estuaries by mehak adil

Slide 1: 

By Mehak Adil Estuary

What is an Estuary? : 

What is an Estuary? An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuary is where river meets the sea.

Where are they found? : 

Where are they found? Estuaries are found on the coast where fresh water like a river or a bay has access to the ocean. A good example of an estuary is a salt marsh that can be found close to the coast. Another example is when a river feeds directly into the ocean. The largest estuary in the United States is the Chesapeake Bay estuary. It is all dependant on the tidal range.

Percentage of Earth’s water and fresh water : 

Percentage of Earth’s water and fresh water 97 % of all water is in the oceans. 3% is fresh water 69% is locked up in glaciers and ice caps. This freshwater occurs on the surface in lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams and underground in the pores in soil and in subterranean aquifers in deep geological formations.

Plants of the Estuary : 

Plants of the Estuary The estuary is a hostile environment for most plants because salt dominates. A few grow further back on the shore, where they live in a fluctuating environment of sea water and fresh water. These plants must cope with: varying salinity levels strong currents and storm waves varying exposure to sunlight and wind low oxygen levels in muddy soils.

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Seagrass: Small and dark green with ribbon-like leaves, this plant takes root in sandy silts on tidal flats. Found in Newzealand Mangroves form forests in the estuaries of far north. Salt marsh areas are found at the head of estuaries, landward of the seagrass and mangrove. The dominant plants on salt marsh are sea rush and jointed rush or oioi , which form dense rushlands up to 1.5 metres Saltwort form red , grey or green colonies alongside. Saltmarsh vegetation gives way to coastal scrub on dry land, or to freshwater swamp in wetlands beyond the influence of salty water. Another plant found is cordgrass which is now classified as a noxious plant.

Animal found in Estuary. : 

Animal found in Estuary. An estuary has very little wave action, so it provides a calm refuge from the open sea. Some of the animals, such as flounder, eels, and striped bass are just visitors to the estuary. One of the strangest residents of the estuary has four eyes, a spear for a tail, blue blood, and ancestors who walked the earth before the dinosaurs. Fish, Migrating fish, birds and migrating birds are found there.

Slide 8: 

Enormous numbers of worms live in estuarine muds. Some live in permanent burrows, feeding on the organic matter in the mud Three kinds of crab are commonly encountered on tidal mudflats. Kairau, the tunnelling mud crab dominates the upper tidal zone. tunnelling crab – the stalk-eyed mud crab in the mid-low tide zone. The hairy-handed crab is found throughout the intertidal zone. The cockle is a shallow-burrowing shellfish, found from subtidal to mid-tide levels.

Abiotic characteristics : 

Abiotic characteristics Temperature Rainfall (and its on salinity) Ice scour ( in regions where it freezes) Tidal ranges Runoff of fertilizers and pollutants

Interesting facts : 

Interesting facts Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Many animals rely on estuaries for food, places to breed, and migration stopovers. Human communities also rely on estuaries for food, recreation, jobs, and coastal protection. Of the 32 largest cities in the world, 22 are located on estuaries! Congress created the National Estuarine Research Reserve System to protect more than one million acres of estuarine land and water.

Bibliography : 

Bibliography http://www.gma.org/Katahdin/estuary.html http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/estuaries/3 http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/estuaries/5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estuary http://www.estuaries.gov/estuaries101/About/Default.aspx?ID=216 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeyOA0mwBhc