Mangroves

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Mangroves

• Mangroves are large woody trees with a dense,
  complex root system that grows downward from the
  branches
• Mangroves are the dominant plant of the tropical
  and subtropical intertidal area
• Distribution of the trees is largely controlled
  by air temperature, exposure to wave and current
  attack, tidal range, substrate and sea water
  chemistry
• Detritus from the mangrove forms the base of the
  food chain

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Wetland Destruction

• Human Actions have reduced wetlands to less than
  half of their land area
• Draining for agriculture
• Draining for housing/urban development
• Draining for mosquito prevention
• Pollution due to dumping and runoff

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Fig. 11.36a, p.288
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Fig. 11.36b, p.288
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Wetland Protection

• Clean Water Act
• Protects wetlands by preventing dredge and fill
  operations in nations waters including wetlands
• Protected under water quality clauses of clean
  Water Act
• National pollutant discharge elimination
• Executive Order 11990
• No Net Loss protects wetlands by requiring
  restoration or mitigation of wetlands lost by
  development.

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Marine

• cover about three-fourths of the Earths surface
  and include oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries
• algae supply much of the worlds oxygen supply
  and take in a huge amount of atmospheric carbon
  dioxide
• evaporation of the seawater provides rainwater
  for the land

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Oceans

• largest of all the ecosystems
• dominate the Earths surface
• separate zones
• Coastal
• Estuaries and wetlands
• Intertidal
• Pelagic
• Abyssal
• Benthic
• great diversity of species
• richest diversity of species even though it
  contains fewer species than there are on land

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Oceans
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Outerbanks Habitats
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Coastal Zones

• Large volumes of fresh water mix with salt water
• Temperature and salinity levels vary widely due
  to
• Daily tides
• Seasonal variations of flow
• Unpredictable flow from freshwater sources
• Some of the worlds most productive ecosystems.

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Tidal Salt Water Marsh

• Coastal wetland
• Inundated with salt water as tides change
• Salt tolerant plants
• Cordgrass
• Switchgrass
• Glasswort/saltwort

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Estuaries

• enclosed body of water formed where freshwater
  from rivers and streams flows into the ocean,
  mixing with the salty sea water
• places of transition from land to sea, and from
  fresh to salt water
• influenced by the tides, but protected from the
  full force of ocean waves, winds, and storms by
  the reefs, barrier islands, or fingers of land,
  mud, or sand that define an estuary's seaward
  boundary

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Estuaries

• Subdivided into three types based upon the
  relative importance of river inflow and tidal
  mixing.
• Salt-wedge estuaries are dominated by the outflow
  from rivers.
• Partially-mixed estuaries are dominated by
  neither river inflow nor tidal mixing.
• In well-mixed estuaries tidal turbulence destroys
  the halocline and water stratification.

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Estuaries

• Estuaries are extremely fertile because nutrients
  are brought in by rivers and recycled from the
  bottom because of the turbulence.
• Stressful conditions and abundant nutrients
  result in low species diversity, but great
  abundance of the species present.
• Despite abundance of nutrients, phytoplankton
  blooms are irregular and the base of the food
  chain is detritus washed in from adjacent salt
  marshes.

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Functions of Estuaries

• Estuaries are sometimes called marine nurseries
  
• habitats for many juvenile organisms, especially
  for fishes
• many fish are born and grow up in estuaries
• migrate to the open ocean
• Wildlife Habitat
• Recreation

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Intertidal Zone

• where the ocean meets the land
• sometimes submerged and at other times exposed
• waves and tides come in and out
• communities are constantly changing

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Intertidal Zone

• rocky coasts
• stratified vertically
• Where only highest tides reach
• a few species of algae and mollusks
• submerged during high tide
• more diverse array of algae and small animals,
  such as herbivorous snails, crabs, sea stars, and
  small fishes
• bottom of the intertidal zone
• only exposed during the lowest tides, many
  invertebrates, fishes, and seaweed can be found

• sandier shores
• not as stratified
• waves keep mud and sand constantly moving
• very few algae and plants can establish
  themselves
• the fauna include worms, clams, predatory
  crustaceans, crabs, and shorebirds.

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Wave Regions

• much stronger than wind
• decide what grows where
• shores classified by amount of wave action
• Exposed shores receive full brunt of the ocean
  for most or at least some of the time
• Semi-exposed shores sheltered by barrier
  islands but still have to cope with waves
• Sheltered shores shelter of peninsulas and
  inshore islands
• Enclosed shores
• river mouths and estuaries
• completely sheltered by either a protective rocks
  or a sand bar

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Coral Reefs

• Form in clear, warm, coastal waters
• Occupy only about 0.1 of worlds ocean
• Most diverse and productive ecosystems
• Home to one fourth the marine species
• Attached organisms give reef structure
• Corals, algae and sponges
• Fish
• Other small organisms that bore in or live within
  the nooks of the coral.

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Aquatic Biodiversity

• Human impacts
• Species loss and endangerment
• Overfishing
• Habitat destruction
• Pollution
• Marine and Freshwater Habitat loss and
  degradation
• Overfishing
• Nonnative species
• Pollution and Global Warming

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Protecting Aquatic Species

• Protect endangered and threatened species
• Establish protected areas
• Integrated coastal management
• Regulating and preventing ocean pollution
• Sustainably managing marine fisheries

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Protect Threatened and Endangered Species

• Example Sea Turtles
• Lost due to
• Degradation of beach habitat
• Taking of eggs
• Used as food, medicine, jewelry and leather
• Unintentional capture and drowning
• Protected by
• Beach protection
• Nest watchers
• US ESA
• TEDs

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Laws

• CITES
• 1979 Global treaty on Migratory Species
• US Marine Mammal Protection Act
• US Endangered Species Act
• US Whale Conservation and protection act
• International Convention on Biological Diversity

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Role of Protected Marine Sanctuaries

• PMS areas of coastal regions controlled by the
  nation
• Sovereignty of the 12 miles off shore
• Jurisdiction of 200 mile Economic Zone
• Benefits of these areas
• Fish populations increase
• Fish size increases
• Fish reproduction triples
• Species diversity is 23 higher

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Integrated Coastal Management

• Community Based effort to develop and use coastal
  resources sustainable
• Identify shared problems and goals
• Find workable and cost effective solution that
  preserve biodiversity and environmental quality
  while meeting economic and social needs

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Managing World Fisheries

• Develop better measurement and models for
  projecting fish populations and controlling
  fishing methods and access to fisheries
• Methods
• Maximum sustained yield
• Optimum sustained yield
• Multispecies management
• Large marine system management
• Precautionary principle

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Methods

• MSY
• uses a mathematical model to project the max
  number of fish that can be harvested
• Leads to collapse of fish populations
• OSY
• Takes into account interactions with other fish
  species provide more room for error
• Is often ignored
• Multispecies management/Large Marine Systems
• Complex computer models that take into account
  competitive and predator-prey interactions in
  estimating fish catch

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Controlling Access to Fisheries

• International and National Laws
• Uses the Economic Exclusion Zones
• Community based comanagement
• Sets quotas for species
• Divides quotas among communities
• Limit fishing seasons and type of gear
• Individual transfer quotas

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Sustaining Stocks

• Fishery Regulations
• Economic approaches
• Bycatch
• Protected Areas
• Nonnative invasions
• Consumer information
• Aquaculture