Mangroves + Lasers: Engaging Students in Mangrove Biophysics and Coastal Research

What began as one student's curiosity about how to ask physics questions about Miami's urban mangrove forests has grown into a wide-ranging, student-led research collaboration involving nearly twenty high school researchers. Through the Young Researchers Program at Ransom Everglades (YREP), students are exploring urban mangrove biophysics from multiple angles: measuring root stress and strain, using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to detect microplastics, building wave tanks to model coastal dynamics, and deploying Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) systems to monitor biodiversity. Others are studying the microbiomes of mangrove soil and leaves to understand better how these plants adapt to environmental change in urban environments. This project has strengthened and expanded YREP, showing how authentic, open-ended research can empower students to think creatively, design their own investigations, and contribute meaningfully to scientific understanding. By tracing how a single question evolved into a collaborative, interdisciplinary study of plant physics, this work encourages researchers to engage younger scientists in real, curiosity-driven discovery intentionally. Ultimately, it highlights how plant physics offers a powerful lens for exploring coastal resilience and for growing the next generation of researchers.