INSHORE MARINE HABITATS
By:Axel Alvira
Abiotic Factors
TOPOGRAPHY: Low-lying, coastal areas covered by shallow water.
PROCESSES / DYNAMICS / ABIOTIC FACTORS: Habitats contain sea water diluted by land runoff; water temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen are important determiners of species' diversity and overall ecosystem productivity.
Fauna
Benthic (bottom) organisms determine to a considerable degree the community that lives in overlying water column; many fish and invertebrate species spend all or part of their life cycle in these habitats; shrimp, blue crabs, and spotted seatrout are examples of especially important recreational and commercial species; oysters are concentrated in inshore areas along the Gulf coast, particularly the Apalachicola estuary.
Human Impacts
Upland restrictions of freshwater flow; removal of wetlands and grass beds; pollution from industrialization, urbanization, recreation, and agriculture.
Vegetation / Algae
Submerged sea grass beds are one of the most productive and important habitats of inshore marine systems; these beds are also substrates for epiphytic (attached) algae, an important component of the sea grass food web.
What are one of the selectable animal native to the Inshore Marine Habitats ecosystem?
Brown Pelican