![oyster-reef-habitats-disappear-as-florida-becomes-more-tropical](https://utterbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/oyster-reef-habitats-disappear-as-florida-becomes-more-tropical.png)
For centuries in Tampa Bay, remnant shorelines and shallow coastal waters supported typical subtropical marine habitats, such as salt marshes, seagrass beds, oyster reefs and mud flats. When mangroves along the shoreline replaced the salt marsh vegetation, they abruptly took over oyster reef habitats, threatening species that depend on them.