Historically, mangroves have been able to
respond to relatively small changes in sea level
(8–9 mm/year in the Caribbean) through landward
or seaward migration (Parkinson 1989; Parkinson
et al. 1994) mediated by local topography (Bacon
1994), while larger changes in sea level have led to
mangrove ecosystem collapse (Ellison and Stoddart
1991; Ellison 1993).