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An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. [1] Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone.
Organisms in marine ecosystems tolerate salinity, while many freshwater organisms are intolerant of salt. The degree of salinity in an estuary or delta is an important control upon the type of wetland (fresh, intermediate, or brackish), and the associated animal species. Dams built upstream may reduce spring flooding, and reduce sediment ...
The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various species of life, such as sea stars, sea urchins, and many species of coral with regional differences in ...
Lagoons are areas that are separated from larger water by natural barriers such as coral reefs or sandbars. There are two types of lagoons, coastal and oceanic/atoll lagoons. [23] A coastal lagoon is, as the definition above, simply a body of water that is separated from the ocean by a barrier.
An intertidal wetland is an area along a shoreline that is exposed to air at low tide and submerged at high tide. This type of wetland is defined by an intertidal zone and includes its own intertidal ecosystems .
Worldwide, continental shelves occupy a total area of about 24 million km 2 (9 million sq mi), 8% of the ocean's total area and nearly 5% of the world's total area. [ 29 ] [ 30 ] Since the continental shelf is usually less than 200 metres deep, it follows that coastal habitats are generally photic , situated in the sunlit epipelagic zone .
an ecotone describes a variation in species prevalence and is often not strictly dependent on a major physical factor separating one ecosystem from another, with resulting habitat variability. An ecotone is often unobtrusive and harder to measure. an ecotone is the area where two communities interact.
A rock, seen at low tide, exhibiting typical intertidal zonation. A specimen of the shell Pinna nobilis exposed by low tide. Because intertidal organisms endure regular periods of immersion and emersion, they essentially live both underwater and on land and must be adapted to a large range of climatic conditions.