Editing Persian Gulf (section)

===Flora===
A great example of this [[symbiosis]] are the [[mangroves]] in the Persian Gulf, which require tidal flow and a combination of fresh and salt water for growth, and act as nurseries for many crabs, small fish, and insects; these fish and insects are the source of food for many of the marine birds that feed on them.<ref name=d>{{cite web|url=http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/07/03/gulfwildlife_pla.html?category=earth&guid=20060703160030 |title=Development in Persian Gulf Threatens Wildlife |access-date=2008-06-30 |author=Jim Krane |date=3 July 2006 |publisher=Discovery Channel |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923035904/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/07/03/gulfwildlife_pla.html?category=earth&guid=20060703160030 |archive-date=2006-09-23}}</ref> Mangroves are a diverse group of shrubs and trees belonging to the genus ''[[Avicennia]]'' or ''[[Rhizophora]]'' that flourish in the salt water shallows of the Persian Gulf, and are the most important habitats for small crustaceans that dwell in them. They are as crucial an indicator of biological health on the surface of the water, as the corals are to biological health of the Persian Gulf in deeper waters. Mangroves' ability to survive the salt water through intricate molecular mechanisms, their unique reproductive cycle, and their ability to grow in the most oxygen-deprived waters have allowed them extensive growth in hostile areas of the Persian Gulf.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/marinebio/mangal.html|title=Mangals|author=SunySB|access-date=2010-11-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206074225/http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/marinebio/mangal.html|archive-date=2010-12-06|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Expression of mangrove allene oxide cyclase enhances salt tolerance in Escherichia coli, yeast, and tobacco cells |journal=[[Plant and Cell Physiology]] |date=Fall 1980 |last1=Yamada |first1=Akiyo |last2=Saitoh |first2=Takeo |last3=Mimura |first3=Tetsuro |last4=Ozeki |first4=Yoshihiro |volume=43 |issue=8 |pages=903–910 |doi=10.1093/pcp/pcf108 |pmid=12198193 |doi-access=free }}</ref> However, with the advent of artificial island development, most of their habitat is destroyed, or occupied by man-made structures. This has had a negative impact on the crustaceans that rely on the mangrove, and in turn on the species that feed on them.