How do Hurricanes affect ecosystems and animals in it?
Aquatic: Hurricanes have a big effect on aquatic ecosystems.The sediment erosion and deposition affect the coral reefs and oyster beds. Saltwater goes in freshwater lakes and streams it causes massive fish kills and affects lake habitats. The water from Hurricanes carries many toxic things, such as heavy metals, pesticides, ammonia, phosphate and untreated sewage. This causes the quality of the water to be bad and dangerous. At this time fishery is very dangerous.
Terrestrial: Hurricanes can wreck terrestrial ecosystems. Coastal wetlands and barrier islands take the brunt of the storm surge. That causes sediment to erode and shift. Many barrier islands shift or end up below sea level. Mangrove forest, is a place for birds that migrate to rest, after a Hurricane. Then, the birds that travel a far distance have to travel even more. After all the water goes somewhere else, the trees are fuel for wildfires. Saltwater intrusion from storm surge also changes the wetland ecosystems, making them uninhabitable for some organisms.
Ecosystem Resilience: Ecosystems can be resilient after a hurricane. The North Carolina State University did a study on the Neuse River and Estuary and Pamlico noise after they were destroyed hurricanes Fran and Floyd. According to their study, the finfish and shellfish population recovered within three years of the storms. The blue crab took a while longer to recover, due to the overfishing following the storms. While hurricane Fran had big fish kills due to the oxygen depletion and increased nitrogen and fecal matter, but over all the fish population recovers quickly.
Aquatic: Hurricanes have a big effect on aquatic ecosystems.The sediment erosion and deposition affect the coral reefs and oyster beds. Saltwater goes in freshwater lakes and streams it causes massive fish kills and affects lake habitats. The water from Hurricanes carries many toxic things, such as heavy metals, pesticides, ammonia, phosphate and untreated sewage. This causes the quality of the water to be bad and dangerous. At this time fishery is very dangerous.
Terrestrial: Hurricanes can wreck terrestrial ecosystems. Coastal wetlands and barrier islands take the brunt of the storm surge. That causes sediment to erode and shift. Many barrier islands shift or end up below sea level. Mangrove forest, is a place for birds that migrate to rest, after a Hurricane. Then, the birds that travel a far distance have to travel even more. After all the water goes somewhere else, the trees are fuel for wildfires. Saltwater intrusion from storm surge also changes the wetland ecosystems, making them uninhabitable for some organisms.
Ecosystem Resilience: Ecosystems can be resilient after a hurricane. The North Carolina State University did a study on the Neuse River and Estuary and Pamlico noise after they were destroyed hurricanes Fran and Floyd. According to their study, the finfish and shellfish population recovered within three years of the storms. The blue crab took a while longer to recover, due to the overfishing following the storms. While hurricane Fran had big fish kills due to the oxygen depletion and increased nitrogen and fecal matter, but over all the fish population recovers quickly.