Time in California and Slough (2024)

FAQs

Why is Elkhorn Slough so important for migrating birds, fishes, and us humans? ›

Elkhorn Slough, an estuary located on the Central California Coast, provides a rich ecosystem for over 780 aquatic bird, marine invertebrate, marine mammal, and fish species. Elkhorn Slough is an important nursery for commercially and recreationally harvested fish and a premier migratory stopover for birds.

To survive, fish, crabs, oysters and other aquatic animals must have sufficient levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water. The amount of dissolved oxygen in an estuary's water is the major factor that determines the type and abundance of organisms that can live there.

How is surviving in an estuary different than surviving in a forest, a desert, or in the open ocean? Answer: Surviving in an estuary is difficult. In an estuary, environmental factors can change rapidly. Conditions in estuaries vary more than in many other types of habitats.

Sloughs (pronounced “slews”) are shallow lakes or swamps. Generally they serve as backwaters – or a stagnant part of a river – and are consequently located at edges of rivers where a stream or other canal once flowed.

Elkhorn Slough is the second-largest remaining salt marsh in California, supporting an abundance of invertebrates that provide food for more than 100 species of fish and nearly 300 species of birds.

1. The land mammal who consumes the most water per pound of bodyweight is the cow. A single cow used for her milk on an industrial feed lot can consume up to 100 gallons of water a day during hot summer months, and that adds up.

Kangaroo rats, according to scientists, are the only animals that can exist without water. According to the findings, they do not have any water in their bodies for any of their digestive functions. Kangaroo rats can survive in deserts without ever drinking.

Three main abiotic factors that affect marine ecosystems include temperature, sunlight, and depth. The depth of a marine ecosystem determines the amount of sunlight that can penetrate the water column and thus affect both the temperature and the ability for photosynthesis to occur.

Biotic and abiotic factors are what make up ecosystems. Biotic factors are living things within an ecosystem; such as plants, animals, and bacteria, while abiotic are non-living components; such as water, soil and atmosphere.

What are the dominant plants in estuaries? ›

The dominant plant groups in our estuaries are seagrass, mangroves, saltmarsh, macroalgae and microalgae. Plants that live in estuaries tolerate remarkable environmental stresses, such as changes in water levels or tides, rainfall, currents and salinity.

Abiotic factors limit distribution and abundance by affecting an organism's life processes. In an estuarine ecosystem these factors are light, oxygen, water, nutrients, temperature, salinity, and space. LIGHT: Plants use energy in sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen.

The greatest threat to estuaries is, by far, their large-scale conversion by draining, filling, damming, or dredging. These activities result in the immediate destruction and loss of estuarine habitats.

Estuaries provide important benefits—called ecosystem services—that impact our day-to-day lives. In addition to their natural beauty, they support clean water, abundant wildlife, and recreation. They also protect homes, businesses and infrastructure from the impacts of flooding and climate change.

Fish, shellfish, and migratory birds are just a few of the animals that can live in an estuary. The Chesapeake Bay, as one example, includes several different habitats. There are oyster reefs where oysters, mud crabs, and small fish may be found.

Why are wetlands important to migratory birds? A. More than one third of the 1900 North American bird species use wetlands for breeding, nesting, as a source of drinking water and for shelter, social interactions and rearing their young.

Many species of birds and mammals rely on wetlands for food, water and shelter, especially during migration and breeding. Wetlands' microbes, plants and wildlife are part of global cycles for water, nitrogen and sulfur. Scientists now know that atmospheric maintenance may be an additional wetlands function.

Introduction to Fish Migration

Fish need to move! They need to find food, find places to spawn, to hide or rest - and they need aquatic connections between all of these places.

Birds also move nutrients between habitats and across landscapes, which supports healthy nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning. This is especially true for migratory birds that travel across vast distances, eating in one place and excreting in another place miles away.