Coastal–Offshore Ecosystem V22

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Lecture Notes on Coastal and Estuarine Studies Series, Volume 22.

Jansson, B.-O. (ed.). Coastal-offshore ecosystem interaction. Lecture Notes on Coastal and Estuarine Studies. Springer Verlag 22:

Interactions between coastal and offshore ecosystems are considered, focusing on four aspects. 1. Water exchange, crucial for most couplings is classified for two types of system: shallow coastal areas and narrow, deep shelf areas. 2. Mass balance studies of tidal flats, salt marshes, mangroves, fjord systems and coral reefs give a strong indication of recirculation of nutrients and suggest that imported organic material mostly remains in the nearshore areas. 3. Active transport is demonstrated for fish and crustacean species occupying coastal nurseries. Both crab and shrimp larvae are vertical migrators which by reacting to fine-tuned hydrodynamics are retained, in favourable adult habitats. 4. Numerical modelling as a means of synthesizing relevant physical and biological processes is analyzed for several existing ecosystem models and recommendations for suitable techniques are made.

Evaluation of present evidence shows that: a) on a global scale and of the scale of years to decades, outwelling is quantitatively insignificant in the biogeochemistry or productivity of the sea b) productivity of many coastal systems are determined in the short term more by recycling than by inputs, though the relationship between the two remains to be determined c) "information flows" in the form of oceanic populations using the coastal areas as nursery grounds are important.