Lagoons: Difference between revisions
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== Plant and Animal life in Lagoons == | == Plant and Animal life in Lagoons == | ||
Plant and Animal life is incredibly diverse in lagoonal areas. New Caledonia alone houses thousands of species within 20,000 square kilometers. There are numerous endemic species of fish, birds, mammals, and even over 2000 endemic plant species.<ref>http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150626/</ref><ref>Marquet, G. & Mary, N. 1999. In B. Seret & J.-Y. Sire. (Eds.), Proc. 5th Indo-Pac. Fish Conference, Noumea, 1997. pp. 29-39.</ref> This high number of endemic species is due to a warm climate with high variation in altitudes on islands in addition to a long time period of isolated evolution, typical of areas near Australia. Despite the high level of biodiversity in the area, current conservation institutions do not have adequate funding to properly manage and protect unique species such as '' | Plant and Animal life is incredibly diverse in lagoonal areas. New Caledonia alone houses thousands of species within 20,000 square kilometers. There are numerous endemic species of fish, birds, mammals, and even over 2000 endemic plant species.<ref>http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150626/</ref><ref>Marquet, G. & Mary, N. 1999. In B. Seret & J.-Y. Sire. (Eds.), Proc. 5th Indo-Pac. Fish Conference, Noumea, 1997. pp. 29-39.</ref> This high number of endemic species is due to a warm climate with high variation in altitudes on islands in addition to a long time period of isolated evolution, typical of areas near Australia. Despite the high level of biodiversity in the area, current conservation institutions do not have adequate funding to properly manage and protect unique species such as ''Galaxius neocaledonicus'' and ''Phoboscincus bocourti''. | ||
== Importance to Coral Reefs == | == Importance to Coral Reefs == | ||
Revision as of 14:08, 15 April 2015
Lagoons
Lagoons are a bod of shallow water surrounded by barriers. These barriers can include things such as coral reefs, barrier islands, sand bars, and anything that can protect an area from the outside ocean. There are multiple kinds of lagoons: Coastal, Atoll, and Hapua Lagoons can be found around the world.[1]
Coastal Lagoons
Coastal Lagoons are found surrouding portions of continents and are commonly sheltered by sandbars or barrier islands. Also commonly called estuaries, well-known coastal lagoons such as Pamlico and Albermarle Sound of North Carolina are important transition zones between freshwater rivers and the saltwater oceans.
Atoll Lagoons
Atoll lagoons are formed by upward growing coral reefs. These reefs grow upwards until the point where the only thing showing above water is the reefs themselves.
Hapua
Hapua are a unique type of lagoon that form near riverheads and are primarily composed of fresh water. Common on New Zealand coastlines, Hapua are important to a number of migratory birds and fish.
Locations
There are numerous famous Lagoons throughout the world. One of the most well known would be the Great Barrier Reef Lagoons which are off the coast of Australia. A few other lagoons around the world are the Sounds of North Carolina, the Maldives, and even Venice. There is even one lagoon that appears on the UNESCO World Heritage list, the Reefs of New Caledonia[2].
Plant and Animal life in Lagoons
Plant and Animal life is incredibly diverse in lagoonal areas. New Caledonia alone houses thousands of species within 20,000 square kilometers. There are numerous endemic species of fish, birds, mammals, and even over 2000 endemic plant species.[3][4] This high number of endemic species is due to a warm climate with high variation in altitudes on islands in addition to a long time period of isolated evolution, typical of areas near Australia. Despite the high level of biodiversity in the area, current conservation institutions do not have adequate funding to properly manage and protect unique species such as Galaxius neocaledonicus and Phoboscincus bocourti.
Importance to Coral Reefs
[5] -serve as a nursery area for a number of species[6]
Dangers: Eutrophication
[7] -being near shore, runoff and other human influences lead to eutorophication which destroys the habitat making it unusable for current species
References
- ↑ http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/lagoon/?ar_a=1
- ↑ http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1115
- ↑ http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150626/
- ↑ Marquet, G. & Mary, N. 1999. In B. Seret & J.-Y. Sire. (Eds.), Proc. 5th Indo-Pac. Fish Conference, Noumea, 1997. pp. 29-39.
- ↑ http://imedea.uib-csic.es/master/cambioglobal/Modulo_III_cod101608/Tema_9-eutrofizacion_hipoxia%20agua+sedimento/eutrofizacion%20+%20impacto%20hipoxia/water%20res%2026%20pp553-568.pdf
- ↑ http://www.batiquitosfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Factsheet_Fish.pdf
- ↑ http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/techrpt/83-01.pdf