* Plankton are tiny algae and animals that float in the water and carried by waves and currents. For example: Algae plankton, fish larvae. * Nekton are free swimming animals that can move throughout the water column. For example: octopus, squid, most fishes, whales (most mammals), dolphins. * Benthos are organisms that inhabit the ocean floor. For example: crabs, sea stars, lobsters these move from place to place, sponges, sea anemones will stay in one place

* Estuaries trap nutrients and sediment that are carried from the land by rivers and from the ocean tides. * Nutrients are constantly being mixed, this causes the estuaries to be a fertile repository of plant and animal life. * Estuaries are one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. * 4G5P4&safe=active 4G5P4&safe=active

* Estuaries are very shallow, less than 30ft. in NC * Sunlight penetrates to the bottom, promoting plant growth * Rivers that feed estuaries deposit sediments rich in nutrients, which settle onto the sand and mud of the estuary floor. * This provides unique habitats for both plants and animals * The brackish condition provide good nurseries and protect these species to hatch and grow in before they migrate to the sea to live out their adult lives * Examples: fish, shrimp, crabs, clams, and oysters

* Estuaries are numerous in NC * The largest estuary in NC is Pamlico Sound * Water drains into this system from eastern NC and southeastern VA from Chowan, Roanoke, Pasquotank, Pamlico, and Neuse Rivers, from marshes, swamps, forest, and grassland.

* Help control erosion and reduce flooding * Sand bars buffer the impact of waves * Plants and shellfish beds anchor the shore against tides * Swamps and marshes take the initial impact of high winds moving in from the ocean, soak up heavy rain and storm surges, and release the extra water gradually into rivers and groundwater supplies * Estuaries are a type of filter

* Plants and animals in estuaries filter pollutants out of the water * Example: Oysters filter impurities out of water as they eat, collecting the contaminants in their bodies. Once oyster can filter twenty-five gallons of water per day. Bacteria eat organic matter found in the sediment and in turn release carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfate and methane into the atmosphere preventing these gases from being excessively stored up in the estuary. * Toxins can accumulate in the estuaries causing many environmental and health problems * Chemical pollution and sedimentation are great threats to the well-being of estuaries and oceans