Estuaries Standard S7L4e

Estuary ecosystem

Where freshwater meets and mixes with salty ocean waters What is an Estuary? Where freshwater meets and mixes with salty ocean waters Examples include bays and lagoons

Location Hayle Estuary Chesapeake Bay

Types of Animals fungi, bacteria and protozoa mussels ribbon worms and flatworms copepods and amphipods

Types of Animals Pacific Salmon, herring, Cutthroat Trout, stickleback and sculpins bears, cougars, river and sea otters, harbour seals, sea lions, mink and raccoons

copepods mussels killdeer

Types of Plants microscopic algae called phytoplankton marsh grasses mangroves Aquatic plants such as eelgrass and sedges; terrestrial plants such as dunegrass and salt grass

Marsh grasses mangroves

Why are estuaries so important? They provide breeding and nesting areas, or rookeries, for many coastal birds, such as brown pelicans. They function as natural water purification systems