ESTUARY

Characteristics It is an enclosed body of water where rivers and seawaters or freshwater and salt waters meet and mix. Display characteristics of both marine and freshwater biomes, because they typically have substantial inflows of fresh water from the nearby land, along with large fluctuations ofsaltwater resulting from tidal cycles. Examples of estuaries include coastal bays, sounds, river mouths, salt marshes, and tropical mangrove forests. Estuaries are highly productive ecosystems because their large water-borne inputs of terrestrial nutrients are partially retained by their semi-enclosed water circulation. Estuaries provide importanthabitatfor juvenile stages of many commercially important species of fish, shellfish, and crustaceans, and they are often characterized as "nursery" habitat for these species. The tidal, sheltered waters of estuaries support unique communities of plants and animals, specially adapted for life at the margin of the sea. They are the most productive environment on earth that they create more organic matter than comparably sized areas of forest, grassland, or agricultural land. Productivity and variety of estuarine habitats promote abundance and diversity of wild life. There exist different types of estuaries which are either classified on the basis of their geomorphology or on the basis of their water circulation. Drowned River Valleys or Coastal Plains sea invaded lowlands; most common Bar Built Sand builds up to form sand bars and barrier Tectonic Land sinks or earth moves Fjord-Glacier Carved retreating glaciers cut deep valleys that are partially submerged Physical Characteristics Salinity in a salt wedge substrateAbiotic Factors Because an estuary is a transition zone, it has abiotic factors which affect the fresh water biome such as fresh water flow and sedimentation, and also in marine biomes such as tides and waves. 1. Salinity of water varies across the estuary from no salt to seawater,2. Amount of sunshine plants and other organisms rely on the amount of sunlight for photosynthesis3. Nutrient concentration With the increased usage of fertilizer, rains can cause the nutrients to flow into the rivers and then the bay. The addition of too much nutrients, called eutrophication, can cause algae blooms, which then cause the O2 concentration to drop because of the decomposers use the oxygen.4. Dissolved oxygen concentration organisms living in estuaries rely on the amount of oxygen for survival 5. Climate estuaries only consists 3 seasons (Fall is not present). During the spring season a lot of rainfall occurs in the estuaries. In the summer hot spells occur causing estuaries to be still, low oxygen levels come about along with high temperatures. Winter brings thin layers of ice that removes algae and small organisms on the rocks.

ADDITIONAL:Ecological interactionAnimal/Plant Interaction Commensalism mosquitos benefit from sucking the blood of animals such as birds and mammals. Mutualism Some crocodiles live with small black birds which keep them clean. At the same time, birds benefit from having protection. Parasitism Bacteria are abundant in estuaries, special in waters kept still. Bacteria coming from the ocean may cause harmful diseases such as hepatitis, staff infections, or dysentery.

SOURCES: Read more:Biome - Major Biomes And Their Characteristics, Freshwater Biomes - Terrestrial biomes, Marine biomes, Human-dominated biomes - Species, Forest, Ecosystems, and Water - JRank Articleshttp://science.jrank.org/pages/897/Biome.html#ixzz3Aa9mAKIghttp://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/estuaries.htmlhttp://w3.lasallehs.org/courses/science/biology/html/biomes__estuary.htmlhttp://www.buzzle.com/articles/estuary-biome.htmlhttp://sanfranciscoestuarybiomeproject.wikispaces.com/Abiotic+and+Biotic+Factorshttps://sites.google.com/site/estuarybiomechowilawu/what-is-an-estuary