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Marine Ecology > Coastal interfaces > Flashcards

Coastal interfaces Flashcards

1
Q

What are main environmental gradient factors in rocky interfaces?

A

Tide height and hydrodynamism, emersion period, temperature, salinity, oxygen and food availability

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2
Q

What is meant by zonation?

A

Clear layer distinction
Each layer is dominated by certain organisms
3 zones are visible

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3
Q

What are the three zones of rocky interfaces?

A

Supralitoral, eulitoral, infralitoral

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4
Q

What characterizes the supralitoral?

A

Wave action

Presence of lichens and litorinides

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5
Q

What characterizes eulitoral?

A

In the tidal range

Barnacles and mussels

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6
Q

What characterizes infralitoral?

A

Starts where low tide is

Presence of seaweed and kelps

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7
Q

What characterizes environmental gradient of sandy interfaces?

A

Tide height and hydrodynamism, particles’ dimension

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8
Q

Is zonation present in sandy interfaces?

A

No

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9
Q

What organisms live in sandy interfaces?

A

Endobenthic small organisms, polychaetes, bivalves, and several larger crustaceans.

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10
Q

What are the two kinds of beaches?

A

Reflective and dissipative

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11
Q

What characterizes reflective beaches?

A

Narrow and steep profile, reflect waves and have larger grain size
The biological community is less diverse and abundant

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12
Q

Describe dissipative beaches

A

Large, flat and shallow profile, fine sediments and larger wave profile
Rich biological community, particularly subtidal zone

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13
Q

What are estuaries?

A

Transition zones where the river meets the sea

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14
Q

Describe geological formation of estuaries

A

1) During ice ages covered in ice or empty due to much lower sea level
2) Inundation of valleys after ice thawing
3) Dynamic systems, rich in sediments

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15
Q

Until what height is an estuary considered such?

A

Up to sea elevation inside river valley

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16
Q

Into what parts is an estuary divided?

A

1) Marine/ Inferior, connected to the sea
2) Medium, mixed seawater and fresh water
3) Fluvial/Superior, mostly freshwater and influenced by diurnal tide action

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17
Q

Is an estuary always open to the sea?

A

Not necessarily, it can be periodically closed off, depending on the inflow of river water, which influences salinity

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18
Q

What is an estuary divided into based on water mixing?

A

Tidal river
Mixing zone
Turbid coastal zone

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19
Q

Describe tidal river zone

A

Absence of salinity fluctuations but with changes in water level

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20
Q

Describe mixing zone

A

Mix of water masses and strong physical, chemical and biological gradients
Extends until opening in the sea

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21
Q

Describe turbid coastal zone

A

Located in open ocean

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22
Q

What is the order of estuary type following rising sea level?

A

1) Fjord, narrow and U profile
2) V profile
3) Funnel shaped estuary

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23
Q

Describe fjords

A

elevated glacial sediments barrier limits sea water intrusion
Low oxygen and organisms in depth

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24
Q

Describe V profiles

A

Divided into channels and less deep than funnel estuaries

25
Q

What is delta?

A

Low-lying plain, formed by accumulation of alluvium (fluvial sediments)

26
Q

How does a tectonic estuary form?

A

Sink of land as result of faults moving

27
Q

How is tidal range divided?

A

Microtidal <2m
Mesotidal 2-4m
Macrotidal >4m

28
Q

How are estuaries classified based on horizontal salinity gradient?

A

Positive, inverse (salinity of river is higher than sea due to evaporation) or neutral

29
Q

How are estuaries classified based on vertical salinity profile?

A

1) Well mixed, same salinity in the whole profile
2) Highly stratified (with salt wedge), much higher salinity in the bottom
3) Partially stratified (less significant salt wedge), limited mixing zone between sea and fresh water

30
Q

How does salinity vary spatially and temporally?

A

Spatially in longitude and vertically

Temporally with diurnal or semi-diurnal tide, also seasonally

31
Q

How is sediment ditributed in the estuary?

A

Large sediment is deposited where flow velocity of river and tide is higher (gravel or shells, than sand)
At lower velocity, where river and tide meet, silt is deposited

32
Q

What causes flocculation in estuary?

A

Negatively charged clay particles are balanced by positive ions from seawater, and are not repelled but can stick together, causing flocculation and turbidity

33
Q

Where is maximum turbidity?

A

at null point: point on the bottom of the water where the sum of sea and river current is zero. Moves with tides

34
Q

What are three types of deltas?

A

River - elongated
Tide - fan-shaped and channels perpendicular to coast
Wave - waves push sediments and delta is defined and parallel to shore

35
Q

How is species diversity in estuaries?

A

Low, as compared to high productivity

36
Q

Define ecotone

A

Area of rapid alteration in between two homogeneous ecological communities (seawater and freshwater). Usually dynamic and unstable

37
Q

Define ecocline

A

Gradual frontier of change between two systems

It is a gradient zone, containing heterogeneous communities, more stable than ecotones

38
Q

Define double ecocline

A

Zone with species that occurr in both saline and fresh zone of the estuary

39
Q

What is physiological plasticity?

A

Metabolic cost of living in variable natural habitat

40
Q

What are euryhaline organisms?

A

Can tolerate high range of salinity, most species in the estuary

41
Q

What are stenohaline organisms?

A

Species that tolerate small range of salinity, therefore live in the extremities of estuary, in marine or river water

42
Q

How are species divided based on osmolarity?

A

Osmoconformes - vary osmolarity according to external osmolarity
Limited osmoregulators - limited ability to osmoregulate
Osmoregulators - do not vary their internal osmolarity, independent of external

43
Q

What is osmolarity?

A

Numer of dissolved particles in a solution

44
Q

Estuarine species

A

Live in estuaries, highly euryhaline

45
Q

Marine migrants

A

Spawn at sea but use estuaries as nurseries, they are highly euryhaline

46
Q

Marine stragglers/occasionals

A

Marine species that occasionally enter the estuary, mostly live in coastal interface
Usually stenohaline

47
Q

Anadromous species

A

Live in the sea but cross the estuary to reach freshwater, where they reproduce

48
Q

Catadromous species

A

Live in freshwaters, but cross the estuary to reach the sea, where they reproduce

49
Q

Freshwater species

A

Live in freshwater and stenohaline

50
Q

What are salt/tidal marshes?

A

habitats with vegetation tolerant to high salinity
In the zone between tides of estuarine and marine systems. They are sheltered from tidal currents and wave action, and characterized by fine sediments and organic matter

51
Q

What are vegetation rhizomes?

A

Laterally extended vegatation that has roots in underwater soil, but extend outside of water. Usually spread asexually. Rhizome system slows water movement and favours sedimentation

52
Q

Why is zonation present in salt marshes?

A

Because of different tide height, salinity tolerance and competition between species moving from the sea

53
Q

What does halophyte mean?

A

Tolerant to salt water

54
Q

What are mangrove forests?

A

Habitats of halophyte vegetation of larger size, occurring in tropical zones

55
Q

Is zonation present in mangrove habitats?

A

yes

56
Q

What are seagrasses?

A

Habitats of halophyte coastal vegetation, the only one capable of producing flowers in submerged conditions. Low hydrodynamics and high sedimentation

57
Q

What are some coastal system ecoservices?

A

Regulation, provision and culture

58
Q

What is blue carbon?

A

Carbon uptaken by marine ecosystems and plants

59
Q

What are kelp forests?

A

Forests of brown algae, found in temperate rocky coastal areas rich in nutrients

Marine Ecology (12 decks)

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