by Caitlin Mahoney & Jessica Andrich Estuaries by Caitlin Mahoney & Jessica Andrich

What are they? Body of water where freshwater flows into the sea and mixes with seawater Brackish water Examples: bays, lagoons, and harbors 22 of the 32 largest cities in the world are in estuaries (such as New York City)

Estuaries throughout the World Can be found all over the world, anywhere that salt and fresh water meet Usually between land and sea Coastal Most productive ecosystem "nursery of the sea": breeding grounds Examples: Northwest Florida to Texas coasts have shallow estuaries with salt marshes San Francisco Bay is an estuary http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/habitats/estuaries.htm

Producers Macrophytes: shrubs, grasses, reeds Phytoplankton: blue and green algae Benthic organisms: diatoms, bacteria Example of major producers: Marsh grass (Spartina) Salt grass Cordgrass Mangroves http://visindavefur.hi.is/myndir/phytoplankton_070305.jpg http://www.fws.gov/humboldtbay/photos/spartina3.jpg

Consumers Primary: Secondary: Tertiary: zooplankton, "filter feeders“: mussels, oysters, etc. Secondary: Invertebrates: horseshoe crabs Birds: blue heron, brown pelican Fish: stickleback fish, snook, grouper, trout Tertiary: Manatees, Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphin http://cathylwood.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/manatee.jpg http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:VyceE3YLJucY2M:http://freerangegourmet.com/Graphics/3d3d42c746f1_F2EE/Oyster.jpg&t=1

Food Chain Marsh plant dies and decays protozoa coats the marsh plant (detritus) and decompose it amphipod (invertebrate) eats protozoa stickleback fish eats amphipod great blue heron eats stickleback fish http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?pid=0&id=226&cid=2

Natural Resources Source of food Reeds and plants act as filters to filter the brackish water and clean it recreation: boating, fishing, diving, hunting, etc. scientific studies: biology, geology, chemistry high level of nutrients due to the mixture of freshwater and seawater Estuaries are the habitat for 75% of America's commercial fish catch, 80-90% of recreational fish catch http://www.squamishoceanfront.com/files/EstuaryCanoe.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Harchies_RN1gJPG.jpg/220px-Harchies_RN1gJPG.jpg

Environmental Concerns Coastal Development Invasive Species Polluted Runoff Over Fishing Dredging and Filling Dams Global Climate Change

Endangered Species Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Also called Rainbow Trout and Redband Trout Greatest DIVERSITY of life history patterns of ANY Pacific salmonid species

Endangered Species Diet: Lifespan: 11 years (max) Varying degrees of Anadromy Differences in reproductive biology & High plasticity of life style types between generations.  Steelhead trout tend to develop a much more pointed head than Rainbow trout, and are also much larger and more silvery Diet:  Young – zooplankton Adults - insects, mollusks, crustaceans, fish eggs, minnows, and other small fish (including other trout) Lifespan: 11 years (max) Size: 45 inches (max) Weight: 55 lb (max) Where??? Washington, Oregon, and California Threats: logging, genetic introgression with hatchery fish, agriculture and development, excessive fishing, dams, and other manmade impediments

Endangered Species Pickleweed (Salicornia virginica) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Salicornia_virginica.jpg Pickleweed (Salicornia virginica) Also known as Virginia Glasswort and Salt Marsh Pickleweed Is being smothered by invasive spartina (marsh grasses) such as cordgrass Perennial Herb California Native, found throughout North America http://domesticfuel.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Salicornia_virginica3.jpg

Klamath River Estuary, California Kosi Bay, Africa http://emptydb.blogsome.com/images/pix-phang-nga-bay.jpg http://www.cacciainsudafrica.com/images/altre03.jpg Phang Nga Bay, Thailand Klamath River Estuary, California http://c0190781.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/504533615.jpg http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/transformations/coastal_research/estuary650.jpg

Works Cited http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/estuaries/about_index.cfm http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_estuaries/welcome.html http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/habitats/estuaries.htm http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?pid=0&id=226&cid=2 http://www.riverventure.org/charleston/resources/pdf/list%20of%20organisms.pdf http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/nep/about.cfm http://www.naturalresources.nsw.gov.au/estuaries/factsheets/habitat/food_web.shtml http://www.friendsofrietvlei.co.za/Estuaries-Productivity.html http://teacher.ocps.net/theodore.klenk/ms/Estuary.htm http://www.estuaries.gov/estuaries101/About/Default.aspx?ID=250 http://www.estuaries.gov/estuaries101/About/FishFactsheet.aspx?id=359 http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=7259