Marine habitats

Habitats range in size, and their characteristics are determined by a large number of variables. In the marine environment, these variables include light, temperature, substrate, wave action and oxygen availability.

The particular combination of variables results in a habitat suitable for particular types of organisms. For example, the stalk-eyed mud crab is adapted to live in mud flats of an estuary, and cockles are adapted to the fluctuating salinity of the subtidal zone.

New Zealand’s marine environment is incredibly diverse and made up of a large number of marine habitats. Scientists estimate that these habitats provide homes for up to 65,000 marine species around New Zealand (although only 15,000 of these species have been named!).

Beaches

A beach is a platform along the shoreline of the sea. A beach, particularly a surf beach, is an unstable habitat. Plants and animals are exposed to constantly changing and often harsh conditions. One of the main obstacles that surf beach-dwelling organisms face is the lack of stable ground. They need to swim or burrow or they will be swept away. Food is limited under these conditions. Organisms eat algae particles growing in the top few centimetres of the substrate or depend on food brought in by the waves.

Estuaries

An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water where freshwater (often from a river mouth) mixes with saltwater from the sea. New Zealand has approximately 300 estuaries, made up of a diverse range of subtidal and intertidal habitats that vary from vegetated habitats, like seagrass beds, to mud flats, shellfish beds and tidal channels.

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