Estuaries: Nurseries of the Sea
Tomaga River Estuary - Courtesy of NSW Government Natural Resources
An estuary is a biome where the river meets the sea. Estuarine soil is rich in nutrients, and because of this, an abundant and diverse population of plants and animals flourish here. For this reason, estuaries are sometimes called, "Nurseries of the Sea" with good reason. Millions of birds and other seasonal organisms come for the food and chance to mate.
Wildlife adaptations
Plants in estuaries must have special adaptations to survive in the brackish waters of estuaries. For example, pickleweeds store salt from the brackish water in their specially developed vacuoles. Similar to estuarine plants, animals that live here must also gain adaptations. Birds such as the Great Blue Heron have long beaks and legs to stand in the water and use their beaks to spear fish.
This pickleweed is able to separate salt from water
- Wikimedia Commons
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Great Blue Herons and other birds are the most prominent predators of fish in estuaries
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Tides
All living things in an estuary depend on the oxygen and nutrients that is brought from the tide.
Organisms that live in an estuary are dependent on the tide. High tide brings oxygen and moisture to the animals and
plants that live in the tidal zone. without the the tides, estuarine organisms would have to find other ways to find food and oxygen.
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http://www.asdk12.org/staff/vanarsdale_mark/pages/mrva/marine/Estuaries.html
https://www.niwa.co.nz/our-science/freshwater/tools/nzestuaries/ails
http://www.ballonafriends.org/blog/2010/04/spring-at-ballona/4-pickle-weed-ballona-by-lisa-fimiani-2010/
http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/sanfranciscophoto1/ig/californiabirds/greatblueheron.htm
http://test.dnr.nsw.gov.au/estuaries/inventory/tomaga.shtml
http://www.noaa.gov/features/monitoring_0209/estuaries.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estuary
http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/transformations/coastal_research/estuary.html
https://www.niwa.co.nz/our-science/freshwater/tools/nzestuaries/ails
http://www.ballonafriends.org/blog/2010/04/spring-at-ballona/4-pickle-weed-ballona-by-lisa-fimiani-2010/
http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/sanfranciscophoto1/ig/californiabirds/greatblueheron.htm
http://test.dnr.nsw.gov.au/estuaries/inventory/tomaga.shtml
http://www.noaa.gov/features/monitoring_0209/estuaries.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estuary
http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/transformations/coastal_research/estuary.html
