lagoons

These lagoons surge and recede with the tides and are an important habitat for migrating birds and native plant species.

Researchers believe more rainfall and flooding may have caused some brackish lagoons to become less salty, a trend which favors capybaras, since the animals are semi-aquatic freshwater mammals.

The dams hold back the water and have created larger lagoons.

He says residents try to avoid the lagoons alligators live in, but they're hard to spot among foliage and in murky water, especially after storms.

Besides the dredging, Igua is restoring the channels between the lagoons and the Atlantic Ocean, installing collectors to prevent the discharge of untreated sewage, and recovering native mangrove forests.