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Estuary ecosystem
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Seffen and Moravichik introduce estuaries by explaining the way the freshwater from rivers flow to the sea and mix with the saltwater. Estuaries are Nature’s water blender because in coastal regions the freshwater from rivers meets the salt water of the ocean and are mixed in several different ways. The diverse mixture of salt water to fresh water creates different habitats with a complex ecosystem. Estuaries are important to the environment as well as the economy. Estuaries have very different temperatures and precipitation averages because of the different regions where they can be found. Keeping estuaries healthy is an important job throughout the world. Estuary biomes are full of surprises (Seffen & Moravichik, 2008).
According to the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, estuaries are really important to the economy and environment of every continent where they can be found. In the United States alone 75% of commercial fishing is provided from the habitat of estuaries. That adds $4.3 billion a year from estuaries to our economy. A healthy habitat from estuaries allows us continued survival for many birds, animals, reptiles, and varied aquatic life. Estuaries also provide recreation and the tourism is another boost to the economy (EPA, 2012).
Estuaries offer many benefits. The natural barrier they provide can help prevent floods, they help filter the water in our oceans, the fish there are a major source of protein as well as helping maintain the fish population in the ocean. Estuaries also provide jobs, recreation, Since they are the most productive ecosystems in the world they are extremely important to mankind. It is not surprising that the biggest threat to estuaries is mankind. They have been filled in, dredged, or ove...
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...remappingfoundation.org/natmap/marine/estuary_animals.html
EPA. (2012). Basic information about estuaries. Retrieved March 14, 2014, from http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/about.cfm
Nelson, R., Stenstorm, J., Audel, H., Coleman, J., Walker, M., Serengeti, S., & Tucker, D. (2003). Estuaries Biome. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://thewildclassroom.com/biomes/estuaries.html
Seffen, P., & Moravchik, B. (2008, March 25). Estuaries. Retrieved March 18, 2014, from http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/html
Seffen, P., & Moravchik, B. (2008, March 25). Estuaries 101 Middle School Curriculum. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from http://estuaries.noaa.gov/Teachers/estuaries.aspx
Wassilieff, M. (2012, July 13). 3. Plants of the estuary – Estuaries – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved March 12, 2014, from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/estuaries/page-3
One of the Bays biggest resources is its oysters. Oysters are filter feeders which mean they feed on agley and clean the water. The oysters feed on agley and other pollutants in the bay turning them into food, then they condense the food down to nutrients and sometimes developed pearls. Filtering the water helps the oysters to grow, and also helps clean the Chesapeake Bay. One oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day, Oysters used to be able to filter the Bay in about a week. However, these creatures are now scarce in the bay. The Chesapeake Bays Oyster (crassostrea virginica) Population has declined severely because of over harvesting, agricultural runoff, and disease. Now the Chesapeake Bay is becoming polluted without the oysters and the water is not nearly as clean as it once was. The Chesapeake Bay was the first estuary in the nation to be targeted for restoration as an integrated watershed and ecosystem. (Chesapeake Bay Program n/d). This report will show the cause and effect of the Chesapeake Bay's Oyster decline on the Bay.
They also look after the quality of coastal waters by watering down, sifting, and settling deposits, left-over nutrients and contaminants. They are highly productive ecosystems and provide habitats and act as nurseries for all manner of life.
The Long Island Sound is an estuary, and is in fact one of the largest in the world. An estuary is a place where salt water from the ocean mixes with fresh water from the rivers that drain from the land. Moreover, like other estuaries, the Long Island Sound has an abundance of fish and other waterfowl that add to the natural balance of the island, as well as one of the most important economic factors (Tedesco). Like other estuaries around the world, the Sound provides breeding, feeding, nesting, and nursery areas for many species that will spend most of their adult lives in the oceans (Long Island Sound Study). Despite these similarities to other estuaries, the Long Island Sound is unique from anywhere else in the world. Unlike other estuaries, the Long Island Sound does not just have one connection to the sea but it has two. It has two major sources of fresh water flowing into the bay that empty into the ocean. It combines this two-...
The Chesapeake Bay plays host to an astonishing amount of plant and animal life, providing much of our fish intake for species that aren’t being overfished. For the species that are being overdrawn, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is working to restore the populations, and it’s going well thus far. Another theme that is endangering the marine life populations as well as the health of the human population is the massive amount of polluti...
...sica Leahy, and Kathleen Bell. "Interactions between Human Communities and Estuaries in the Pacific Northwest: Trends and Implications for Management." Estuaries. 26.4 (Aug., 2003): 994-1009 . Print.
The Salt Marshes contain different types of grasses that grow out of the water and along the water's edge. This grass can be seen when the tide is low and is covered by water when the tide comes in. This grass helps hold the soil together by dispersing any wave energy and creating a breeding ground for many important marine animals. Also, the plants act as a natural filter, removing any chemicals that might be in the seawater. Some of the plants that are found in salt marshes are: Salt Marsh Grass or Spartina Alterniflora and Cord grass as well as reeds, sedges and golden rod.
The Indian River Lagoon is an extremely important and fragile ecosystem that is absolutely essential for marine life in Indian River County. This estuary provides for over 2200 animal species and 2100 plant species, including spotted sea trout, red fish, snook, tarpon, mullet, sheepshead, pompano, seahorses, blue crabs, hermit crabs, pink shrimp, scallops, clams, marine worms, marine snails, oysters, mangroves, manatee grass, turtle grass, shoal grass, threatened Johnson’s grass, and the Atlantic salt marsh snake, which are both found nowhere else in the world.
Globally coastal wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate, the problem is most of society does not realize the value of these precious wetlands. Coastal wetlands provide an important role in the coastal ecosystem. “Coastal wetlands provide critical services such as absorbing energy from coastal storms, preserving shorelines, protecting human populations and infrastructure, supporting commercial seafood harvests, absorbing pollutants and serving as critical habitat for migratory bird populations”(Anonymous, 2011). Coastal wetlands are an economical asset as well as an environmental one.
Over the course of the last 100 years, many estuaries around the world have been destroyed from human interference, invasive species, and natural disturbances. The Galveston bay estuary is one of the estuaries in danger.
It is the most common type of grass on the shorelines of estuaries. While growing up it will stand tall and have one budding flower at the top. It can handle salty environments. It is an ideal plant found in estuaries. The salt water also distributes salt particles around the marshland and shore land. The purple loosestrife is a hard plant which was found in Europe and came to America during the trade and exploration time. The plant has a rigid stalk with matted root ends. The way the roots are made it prevents the plant from growing tall. The top section of the plant is a hardy plant and lives in the marshland and near the shoreline. The purple loosestrife can live in tough environments and can easily take control and kill other
Bowermaster, Jon. Oceans: The Threats to Our Seas and What You Can Do to Turn the Tide: A Participant Media Guide. New York: PublicAffairs, 2010. Print.
Eutrophication is a widespread matter of concern affecting estuaries and other coastal ecosystems, and detrimental to coastal and marine species (Gray, Wu & Or 2002; Bricker et al. 2008). Gray, Wu and Or (2002) describe the eutrophication process as an increase in different nutrient levels resulting in creation of both dissolved and particles of organic substance which ultimately leads to decrease in level of oxygen concentrations due to decaying or degeneration of those organic substances.
Turner, S., & Schwarz, A. M. (2006). Management and conservation of seagrass in New Zealand: an introduction. Science for Conservation, 264, 1-90.
The ocean can serve man purposes things for many different people; as a school, a home, a park...