ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES(ES)

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Lesson 13: Types of ecosystems

Estuarine ecosystem

An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water which has a free connection with the open sea, thus strongly affected by tidal action and within which sea water is mixed with freshwater form land drainage. The various trophic components are:

• Producers: There are three types of producers, the macrophytes (sea-weeds, sea grass and marsh grasses), benthic microphytes and phytoplankton.
  
• Consumers: A number of zooplankton, crabs, crustaceans and some native species of fishes capable of surviving in estuarine conditions form primary, secondary and tertiary consumers of the estuarine ecosystem.
  
• Decomposers: include bacteria and fungi.