Geography - Coasts EQ2

Question 1

What are coastal ecosystems?

Answer 1

Areas where land and water join. They include coral reefs, mangroves, bays, etc which are home to many plants and animals.

Question 2

What are ecosystem services?

Answer 2

Benefits people obtain from ecosystems. They are called coastal ecosystem services.
Ecosystem services are usually classified into provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services.

Question 3

What are provisioning services?

Answer 3

Coastal ecosystems provide products such as fish, seafood, water, timber and others.
- People depend on catching seafood/algae for food, fish meal and fish oil. Their main diet + source of income
- Wave and tidal energy can be harnessed and converted into
electrical energy.
- Timbre for building boats and houses and wood fuel can be obtained from mangrove forests.
- Seashells and coral pieces are also sources of ornamental resources.

Question 4

What are regulating services?

Answer 4

Coastal ecosystems help regulate the coastal environment. They help stabilize shorelines, prevent
flooding and provide protection from storms and natural hazards.
* Reduce the impact of shoreline erosion
* Mangroves can absorb wave energy better than open coastlines, hence protects the coasts from storms and natural hazards.

Question 5

What cultural services do coastal ecosystems provide?

Answer 5

Coasts provide cultural services, which are non- material benefits such as recreational, aesthetic
and spiritual benefits.
* Outdoor activities and tourism relating to coastal areas are common, including sea sports, leisure
activities by the beach, beach resorts and eco-tourism.
- Many coasts are places
of scenic beauty that turn into major tourist destinations.

Question 6

What supporting services do coastal ecosystems provide?

Answer 6

• Coastal ecosystems support the production of ecosystem services.
• They sustain a wide range of habitats, such as the mangrove habitat, coral reef habitat and beach habitat. These natural environments in which plants and animals live are valuable to people and the living creatures.

Question 7

What are some human activities in coastal areas?

Answer 7

• Fisheries and aquaculture
• Housing and transportation
• Tourism and recreation
• Ports, harbours and piers
• Wind farming
• Desalination
• Sand mining, salt extraction
• Waste disposal operations
• Oil refining

Question 8

What are the environmental factors affecting coral growth?

Answer 8

• Warm water
• Clear, shallow saltwater
  
  • Water with high turbidity restricts sunlight penetration. Water with a lot of sediments may suffocate living corals.
  • Lower salinity levels inhibit coral growth.

Question 9

What are the environmental values of coral reefs?

Answer 9

Allows a wide range of marine creatures to breed and grow. Coral reefs support more than 25 percent of the earth’s marine fish
species. Coral reefs have the ability to absorb wave energy generated in the open seas, thus protecting the adjacent land mass from erosion.

Question 10

What are the economic values of coral reefs?

Answer 10

Coral reefs and their nearby land areas are commonly developed as tourist attractions. (Insert Great Barrier Reef example)
Jewellery and ornaments made from corals are often favoured as souvenirs by tourists visiting coral reefs, boosting the local economy.

Question 11

What are pressures on coral reefs?

Answer 11

Overfishing: Depletion of fish disrupts the delicate
balance of the ecosystem’s food chain.
Tourism activities: Waste may be discharged into water and stress corals; boat anchors may damage corals.
Pollution: Excess fertilizers and pesticides washed from agricultural land, etc. Water can become turbid or murky, which affects coral growth. Toxic untreated sewage waste can kill coral reefs. Fertilizers and excess nutrients from sewage can fuel excessive algae and seaweed growth that can take over the reefs.
Coastal development: Can lead to clearing of vegetation, development of structures, etc.
Climate change: Rapid changes in sea temperatures and
sea levels may be faster than the ability of the reefs and their associated life forms to adjust. Stresses corals and leads to coral bleaches where they evict algae which leaves them vulnerable to disease.

Question 12

What is the distribution of mangroves?

Answer 12

Located in sheltered coasts between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Question 13

What are the environmental conditions affecting the growth of mangroves?

Answer 13

Calm, with no strong waves and tidal currents. They allow mud and plant litter to accumulate and mangroves to thrive.

Question 14

What characteristics of mangroves allow them to survive in saline conditions?

Answer 14

The leaves are specially adapted to regulate the amount of salt in the tree.
- some plants are ultrafiltrators
- some plants have filtration mechanism to exclude most salts during the absorption of water
- they remove salt by storing it in old leaves which eventually fall off
- some species are salt secretors, which have special glands to excrete salt
* salt is secreted on their leaves which are then removed by wind or rain

Question 15

What are the different zones in mangroves?

Answer 15

Coastal Zone (seaward front of the mangroves), Middle Zone, and Inland Zone

Question 16

What characteristics of mangroves allow them to survive in water-logged soil and tides?

Answer 16

The structure and dominant species in each zone varies due to environmental conditions. Due to the waterlogged conditions, the soil lacks oxygen.
Coastal Zone: Subject to regular strong effects of tides and sediments changes. They have pencil roots to maintain stability. The roots are exposed during low tides which allows them to take in oxygen.
Middle Zone: Mangroves are denser. Prop roots are developed to support their height and maintain greater stability.
Inland Zone: Kneed roots trap soil between their roots. Soil provides nutrients for plant growth. Submerged by tides for fewer days.

Question 17

How do mangrove fruits adapt to the conditions?

Answer 17

Due to the tides and muddy soil, some are buoyant, so that waves and currents can carry them away to a new coastal location where they take
root. Some others germinate while still attached to the parent tree and droop directly into the grown to take root. Hence they have elongated structure with sharp tips that help the fruit anchor themselves in soft muddy soil.

Question 18

What are the values of mangrove ecosystems?

Answer 18

Stabilising shorelines: Dense roots absorb wave energy. Built-up of sediments protect coastal areas from erosion.
Biodiversity: Habitat for many animals, e.g. barnacles, oysters, sponges, shrimp, 3000+ fish species.
Improving water quality: Fine sediments accumulated act as natural filters and purify the water.
Source of wood: Coastal communities rely on wood for construction.
Tourism: Contribute to tourism and recreational activities. e.g. Bonaire in the Caribbean offers snorkelling expeditions.

Question 19

What are the pressures on mangrove ecosystems?

Answer 19

Mangroves are cleared for fuel and charcoals, which reduces fish breeding grounds and makes coasts more vulnerable to erosion.
Converted into farms, e.g. shrimp farms. (affects coasts the same way)
Water pollution from agricultural development and factories dropping waste and fertiliser. Can overwhelm the balance of mangrove ecosystems.
Rising sea levels and extreme storm activity from climate change can cause trouble for mangroves when colonising areas further inland as the sea level rises.