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