MB Estuaries

What does shenohaline mean?

A species not able to tolerate a wide range of salinities

When were most current estuaries created?

After the retreat of the last glaciation.

Which one of these gives the best definition of an estuary?

An inlet of the sea reaching into a river valley as far as the upper mimit of a tidal rise.

what is the functionl zone?

adjacent area of the foodplain affecting the estuary

In which of these categories do fjords belong?

Coastal plain estuaries

Which category of estuary has generally high levels of sedimentation?

Bar built estuaries.

How much the global sea level risen since 1992?

10 cm

Which part of the world is currently more at risk from sea level rise?

Islands in the Pacific

where in the estuaries would you expect to find the finest sediment?

Near the middle

Where in the estuary is the dissolved oxygen sag likely to be?

Near the middle

Where in the estuary do you find the greatest salinity?

Near the mouth

Where is the tidal currents the strongest?

Near the mouth

What is osmoregulation?

The process of regulating salt and water balance across membranes

Fish who stay into the estuarine environment is?

Solely estuarine

Fish who go in the riverine, estuarine and marine environment is?

Anadromous

What type of behaviour does an eel have?

Catadromous

Primary production in estuaries is generally high.

False

Which group dominates generally production in estuaries?

Detritivores

Where would you most likely have hypoxic events?

Eutrophoc shallow areas.

What the food items estuarines birds feed on?

Seagrass, birds, small fish and invertebrates.

Mean alpha diversity decrease with increasing salinity range.

True

What is alpha diversity?

The species richness in an area.

In which part of the estuary should we expect the lowest diversity?

Near the middle

Which system is more resilient?

A system with high biodiversity

How large an area does the new "high seas treaty" aim to protect?
(New agreement reached by the intergovernmental conference on Marine Biodiversity and
Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction)

30 % of international waters.

what kind of organism are decomposers?

Heterotrophic

What is marine snow

Detritus sinking into the water column

(Production at trophic level i+1/Production at trophic leve)

What is calculated by this equation?

Trophic yield