INTRODUCTIO

N TO MARINE
ECOSYSTEM
Ecosystem
A community of interdependent
organisms and the interactions with
the physical environment in which
they live.

The interaction between organisms

and the environment

A limited system in terms of space

(area), food and natural resources
Resources
 Area that need to be managed which
include both living and non-living
components(biotic and abiotic
respectively) that are economically
and ecologically important
 ECOSYSTEM

Living Components
1. Fish
2. Crustaceans (shrimps, crabs, etc.)
3. Molluscs (mussels, oyster, shells, etc.)
4. Other marine invertebrates like starfishes,
sea cucumbers, sea urchins, jellyfishes,
worms, etc.
5. Marie plants like mangrove, trees, seagrass,
and seaweeds
6. Coastal birds, mammals (e.g. dugongs),
reptiles (crocodiles)
7. Plankton
 ECOSYSTEM

Non- Living Components

1. Water
2. Soil, sand, sandstone, gravel, pebbles, coral
rocks and boulders, fossil fuel, and other
minerals
3. space

Living Components
 Planet Earth

Living Components
 Planet Earth
Land : 29% Water : 79%
97% - oceans
2% - ice caps
1% - freshwater

Living Components
 Planet Earth
Land : 29% Water : 79%
97% - oceans
2% - ice caps
1% - freshwater

Estimated that 9 out of 10

organisms on earth live in the
ocean

Living Components
 The Planet Earth
Philippines
• composed of 7,107
islands
• coastline stretching
36,289 km.

Living Components
 The Planet Earth
Philippines
Major habitats along the
coastlines:

• Mangrove forests
• Seagrass beds
• Coral reefs

Living Components
 Planet Earth

Mangrove forests - Seagrass beds - Binds Coral reefs - Physical

prevents erosion, serves as sediments, serves as spawning, buffer, varied habitat
nursery area, and produces nursery, and feeding area, and (spawning, and feeding area)
nutrients produces nutrients and uses nutrients efficiently

Living Components
 Mangrove forests - Seagrass beds - Binds Coral reefs - Physical
prevents erosion, serves as sediments, serves as spawning, buffer, varied habitat
nursery area, and produces nursery, and feeding area, and (spawning, and feeding area)
nutrients produces nutrients and uses nutrients efficiently

Living Components
1. The marine waters are one
of the richest in the world
2. Sandy beaches & colorful
coral reefs provide millions
of dollars in tourism
revenues.
Mangroves
◦ are woody, seed-bearing plants
adapted for life in brackish water.
◦ 47 mangrove and associated
species
- Rhizophora
- Sonneratia
- Avicennia
- Nypa
- Brugueira
Mangroves
Found in:
◦ salty, muddy water
◦ anaerobic sediments
◦ warm, tropical and sub-tropical regions
Dominant mangroves
in the Philippines
◦ Bakauan: Lalake (Rhizophora
apiculata)
◦ Babae (R. mucronata)
◦ Bakauan bato or bangkaw (R.
stylusa).
◦ Bungalon (Avicennia marina)
◦ Api-api (A. officinalis)
◦ Piapi (A. lanata)
Functions
◦ protect
coastal lands
from storms
and erosion
◦ filter runoff
◦ accrete
sediments
 Habitat value
1. very important for other organisms
2. epiphytic organisms live on prop
roots: sponges, tunicates, worms,
anemones, snails, crabs, shrimp,
lobster
3. many juvenile coral reef fish live
here (later move to reef)
4. food and protection from predators
among roots
5. many birds nest in branches away
from land predators:
Mangrove status

◦ Forested mangrove area has decreases greatly from 450,000 ha (1918) to less
than 120,000 ha (1990s).
◦ Most rapid decrease occurred during the 1960s and 1970s.
◦ Fishpond covers about 289,000 ha most of which are formerly mangrove.
◦ For the period 1967-1988, average rate of decline was about 8,000 ha annually.
Threats to mangrove forests

◦ CONVERSION TO FISHPOND AREA – paghimu ug mga fishpond

◦ RECLAMATION (VARIOUS DEVELOPMENT) – pagpamutol sa mga bakhaw aron
gamiton sa lain nga pamaagi
◦ DISTURBANCE – panginhas
◦ PEST (DISEASES) – sakit ug dangan
◦ SILTATION – sobra nga lapok dala sa baha
◦ POLLUTION – mga basura ug pollusyon
Seagrass
◦ A flowering plant
◦ Present in estuarine and marine
environment
◦ 13 species can be found in the country
◦ A type of submerged aquatic vegetation have evolved from terrestrial plants and have
become specialized to live in the marine environment.
◦ Seagrasses have leaves, roots, conducting tissues, flowers and seeds, and manufacture
their own food via photosynthesis.
◦ Seagrasses do not possess the strong, supportive stems and trunks required to overcome
the force of gravity on land.
◦ Seagrass blades are supported by the natural buoyancy of water, remaining flexible
when exposed to waves and currents
How seagrass grows

◦ Seagrasses need nutrients, often obtained from nearby mangroves, and good light, which
means clear water.
◦ They cannot grow easily where they dry out at low tide.
◦ They therefore thrive in shallow coastal waters where there is shelter (such as a sand
bar) from drying winds and from wave action and strong currents which could create
turbulent muddy water.
◦ Although normally found in shallow water they can grow at depths of 32m and have
been found in clear water at 68m
How seagrass survives

◦ While the roots of seagrasses serve to anchor the plants they are not necessary for water
intake. They share the task of nutrient collection with the leaves which can absorb food
and water directly from the surrounding water.
◦ The flowers are very small.
◦ Water carries the pollen from the male to the separate female flowers.
◦ The resulting fruit are often carried some distance from the parent plant before the
seeds are released.
◦ Flowering, however, is not common for most tropical species and the spread of
seagrasses is largely through vegetative propagation by the growth and branching of
rhizomes.
FUNCTIONS

◦ - Slows down water velocity, current

and waves
- provide nursery and refuge to fish
- source of organic matter
- serves as food for other organism
Threats of Seagrass Beds

◦ SILTATION – lapok dinala sa tubig baha

◦ POLLUTION – mga basura ug hugaw
◦ RECLAIMATION – pier, housing, airport
Coral Reefs
◦ Corals are in verteb rate animals b elon ging to
a large gro up of co lo urful an d fascinating
animals called Cnidaria.
◦ Coral are gen erally classified as eith er “hard
coral” o r “so ft coral”. There are aro und 80 0
kno wn species of hard coral, also known as
the ‘reef build in g’ corals.
◦ Coral reefs are th erefo re created b y millions
of tin y poly ps forming larg e carbonate
structures, and are the basis of a framewo rk
and ho me fo r hun dreds of thousands, if not
millions, of other species. Coral reefs are the
larg est living structure on the planet, and the
only living stru cture to b e v isib le from space.
◦ Contributes about 30% of the fish catch in the country
◦ Healthy reefs can produce more than 30 metric tons of fish per km2/year
- 30% of the world’s coral reefs are in Asia, 7% are in the Philippines
- The Philippines has an estimated 18,000 km2 of coral reefs