Marine Habitat: Mangroves & Estuaries / Mångle
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Marine Habitat: Mangroves & Estuaries / Mångle
Red mangrove. (Photo by Chris Lobban)
Mangroves and Estuaries: Coastal areas where freshwater from rivers mixes with the sea are known as estuaries. Thick plant growth along sheltered shorelines and river banks helps coral reefs by filtering silt and pollutants that wash into the rivers. Nutrients washed into the rivers as well as from decaying vegetation feeds phytoplankton that are the basis of the food chain. The shelter provided by plants and abundance of plankton makes estuaries ideal nursery grounds for many kinds of animals. The young of many kinds of reef fishes live in the lower, more saline parts of estuaries before migrating to coral reef habitats. Other kinds of fishes and crustaceans remain in estuaries throughout their adults lives. Mangrove crabs live in burrows among the roots of riverbank trees. All of Guam's native freshwater fishes and shrimps live in the sea as either eggs or larvae and migrate back to rivers, passing through estuaries as tiny young.
Seagrass beds: Seagrasses occur on shallow sheltered reef flats and in lagoons and tend to be most abundant in areas enriched by nutrients washed into the sea by rivers. By trapping silt and decaying plant particles, seagrasses help stabilize the bottom making it more resistent to erosion caused by storm waves. Seagrasses are very important to many kinds of animals. They provide shelter for the young of many kinds of fishes as well as the adults of others. Many animals feed on the growing tips of seagrasses or epiphytic algae that grows on the blades while some feed on the mature blades themselves.
Guam Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 9/27/2005
