Vocab
Partially enclosed body of brackish water
Estuary
Estuaries have complex food webs bc...
amount of species, sizes, variety of species, abundance of vegetation
formed by sandbars building up
bar built
Importance of the Gulf of Mexico
Saltwater input for Tampa Bay
This anthophyta is an indicator species to understand the environmental conditions
Water that enters from major rivers or tributaries
Freshwater input
Animal that feeds on dead organic matter
Detritivore (feeds on detritus)
formed by rising sea levels flooding a river valley
If a river is polluted, why should people care?
An unhealthy watershed/river effects an estuary
Difference between deposit feeding & suspension feeding
Deposit: removes organic matter from sediments
Suspension: filters out plankton from seawater
The amount of energy transferred between trophic levels
10% (rest of 90% is lost through heat, metabolism, and waste)
Species that tolerate specific ranges of salinities
stenohaline
Tampa Bay
Biological Importance of estuaries
Important spawning grounds, nursery area, & feeding grounds
Tidal currents importance
Saltwater enters estuary bc of tidal currents
Herbivores are also called
Primary consumers
Very little mixing, high freshwater & low saltwater
salt wedge or highly stratified
Salinity of brackish water
Ranges 0.5-30ppt
Abiotic factors are always changing so the organisms must...
be hardy to live here and adapt to the changes
Adapts to a wide range of salinities
Euryhaline
Maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can support long term
Carrying capacity
Describe vertically stratified
complete mixing, weak freshwater input, & strong saltwater input
Tampa Bay gets freshwater input from...
Hillsborough River, Alafia River, Little Manatee River, and Manatee River
Geological importance
Protects coastlines, stabilizes sediments