Marine pollution is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters, in which excess nutrients, usually nitrates or phosphates, stimulate algae growth. Many potentially toxic chemicals adhere to tiny particles which are then taken up by plankton and benthic animals, most of which are either deposit feeders or filter feeders. In this way, the toxins are concentrated upward within ocean food chains. Many particles combine chemically in a manner highly depletive of oxygen, causing estuaries to become anoxic. When pesticides are incorporated into the marine ecosystem, they quickly become absorbed into marine food webs. Once in the food webs, these pesticides can
Freshwater inflow supports beaches and provision the inter-tidal wetlands. Organic material delivered to estuaries by freshwater inflows the primary energy source for organisms living in the estuary. Estuarine ecosystems need freshwater inflow to maintain their productivity, or to continue to produce biomass. Estuarine ecosystems are fundamentally important and necessary to protect through the management of freshwater inflow because of the many ecosystem services they produce. An ecosystem service is something provided by nature that is of value to humans. Estuarine ecosystems are among the most productive ecosystems on the planet. Estuaries house such species as the blue crab, red fish, flounder, spotted