Salt marshes

Rebecca Axelsson
Mathias Ludvigsson
Linn Johannesson
Robin Listerberg
Viktor Pettersson
Andreas Grmlund
BABORDS VAKT
April 2009

Introduktion

Objectives of the presentation

Theoretical background
Material and methods and zoon of
study
Results and discussion

Theoretical background
Estuaries are
partially enclosed
coastal regions
where fresh water
from rivers meets
and mixes with
seawater

Salt marshes are dominated by

cordgrasses, mud and other
marsh plants

 The dominant primary

producers on
mudflats are diatoms
and bacteria. Most of
the animals are
burrowing deposit and
suspension feeders
that feed on detritus.

Theoretical background
Estaurier can be
made in 4 different
ways. The name of
them are: drowned
river valleys, bar-built,
tectonic and fjords

The first one is called Drowned rivervalleys and they are the most
common type of estuaries. They were formed when the sea level rose
because of the melting of ice at the end of the last ice age, about 18000
years ago. The sea invaded lowlands and river mouths in the process.

 The second type of estuaries is the bar-built estuary.

Here the accumulation of sediments along the coast
builds up sand bars and barrier islands that act as a
wall between the ocean and fresh water from rivers.

 One of the other estuaries were created when the

land sank, as the results of movements of the crust.
These are called tectonic estuaries.

 The last type of estuaries are called fjords and they were created
when retreating glaciers cut deep, often spectacular, valleys along
the coast. The valleys were partially submerged when sea level

rose, and rivers now flow into them

Material and methods and zoon of study

The materials we used when we
researched the litoral zone were bags,
riverpants, plastic waterscope and
cameras
We walked around in the saltmarsh and
looked for organisms and different effects
on the marsh.
The place were we went researching was
a saltmarsh in Charleston

Results and discussion

We saw organisms who used different
strategies to survive in special areas.
A strategy that was used
was a crab hiding beneath
a stone, to protect itself
against dehydration and
land predators that can be
able to eat them when the
tides running low.

Results and discussion

Another strategy that
a clam was using
was to close itself to
keep water inside to
not dry out. The clam
had some kind of a
root that kept it in
place when abiotic
factors like waves
and tides were
affecting the clam.

Short summery

Sources
Marine Biology, Peter Castro, Michael E.
Huber. 2007. Published by The McGrawHill companies inc.
Havet, Fabien Cousteau. 2007. Published
by Globe Frlaget.