1. ESTUARIES

2. What is an estuary? Area where fresh water meets salt water Semi-enclosed Transition zone Includes bays and lagoons

3. Chesapeake Bay, a coastal plain estuary Nauset Barrier Beach – Cape Cod

4. San Francisco Bay, a tectonic estuary Fjords

5. NJ ESTUARIES

6. What conditions affect estuaries? Rivers bring in: –Fresh water –Sediment –Pollutants from land Oceans bring in: –Salt –Sandy substrate –Plankton Estuary salinity Mudflats

7. Estuaries are also affected by: TemperatureSunlightRainfall Tides & Currents

8. Productivity Very high rate of productivity Water in estuary is nutrient-rich: –Nutrients are carried from freshwater –Insoluble in salt water Many nutrients are good for producers

9. Organisms Some are permanent part of estuary community Some come and go: plankton, salmon, birds, horseshoe crabs Some land animals that interact with aquatic organisms

10. TYPES OF COMMUNITIES Open Water Mud flats –Exposed at low tide Salt marsh (temperate) –Partially flooded at high tide Mangrove forest –Tropical equivalent of salt marsh Mud flat Salt Marsh Mangrove forest

11. HUMAN IMPACT Coastal development PollutionDredging Clearing Land –Erosion