Coastal Ecosystems: Salt Marshes and Mangroves

Coastal Ecosystems:
Salt Marshes and Mangroves
Marine Biology
Dr. Ouida Meier
Factors Driving Coastal
Ecosystems
Latitude
– temperature
– light, seasonality
Tidal cycles
– amplitude
– frequency
Wave energy
Degree of riverine input
– freshwater input
– alluvial sediments and deposition
– turbidity
Factors Driving Coastal
Ecosystems (cont.)
Geological characteristics
– rock
– sand
– sediment
Hydrological characteristics
– nearshore currents
– transport
Continental proximity
– nutrient input
– anthropogenic impacts
Recap: Rocky Intertidal
Our example (Pacific Northwest): high latitude, so
Cold Pacific waters, strong seasonality
Tidal cycle: high amplitude, semi-diurnal
Wave energy high
Freshwater input – riverine characteristics modified
by bay / estuary
Geology: rocky cliffs, interspersed w/sandy beach
Hydrology: strong nearshore currents & transport
Continental edge, input via interaction with
terrestrial systems
Salt Marsh Ecosystems
Our example (southeastern U.S.: Gulf and Atlantic
coasts): moderate latitude, so
“Warm” Atlantic and warmer Gulf and Gulf stream
waters, moderated seasonality
Tidal cycle: low amplitude
Wave energy low
Freshwater input often critical – deltaic riverine input
can result in extensive marsh systems, abundant
alluvial sediment input. Salt accumulation a challenge.
Geology: long-term alluvial sediment accumulation
Hydrology: nearshore currents & transport important
Continental edge, nutrient input via runoff, rivers
Salt marsh and tidal channels in coastal Georgia
Plants of the Salt Marsh
Community
Spartina alterniflora – marsh cordgrass
– height depends on riverine or tidal flushing
– export of dried mats during winter storms
– exclude salt from roots
Salicornia – a succulent
– Salt pans
Fresher water and soils / higher ground: other
grasses (Spartina patens), rushes (Juncus
romerianus), sedges
Zonation based on topography, inundation of
freshwater, fresh/salt fluctuation, tidal flushing,
relative stresses, anoxia of soils, latitudinal gradient
(e.g., east coast U.S.).
Salt marsh replanted after a break in an oil pipeline
Animals of the Salt Marsh Community
Geukensia demissa – dominant mussel
– lives in sediment
– physiological variation with tidal cycles
Crassostrea virginica – oyster
– dense beds in well-flushed tidal channels
Littorina irrorata – salt marsh snails; pulmonates
Thais haemostoma – oyster drill
Uca pugnax, other Uca spp. – fiddler crabs
Sesarma cinereum - marsh crabs
(These examples are particularly for south Louisiana and coastal Georgia; other species
will occur elsewhere, filling slightly modified niches depending upon range, region,
and local conditions.)
An herbivore in the salt marsh community
Salt Marsh Communities:
Highly productive
Very stressful
Trap sediment
Stabilize and extend coastlines, especially those
with fluvial input
Food webs detritus-based; herbivory may be
more important than previously thought; “trophic
relays” convey biomass to adjacent ecosystems
Low diversity, high productivity
Wetlands Loss: Salt Marshes
Coastal erosion and wetland loss due to channelization
and levees along the Mississippi, dams on its tributaries,
land settling from groundwater pumping and use, and
channels cut through the marsh for offshore drilling
platforms.
Estimates of Louisiana coastal wetland loss for 1978-90

indicate a loss of about 35 square miles a year of
freshwater and non-freshwater marshes and forested and
scrub-shrub wetlands. From 1978-90, that equalled a 12-
year loss of about 420 square miles, an area twice the size
of the populated greater New Orleans area.
http://www.lacoast.gov/news/press/1997-10-27.htm
http://www.tulane.edu/~bfleury/envirobio/saltmarsh.html
http://www.bonitanews.com/03/10/naples/e1631a.htm
Example of salt marsh decline in south Louisiana, http://www.brownmarsh.net
Mangrove Ecosystems
Our example (south Florida): subtropical latitude, so
“Warm” Atlantic and warmer Gulf and Gulf stream
waters, limited seasonality (moving toward rainy/dry
seasons)
Tidal cycle: low amplitude
Wave energy low
Freshwater input important – can be sheetlike
(Everglades) rather than distinctly riverine; alluvial
sediment input. High tannins from leaf input.
Geology: long-term alluvial and peat accumulation
Hydrology: more inundated than salt marshes;
nearshore currents & transport important
Continental edge, nutrient input via runoff, rivers
Red mangroves, low tide, south Florida
Plants of the Mangrove Community
Rhizophora mangle – red mangrove
– prop roots; extrudes salt
Avicennia germinans – black mangrove
– pneumatophores; extends to coastal Louisiana
where it, unusually, coexists w/ Spartina
Laguncularia racemosa – white mangrove
These have viviparous propagules

Much higher diversity in the Indo-Pacific
Zonation and Distribution of mangroves is affected by flooding,
salinity, temperature fluctuations (air/soil/water), and soil.
Animals of the Mangrove Community
Prop roots of red mangroves provide substrate for
benthic organisms (algae, sponges, hydroids,
tunicates, bryozoans)
Mangrove swamps provide critical protected
nursery areas for fishes, crustaceans, and
shellfish.
Dense mangrove branches serve as rookeries for
many coastal species of birds
Organisms reared in mangrove swamps become
food for fish (snook, snapper, tarpon, jack,
sheepshead, red drum) oysters, and shrimp.
Prop root communities
Wetlands Loss: Mangrove Swamps
Many acres of mangroves in south Florida
have been lost to development and to
anthropogenic changes in hydrology.
Globally, many areas of mangroves are
being cut for wood or converted to
aquaculture or mariculture ponds (e.g.,
fish, shrimp, prawns for seafood
restaurants).
Concomitant declines in offshore fisheries
can be expected and have been seen.
Mangrove swamp in Mexico
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Coastal Ecosystems: Salt Marshes and Mangroves

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Coastal Ecosystems:

Salt Marshes and Mangroves

Estimates of Louisiana coastal wetland loss for 1978-90

These have viviparous propagules

http://www.worldofteaching.com is home to over a

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