Download Unique Characteristics of an Estuary

Estuary Biome
• Nathalie Ferrer
• Heather Nastasi
• Carolyn Grimes
Estuary Definition
• An estuary is a coastal body of water,
partially surrounded by land, in which
freshwater and salt water mix.
Where are estuaries?
•
•
You can find an estuary anywhere a river goes
into an ocean or sea.
For example: The Hudson River, The Mobile
Bay and The Great Bay.
Average Rainfall of an Estuary
• The average rainfall in the estuary in the
Hudson River is 42 inches per year or
about 3.5 inches a month.
Average Temperature of an
Estuary
• The average
temperature within
the estuary of the
Hudson River
generally follow mean
air temperature.
• Temperatures range
from 32 degrees F in
January, to 80.6
degrees F in July.
Growing Season
• The growing seasons are mainly during
Springs and Summers.
• So basically the main growing season last
for about 6 months.
• Some reasons are because the water is
warmer and there is more sunlight.
• In Alabama,85
species of fish
are considered
to be marine or
estuarine.
•Estuaries and
coastal waters
provide essential
habitat for over 75%
of the commercial
fish catch and 8090% of the
recreational catch of
fish.
• Fish living in
estuarine areas are
especially interesting
because they have to
adapt to the different
changes.
• Such as the daily rise
and fall of tides that
creates water flow
which distributes
different amounts of
food at different times
of day.
• Fishing, tourism, and recreational boating
which depend on healthy and productive
estuaries, provide more than 28 million
jobs for our nation.
• Rainy weather or hurricanes can cause bay and
delta waters to become fresher due to heavy
flows of water from rivers and streams within
the watershed, allowing fish such as
largemouth bass, bream, crappie, and catfish to
move downstream.
• Estuaries are among the most productive
natural systems on Earth due to the
mixing of nutrients from land and sea.
• Estuaries do
a lot of
cleansing.
Mangrove
leaves start to
decay before
they fall off
the tree.
• There are 102
estuaries in the U.S.
• Of these 28 have
been designated by
their state and
government to be of
national importance.
• In 1993 over 180
million Americans
visited estuaries to do
various sports such
as fishing, swimming,
and boating.
• Estuaries are
becoming more
and more polluted.
Now there is a
project going on
trying to save our
estuaries to keep
them cleaner and
healthier.
Salt Marsh Cord Grass
• The tall, thick blades
of grass growing in
four to five foot stands
at the water’s edge of
a tidal marsh are Salt
Marsh Cord Grass.
• They are able to
handle saltwater and
submersion at high
tide twice daily.
Sea Lavender
• In the early summer
Sea Lavender looks
like a bouquet of
branches rising up a
foot or more above a
clump of leathery,
spoon shaped basal
leaves.
• It grows in lower and
middle intertidal
zones alone or in
groups.
Common Glasswort
• The thick, jointed
branches of the
Common Glasswort
maintains a supply of
freshwater within
storage cells.
Eelgrass
• Eelgrass is a
flowering perennial
that grows in sunlit
sub tidal or intertidal
beds.
Sea Blite
• The Sea Blite salt
marsh prefers flooded
grounds.
• It has highly branched
stems with alternating
green leaves that
grow smaller toward
the end of the stems.
Salt Marsh Hay
• The Salt marsh Hay is
unable to cope with
prolonged
submersion in the
tides.
• It dominates low to
mid high marsh areas
that rarely flood.
Spike Grass
• Spike Grass is a
smaller, narrow
stemmed grass with
alternating green
leaves found
interspersed with salt
hay.
Black Grass
• During the
summertime, the
Black Grass is a high
marsh grass that is
often speckled with
dark brown.
• They are food to the
waterfowl, marsh
birds and song birds.
Perennial Salt Marsh Aster
• From August to
October, the
Perennial Salt marsh
Aster adds a splash
of color to the greens
and browns of the
high marsh with its
light purple, blue, or
white, daisy like
flowers.
American Coot
• American Coot is all
black with a white bill.
• They are omnivores
and mainly eat fish
and other aquatic
animals.
Harbor Seal
• The Harbor Seal has
a diet that consists of
mainly types of fish
like Flounder or
Perch.
Lesser Yellowlegs
• The Lesser
Yellowlegs is a
medium sized shore
bird with long bright
yellow legs, white
rump and tail.
• It eats mainly fish.
Western Gull
• The Western Gull
mainly eats
invertebrates and fish.
• It has white legs a
black bill and grey
and white feathers.
Black Brant
• The Black Brant eats
plants and eelgrass.
• It is black with a long
snout.
River Otter
• The River Otter is a
semi aquatic mammal
found in the North
American Continent.
• They hunt at night,
and eat fish,
amphibians, and
turtles.
• They have webbed
feet, water repellent
fur, and their ears
close when they go
into the water.
Lugworm
• The Lugworm has a
small head with no
eyes.
• It digs u shaped
borrows ranging from
7.8-15.7 inches.
• These worms will eat
sand particles.
Sun star
• Adult sun stars have
10-24 arms, while the
baby sun stars have
only 5.
• Sun Stars are one of
the largest and
heaviest sea stars.
American Wigeon
• The American
Wigeon lives across
North America from
Alaska southward to
Costa Rico.
• It feeds on aquatic
plants, such as wild
celery.
Shiner Perch
• The Shiner Perch is
one of the most
common fishes in an
estuary.
• They feed on Zoo
Plankton.
• Shiner Perch are
deep bodied with a
dusky greenish back.