Aquatic biomes

• South Africa's coastlines run over 3000 kilometers from the mouth of the Orange River on the west Kosi Bay on the east coast
• The coastline has the following features:

  • The East Coast where the warm Agulhas current influences the water temperature
  • The west coast where the cold nutrient-rich waters of the Benguela currently flow
  • The east coast waters have a greater biotic diversity of organisms than the southwest and south coast waters
• The coastline has the following features:

  • The southwestern and south coasts are where these water masses mix
  • The ocean tides, currents, temperature changes, and how much oxygen and salt is in the water all have an effect on the kinds of animals and plant communities found along the coastline
  • Thick marine forests of giant kelp and sea bamboo are the main plants of the west coast. The bamboo is a major source of food and also gives shelter to fish, other marine animals and plants
• Sandy beaches have a moving layer of sand which continually changes by waves and currents. This zone where the ocean meets the land is called the intertidal zone. These continual changes prevent plants from growing but a few animal species can live in this difficult environment.

  • examples are: the plough snail, white mussel, and the pink ghost crab.
• Threats to sandy beaches are:

  • pollution, beach vehicles, and human development.
  • beach vehicles kill beach organisms, press the sand hard and destroy turtles and birds nests
• Rocky shores provide a firm, strong foundation for plants and animals to attach to. They are a habitat of great diversity,

  • examples are mussels, oysters, and seaweeds.
• Threats to rocky shores are:

  • pollution brought by rivers
  • peoples who collect shells, disturb rock pool life and take bait for fishing.
• Coral reefs:

  coral is a marine organism that grows in big, colorful, hard clumps. Coral is generally found in warm subtropical waters off the coast of northern Kwazulu Natal. Coral reefs are home to many fish and other marine animals. Coral reefs support the biggest diversity of organisms on earth.
• Threats to the coral reef:

  • people collecting coral skeletons and overfishing
  • global warming and polltion
• the open sea:

  • the deep sea has no firm base so organisms found are fish and very small floating phytoplankton and zooplankton. Phytoplankton are plant-like organisms and zoo plankton are animal like organisms.
• Threats to the open sea:

  • Pollution and overfishing.
• Estuaries are the meeting places of the river and the sea, where fresh water meets salt water. Organisms must be specially adapted to live there because the habitat features both salt water and fresh water.

  • examples are fish ,birds, crustaceans such as grabs and insects.
  • examples of estuaries are coastal bays, river mouths, salt marshes and tropical mangrove forests.
• Threats to estuaries are:

  • pollution by poisons
  • nutrients from farm fertilsers when that soil washes into the rivers
• freshwater biomes are rivers ,streams ,ponds lakes and wetlands. Unlike marine biomes, they are affected by changes in climate and weather. As they can freeze and dry up.
• Wetlands are areas with waterlogged soils or soils covered with a shallow layer of water. This water may be there all the time or they can be seasonal.
• wetlands are important for the following reasons:

  • wetlands are flood controllers that slow flood water by acting as a giant, shallow bowls. These bowls help water spread out and even hold back the water. They also absorb the water and then slowly release it to downstream areas.
  • Wetlands are filters that improve water by trapping sediments. They also hold nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen and even harmful bacteria and even harmful bacteria
• wetlands are important for the following reasons:

  • Wetlands are wildlife habitats due to reeds, grasses and waterlilies that grow there naturally.
  • the plants provide shelter for many animals
• threats to wetlands are:

  • wetlands are often changed into croplands, dams ,rubbish dumps, pastures for farm animals and plantations of alien trees.