Coastal Ecosystems

Marine Ecosystems

Coastal Wetlands

• Water level & salinity change during the day

• Provide habitat and nesting for fish and birds

• absorb rain to prevent flooding

• filter out sediment as well as pollutants

Multiple Choice

Coastal Wetlands make flooding worse and should be filled in with sediment for luxury condos.

• True

• False

Estuary

• The area in which the freshwater from a river mixes with salty ocean water.

• The mixing of these waters creates a nutrient trap which allow these ecosystems to be extremely productive

• Many of the worlds cities are built on estuaries (NYC, SF, & Shanghai)

Multiple Choice

Being a mixture of fresh and saltwater, estuaries have very few plants and animals.

• True

• False

Plants & Animals of Estuaries

• Shallow light-filled waters allow many plants to live in the mud.

• The plentiful nutrients allow for large populations of plankton, fish, oysters, otters and the birds that feed on them.

Multiple Choice

The animals on the previous slide eating a fish was a

• eagle

• shark

• otter

Threats to Estuaries

• In early times, estuaries were used as landfills and constructed over such as in downtown S.F.

• Largely affected by pollutants that runoff from land: sewage, pesticides & industrial waste.

Multiple Choice

Human's must protect estuaries from development as well as agricultural & industrial waste runoff.

• True

• False