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    Marine Ecosystems: Maila B. Galimba

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    Maila Galimba Castillo
    Coastal ecosystems are areas where land and sea meet, creating a diverse environment home to many plants and animals. They include marshes, estuaries, sea grasses, coral reefs, and mangrove forests. However, coastal ecosystems are sensitive and some areas are struggling due to human activity, invasive species, and other environmental changes. Marshes in particular provide important habitat and improve water quality but come in different forms depending on their location and salinity.

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    Marine Ecosystems: Maila B. Galimba

    Uploaded by

    Maila Galimba Castillo
    176 views53 pages
    Coastal ecosystems are areas where land and sea meet, creating a diverse environment home to many plants and animals. They include marshes, estuaries, sea grasses, coral reefs, and mangrove forests. However, coastal ecosystems are sensitive and some areas are struggling due to human activity, invasive species, and other environmental changes. Marshes in particular provide important habitat and improve water quality but come in different forms depending on their location and salinity.

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    Marine Ecosystems

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    Coastal ecosystems are areas where land and sea meet, creating a diverse environment home to many plants and animals. They include marshes, estuaries, sea grasses, coral reefs, and mangrove forests. However, coastal ecosystems are sensitive and some areas are struggling due to human activity, invasive species, and other environmental changes. Marshes in particular provide important habitat and improve water quality but come in different forms depending on their location and salinity.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    176 views53 pages

    Marine Ecosystems: Maila B. Galimba

    Uploaded by

    Maila Galimba Castillo
    Coastal ecosystems are areas where land and sea meet, creating a diverse environment home to many plants and animals. They include marshes, estuaries, sea grasses, coral reefs, and mangrove forests. However, coastal ecosystems are sensitive and some areas are struggling due to human activity, invasive species, and other environmental changes. Marshes in particular provide important habitat and improve water quality but come in different forms depending on their location and salinity.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 53

    MARINE ECOSYSTEMS

    Maila B. Galimba
    COASTAL
    ECOSYSTEM

    Coastal ecosystems are areas where land and


    water join to create an environment with a
    distinct structure, diversity, and flow of
    energy. They include marshes, estuaries, sea
    grasses, coral reefs and mangrove forest and
    are home to many different types of plants
    and animals.
    COASTAL
    ECOSYSTEM

    Coastal ecosystems are also very sensitive to


    changes in the environment, and there is
    concern that some areas are now struggling
    to maintain their diversity due to human
    activity, the introduction of non-native
    species, and other factors.
    MARSHES

    Ligawasan Marsh
    MARSHES
    Amarshis awetlandthat is dominated by
    herbaceousrather than woody plant species.
    Marshes can often be found at the edges of lakes
    and streams, where they form a transition between
    the aquatic and terrestrialecosystems.
    They are often dominated by grasses, rushes or
    reeds.
    MARSHES
    Marshes provide a habitat for many species of
    plants, animals, and insects that have adapted to
    living in flooded conditions.
    The plants must be able to survive in wet mud with
    low oxygen levels.
    Many of these plants therefore haveaerenchyma,
    channels within the stem that allow air to move from
    the leaves into the rooting zone.
    MARSHES

    Marsh plants also tend to have rhizomes for underground


    storage and reproduction.
    Aquatic animals, from fish to salamanders, are generally
    able to live with a low amount of oxygen in the water.
    Marshes provide habitats for many kinds of invertebrates,
    fish, amphibians, waterfowl and aquatic mammals.
    MARSHES
    Marshes also improve water quality by acting as a sink
    to filter pollutants and sediment from the water that
    flows through them.
    Marshes (and other wetlands) are able to absorb water
    during periods of heavy rainfall and slowly release it into
    waterways and therefore reduce the magnitude of
    flooding.
    TYPES OF
    MARSHES

    Marshes differ depending mainly on their location


    and salinity. The three main types of marsh are:

    1. salt marshes
    2. freshwater tidal marshes
    3. freshwater marshes
    SALT MARSHES

    A low area that is subject to regular, but gentle, tides,


    dominated by grasses.
    Salt marshes do not have trees or shrubs
    Salt marshes are dominated by specially adapted rooted
    vegetation, primarily salt-tolerant grasses.
    Texas salt marsh
    Salt marsh in Scotland
    FRESHWATER TIDAL MARSHES

    This form of marsh is affected by the ocean tides.


    However, without the stresses of salinity at work in its
    saltwater counterpart, the diversity of the plants and
    animals that live in and use freshwater tidal marshes is
    much higher than in salt marshes.
    Tidal marsh at the
    Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in
    FRESHWATER MARSHES

    Ranging greatly in both size and geographic location,


    freshwater marshes make up the most common form of
    wetland. They are also the most diverse of the three
    types of marsh.
    Ligawasan Marsh in Cotabato province
    Agusan Marsh in Agusan del Sur
    ESTUARIES
    An area in which fresh water from a
    river mixes with salt water from the
    ocean; a transition area from the land
    to the ocean.
    Other names: bay, sound, lagoon,
    harbor, or bayou.

    The Ocean

    Area where
    fresh and salt
    water mix

    River bringing
    freshwater to
    the sea
    Characteristics of Estuaries
    Water is brackish: a mixture of
    freshwater and saltwater

    There is a gradient (gradual


    change) in the salinity
    near the input from the river: 0-5 ppt
    in the middle of the estuary: 5-25ppt
    at the ocean: >25 ppt

    (ppt = parts per thousand, a unit for


    salinity)
    Characteristics of Estuaries
    Very nutrient rich ecosystems leads
    to high productivity and high
    biodiversity

    Fast-moving rivers and waves carry


    nutrient-rich particles

    Sediment settles out in the estuary


    when the water slows down

    It accumulates on the bottom


    (benthic zone)

    Great place for plants to grow!


    Functions of
    Estuaries

    1. habitat
    2. nursery
    3. fisheries
    4. recreation
    5. Water purification
    6. Flood control
    (from upstream)
    Estuary Plants and Animals

    Plants must be adapted to salty habitat

    Eel grass

    Cord grass
    glasswort a succulent
    Estuary Plants and Animals

    Huge variety of animals

    Horse shoe crab Mosquito oyster lobster

    bass egret Manatee Tern


    SEA GRASSES
    Sea grasses are found in shallow salty and
    brackish waters in many parts of the world
    Sea grasses are so-named because most
    species have long green, grass-like leaves.
    Sea grasses have roots, stems and leaves,
    and produce flowers and seeds.
    They are one of the most productive
    ecosystems in the world
    Sea grasses provide shelter and food to an
    incredibly diverse community of animals,
    from tiny invertebrates to large fish, crabs,
    turtles, marine mammals and birds.
    What are sea grasses?
    Sea grasses belong to a group of plants
    called monocotyledons that include
    grasses, lilies and palms. Like their relatives
    Sea grasses have leaves, roots and veins,
    and produce flowers and seeds.
    Chloroplasts in their tissues use the sun's
    energy to convert carbon dioxide and
    water into sugar and oxygen for growth
    through the process of photosynthesis.
    Where are sea grasses found?

    Sea grasses grow in salty and brackish


    (semi-salty) waters around the world,
    typically along gently sloping, protected
    coastlines.
    Many seagrass species live in depths of 3
    to 9 feet (1 to 3 meters), but the deepest
    growing seagrass (Halophila decipiens)
    has been found at depths of 190 feet (58
    meters).
    Halophila decipiens
    Seagrasses are found across the world, from the tropics to the arctic. Shades of green indicate
    the number of species reported for a given area. The darker shades of green indicate more
    species are present.
    Ecosystem Benefits
    Seagrasses are often called foundation plant
    species or ecosystem engineers
    Seagrasses have been used by humans for over
    10,000 years.
    Seagrasses support commercial fisheries and
    biodiversity, clean the surrounding water and
    help take carbon dioxide out of the
    atmosphere. Because of these benefits,
    seagrasses are believed to be the third most
    valuable ecosystem in the world
    Ecosystem Benefits
    Seagrasses are known as the "lungs of
    the sea" because one square meter of
    seagrass can generate 10 liters of oxygen
    every day through photosynthesis.
    Seagrasses are also called nursery
    habitats
    sea anemones

    Coconut crab
    Small invertebrates, such as these crustaceans (left) and
    gastropods (right), can help keep seagrasses clean by consuming
    epiphytic algae.
    CORAL REEFS
    Coral Reefs

    Coral polyps slowly build


    reefs by secreting a protective
    crust of limestone around their
    soft bodies. When the polyps
    die , their empty crust remain
    behind as a platform for more Polyps in limestone skeleton

    reef growth. The resulting


    elaborate network of crevices,
    ledges and holes serves as
    condominiums for a variety of
    marine animals.
    Elkhorn Coral
    Coral Reefs

    Zooxanthellae
    Corals live in a symbiotic
    relationship with algae called
    zooxanthellae; the algae are
    photosynthetic and give the
    coral food and oxygen; the
    algae get carbon dioxide and
    nutrients from the nitrogenous
    wastes of the coral
    Coral Reefs
    Although coral reefs only occupy
    about 0.1% of the worlds ocean
    area, they provide numerous
    ecological and economic services:

    1. They help moderate the Earths


    temperature by removing carbon dioxide
    from the atmosphere.
    2. 2. Act as natural barriers that help protect
    15% of the worlds coastline.
    3. They provide habitat for as many as 1
    million species
    4. Molecules derived have been used to
    develop antibiotics and drugs for certain
    cancers and HIV.
    Coral Reef Destruction
    1. Coral bleaching when
    temperatures go above
    normal, the algae in the
    coral can be rejected, the
    coral turns a whitish color
    and dies.
    Natural and/or manmade
    causes: El Nino, Global
    warming
    Coral Reef Destruction
    2. Physical damage
    Ships, anchors, tourist divers
    Dynamite fishing - reefs are damaged by
    physical destruction that may occur when
    people collect fish
    Coral Reefs Destruction

    Before trawling

    Deep sea bottom trawling poses the After trawling

    greatest threat to the coral habitats


    It does not just take away targeted
    fish species
    There is a considerable amount of by
    catch and corals are a major part of it
    Coral Reefs Destruction

    From the book of G. Tyler Miller and


    Scott Spoolman

    In 2005, 240 experts from 96 countries


    estimated that 1/5 of the worlds coral reefs are
    so damaged that they are unlikely to recover.
    They also projected that by 2050, half of the
    remaining coral reefs are likely be lost due to
    climate change, habitat loss, pollution and
    overfishing. Only about 300 of the worlds
    6000 coral reefs are protected (at least on
    paper) as reserves or parks.
    MANGROVE FOREST
    MANGROVE FOREST
    Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees that have
    adapted to living in salt and brackish water
    conditions. They vary in size from shrubs to
    tall trees and are found along sheltered
    tropical mudflats or wetlands or in
    association with estuaries and lagoons and
    may extend inland along rivers, streams and
    their tributaries.
    Mangrove

    These are plants of different


    species (e.g Red Mangrove)
    with tangled roots that reach
    above the water line, which
    form an important habitat for
    many aquatic animals.

    Each Mangrove species has its own


    environmental niche defined by its
    tolerance range for two abiotic factors:
    a. Soil salinity
    b. Soil oxygen levels
    Mangrove Adaptations

    Red Mangroves have special roots growing from


    the tree trunks that hold the plants up off the
    ground. This allows (prop roots) oxygen to enter
    the plant through the above ground roots and then
    move into the below ground roots.

    Black Mangroves, in contrast, send out horizontal


    roots in the soil close to the surface and then grow
    vertical hollow roots up out of the ground to
    provide oxygen for the plant.

    White Mangrove, with no specialized root system are the most


    successful of the mangrove species in more oxygenated, fresher
    water conditions.
    Aegiceras Corniculatum Ceriops Decandra

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