MT1.2 Muddy Shorelines

MT1. Shorelines biome

MT1

Profile summary

Full profile at https://global-ecosystems.org/explore/groups/MT1.2

Brief description

Mudflats occur on low-energy coastlines. Mud and silt, often from nearby rivers, protect the burrowing organisms living in these ecosystems from common shoreline stressors (e.g. high temperatures and desiccation) and predatory shorebirds, crabs and fish. These shorelines are critical stopovers and foraging grounds for migratory shorebirds. Primary productivity is mostly from diatoms (single-celled algae) that rely on tides. Oxygen can be low where sediments are very fine or burrowing or other disturbance is limited.

Key features

Intertidal soft-sediment, of fine particle-size, dependent on allochtonous production and dominated by deposit feeding and detritivorous invertebrates that provide a prey resource for shore birds and fishes.

Overview of distribution

Low-energy shorelines globally.

Map description

Tidal flats were mapped directly from remote sensing time series and aggregated to 1 degree spatial resolution by Murray et al. (2019). Major occurrences were mapped in 1-degree cells with >200km2 mudflat extent, and minor occurrences were mapped in cells with 5-200km2 mudflat extent..

Map code and version: MT1.2.IM.orig v1.0. DOI

Version history

Profile versions

  • v2.1 (2022-04-06): MJ Bishop; NJ Murray; SE Swearer; DA Keith.1
  • v2.01 (NA): NA.
  • v2.0 (2020-07-28): MJ Bishop; NJ Murray; SE Swearer; DA Keith.
  • v1.0 (2020-01-20): MJ Bishop; NJ Murray; DA Keith.

Available maps

Read more details about the current map versions here.

  • Web navigation (code: MT1.2.web.map, version v1.0)
  • Indicative Map (code: MT1.2.IM.orig, version v1.0)

Read more details about older or alternative versions of maps for this functional group.

  • Web navigation: discarded (code: MT1.2.web.orig, version v1.0)
  • Web navigation: in preparation (code: MT1.2.WM.nwx, version v1.0)
  • Indicative Map: discarded (code: MT1.2.IM.orig, version v0.2)

References

Main references

References used in the different versions of the profiles.

  • Murray NJ, Phinn SR, DeWitt M, Ferrari R, Johnston R, Lyons MB, Clinton N, Thau D, Fuller RA (2019) The global distribution and trajectory of tidal flats Nature 565: 222–225 DOI:10.1038/s41586-018-0805-8
  • Peterson CH (1991) Intertidal zonation of marine invertebrates in sand and mud American Scientist 79:236-249. URL
  • Wilson WH (1990) Competition and predation in marine soft-sediment communities. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 21:221-41. DOI:10.1146/annurev.es.21.110190.001253

Map references

References used in the different versions of the maps (current and discarded).

  • Murray NJ, Phinn SR, DeWitt M, Ferrari R, Johnston R, Lyons MB, Clinton N, Thau D, Fuller RA (2019) The global distribution and trajectory of tidal flats Nature 565: 222–225 DOI:10.1038/s41586-018-0805-8

Footnotes

  1. This is the current version available at official site.↩︎