Biotic Component Of an Estuarine Ecosystem

Estuary

Estuary is coastal part of water body which contains those water that is formed in the result of mixing of water of sea or ocean and water of river body. In the estuary, you will get a mixture of both waters and when they both combine to give brackish water. When the tide is high the concentration of salt water is more and when the tide is low the concentration of freshwater is more.

Estuarine ecosystemAn estuarine ecosystem is the ecosystem where fresh water meets salty water.

Due to the different parameter such as tides and changing salinity presence of different habitat and different biotic community, estuarine ecosystems face unique stresses if it is compared to other aquatic ecosystems freshwater as well as marine water ecosystem. The sources of freshwater for most estuaries are pond, river, and stream even groundwater in some cases. Bays, lagoon harbors and inlet are several type of estuary.

Zones of estuary

Normally three zones of an estuary that is outer zone, middle zone and upper zone.

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Outer zone is those where gradients are low and salinity is nearly to open water. Middle zone is those where horizontal gradient is rapidly change and mixing also occur there. Upper zone is those where the water is fresh throughout the tide.

Characteristics of an estuary

Environment

Estuaries is a transition zones between the freshwater and marine water habitats and also act as transition from land to sea but many of their physical and biological features are unique not transitional.

Firstly, this ecosystem have brackish water neither fresh nor marine water. Estuaries are that ecosystem whose pH, salinity, and water levels differ, depending on the river that feeds the estuary and the ocean from which it obtain the salinity. Both ocean and land contribute to form a unique ecosystem where plants and animals have especially adaptive capacities. Estuaries are the infinite producing and active environment of earth.

Estuaries are more abundant in carbon compounds and nutrients through the combined action of flow of freshwater, wind, waves and as well as tidal action.

Temperature

Temperature of an estuary is higher because the shallow water is present, land expose to sunlight and when sunlight penetrate it hotter the surface. And when water flow above the hot surface the temperature of water become higher.

Salinity

Salinity of estuary is in between the salinity of freshwater and marine water. The salinity of freshwater is 0.5ppt while of marine water 35ppt. It means salinity of estuary range from 0.5-35ppt.

Sediments and decomposition

Sediments are important because here microbial activity is at climax and store organic matter. Microorganisms breakdown the complex organic compounds into ammonia, nitrates and phosphates. This becomes the basic food for primary consumers. In the food webs of Mud flats, salt Marshes and mangroves these detritus play a major role and place at the smallest trophic level. The root systems of estuarine flora have stabilizing or trap sediment and form different habitat like mud flats and salt marshes. Some of these plants include Spartina, Glass Wort, and Black Needle Rush. Our coastal estuaries have different habitat that is brackish or freshwater marshes, mangroves, sea grass beds, and salt marshes oyster reefs, kelp forests, and rocky or soft shorelines each populated with creatures that thrive in these sedimentations.

Beautiful and Bountiful

Most of the food that is related to fish and shellfish eaten in the America are salmon, herring, crabs and oysters that spend some or all of their lifetime in estuarine ecosystem. The main cities of America that are present on the estuaries are New York Harbor, San Francisco Bay, Tampa Bay, and Puget Sound.

Flora of estuarine ecosystem

Sea club rush belong to the sedge family. When spring tide flow over the low lying places it form dense beds. Sea aster flowers is attractive to hoverflies and other flies of the saltmarsh. Sea pink also known as Thrift is commonly found in salt marshes and on rock outcrops along the coast. Sea mayweed is found in some saltmarshes. Sea plantain is very common on saltmarshes and other places along the coast. Sea lavender is that plant which colonies on bare mudflats but it is commonly found in the lower saltmarsh.

Glassworts are colonizers at the edge of saltmarshes. The Narrow-leaved and Dwarf Eelgrasses genus Zostera angustifolia and Z. noltei are terribly native in Drum cliff body of water, Sligo Harbour and Ballysadare Bay. These flowering plants are a delicious food of the Light-bellied goose after they migrate from Greenland to eire within the fall.

Green algae generally grow on muddy sand and on mud within the middle to upper reaches. They are a traditional part of the flora however will become too exuberant if the body of water becomes impure with run-off made in phosphorus.