Fixed nitrogen (N) removal from estuaries via coupled nitrification–denitrification plays a significant role in the global N cycle and the biogeochemistry of individual estuaries. Much of our understanding of these processes is drawn from temperate estuaries, yet tropical and subtropical estuaries may respond differently to N inputs. I tested the hypothesis that nitrification is limited within ...

The role of complex life cycles in patterns of estuarine habitat use can be evaluated by studying stage-specific changes in abundances between principal habitats. Here, we evaluated how two primary habitats, tidal freshwater (salinity !3) and brackish water (salinity 3e15), structured juvenile white perch (Morone americana) abundance for eight sub-estuaries of the Chesapeake Bay. In addition, a...

1. The Coastal Zone 1.1. Climate Change 1.2. Sea Level and Sea Ice Fluctuations 1.3. Coastal Processes 1.4. Sediment Delivery 1.5. Beaches 1.6. Tidal Flats and Marshes 1.7. Mangroves 1.8. Coral Reefs, Coral Cays, Sea Grasses, and Seaweeds 1.9. Eutrophication and Pollution 1.10. Coastal Evolution 2. Estuarine Environments 2.1. Estuaries 2.2. Coastal Lagoons 2.3. Deltas 2.4. Estuarine Evolution 3...

Different levels of eutrophication and pollution in the Baltic coastal waters in general, and in estuaries particularly define variations in the buffering capacity of ecosystems of these important filter zones between rivers and the adjacent Baltic Proper. Phyto- and zooplankton in the estuaries form important components of the pelagic food webs that participate in producing and structuring the...

Estuaries are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because changes in climatic and hydrologic variables that influence freshwater and marine systems will also affect estuaries. We review potential impacts of climate change on Australian estuaries and their fish. Geographic differences are likely because southern Australian climates are predicted to become warmer and drier, whe...

Among the impacts of coastal settlements to estuaries, nutrient pollution is often singled out as a leading cause of modification to the ecological communities of soft sediments. Through sampling of 48 sites, distributed among 16 estuaries of New South Wales, Australia, we tested the hypotheses that (1) anthropogenic nutrient loads would be a better predictor of macrofaunal communities than est...

Spatio–temporal variations in the distribution and community structure of the estuarine larval fishes on the west coast of Taiwan was examined in the estuaries of Shuangchi Creek (SC), Gongshytyan Creek (GST), Tatu Creek (TT) and Tongkang River (TK). Fish were collected by a net (mesh 0.8–1.8 mm) set against the flood tide at night during the newand full-moon periods from September 1997 through...