows in association with the mangrove Avicennia officinalis, the golden leather fern (Acrostichum aureum) and the sea holly (Acanthus ilicifolius).[7