Estuarine ecosystems are transitional aquatic environments where freshwater from rivers mixes with saline marine waters, creating strong physicochemical gradients in salinity, turbidity, and nutrient concentrations. These systems encompass a mosaic of habitats, including tidal channels, mudflats, salt marshes, mangroves, and seagrass beds, and are characterized by high primary productivity and biogeochemical cycling. Estuaries function as critical nursery areas for many fish and invertebrate species, support complex food webs, and mediate material fluxes between terrestrial and coastal ocean systems. They also exhibit pronounced temporal variability driven by tides, river discharge, and seasonal processes, making them sensitive indicators of watershed- and climate-driven environmental change.
Oysters famously filter their surrounding water, but it turns out they are removing more than algae and excess nutrients. New research from William & Mary's Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS shows they can ...
Plants & Animals
11 hours ago
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Florida's Indian River Lagoon (IRL), one of the state's most ecologically productive estuaries, is facing a growing but invisible threat that could reshape its marine ecosystems. Over the past decade, the lagoon has suffered ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 3, 2026
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The Thames estuary in southeast England—the tidal stretch of the river—once supported extensive saltmarshes, seagrass meadows and oyster beds. These shallow areas, which flood and drain with the tides, provided vital ...
Ecology
Dec 8, 2025
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For over 200 years, native oysters (Ostrea edulis) have been absent in Dublin Bay. Once abundant along the Irish coast, they thrived in the sheltered estuaries and tidal flats that shaped the city's maritime life.
Ecology
Nov 22, 2025
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Under the lead of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), a review article outlined the state of the Baltic Sea coast and its expected development as a result of climate change. The article shows ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 16, 2025
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Virginia's bay scallop population is experiencing an unprecedented resurgence, thanks to years of dedicated restoration work led by the Batten School & VIMS Eastern Shore Laboratory (ESL) in Wachapreague. Once locally extinct ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 9, 2025
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A study spanning nearly four decades paints a clear picture of the transformation of fish communities in the Elbe estuary. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), in cooperation ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 24, 2025
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A new study published in Ecological Applications demonstrates that commercial fisheries function much like an investment portfolio: diversity brings stability. The research shows that when different fish species in the Chesapeake ...
Ecology
Sep 22, 2025
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Beneath the surface of the Chesapeake Bay, a subtle but dramatic shift is taking place as eelgrass gives way to its warmer-water relative, widgeon grass. A new study from researchers at William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 4, 2025
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A key health indicator for the nation's most economically important estuary has delivered mixed news, with researchers from William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS reporting a 1%, or 641-acre, annual decline in submerged aquatic ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 8, 2025
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