2. • Location
• Importance
• Plant life
• Animal life
• Rivers, streams and other waterways
• Threats to the Pamlico Sound Estuary
PAMLICO SOUND ESTUARY
3. • The Sounds are also part of a larger
system. The Albemarle-Pamlico system
includes the sounds, the rivers and
creeks which flow into the Sounds, and
the land surrounding these rivers and
creeks. This entire area is called the
Albemarle-Pamlico watershed. The
watershed includes thirty-six counties in
North Carolina and sixteen counties in
Virginia. Water in the watershed will
eventually drain into the Sounds. This
water can carry harmful things, such as
improperly treated sewage, oil, fertilizer,
and pesticides, from distant places into
the estuary.
• https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html
• They are an estuary, a shallow place
where salty water from the ocean mixes
with fresh water from rivers. The
Albemarle-Pamlico estuary is the
second largest estuary in the Eastern
United States. The largest estuary is
Chesapeake Bay. Like all estuaries, it is
rich with plant and animal life. The
estuary is home to young fish, oysters,
crabs, and clams. Ninety-two percent of
the fish landed in North Carolina
depend on the estuary as a nursery
habitat. When you visit the Sounds, see
how alive the marshy places are with
plants, fish, and birds.
WHAT ARE THE ALBEMARLE AND PAMLICO SOUNDS?
4. • The Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds cover 2900 square miles of surface water.
Approximately 30,880 square miles of land drain into the rivers which feed the
Sounds.
• Ten major rivers and creeks too numerous to count are tributaries of the Sounds.
• Approximately 2,670,000 people live in the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed. By the
year 2000, an estimated three million people will live there.
• The deepest hole in the estuary is in Pamlico Sound with a depth of 26 feet.
HOW BIG IS THE PAMLICO ESTUARY?
5. • The Albemarle-Pamlico Sound is located in North
Carolina and is the second largest estuary in the
United States. The region's watershed is
approximately 30,000 square miles. The Albemarle-
Pamlico Sound encompasses over 9,000 miles of
freshwater rivers and streams and over 1.5 million
acres of brackish, estuarine waters. The Chowan,
Roanoke, Pasquotank, Tar-Pamlico, and Neuse are
five major river basins that flow into the Sounds.
There are seven sounds that make up the estuarine
system. They are the Albemarle, Currituck, Croatan,
Pamlico, Bogue, Core and Roanoke.
• (Courtesy of Creative Commons)
http://www.marine.unc.edu/Paerllab and
http://www.marine.unc.edu/Neuse/modmon
ALBEMARLE-PAMLICO SOUND
6. • The Albemarle-Pamlico Sound supports a
variety of habitats including wetlands, rivers,
and creeks. In these habitats, there lives a
diversity of organisms. There are nursery
areas located in the creeks and embayments
of the estuarine system that are important to
over 75 species of fish and shellfish. Shellfish
beds are important as well to support the
fisheries industry. However, there has been a
decline in shellfish beds as a result of physical
disturbance. Anadromous fish, fish that live in
the oceans but migrate up freshwater rivers to
spawn, use the estuarine system as a habitat
for spawning. These fish include striped bass,
shad and herring.
HABITAT FOR MANY PLANTS AND ANIMALS
7. • The Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system
is economically important to the region.
Commercial fishing, tourism, recreation,
and resort development are activities
within the Sound that are economically
important to the region. Ninety percent of
the fish and shellfish caught by
commercial fishermen rely on the
estuary as a nursery habitat. The Sound
also provides food, jobs and a mode of
transportation for the people that live
within the estuarine area.
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF
ALBEMARLE-PAMLICO ESTUARY
9. WHERE IS THE PAMLICO SOUND?
Back barrier sounds lie parallel to the coast, between the mainland shore and
the barrier islands.
The largest North Carolina estuary is the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound. Water drains into this system
from eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, from the Chowan, Roanoke, Pasquotank,
Pamlico, and Neuse Rivers, from marshes, swamps, forests, and grasslands.
10. • Estuaries consist of an ecosystem where fresh water from rivers and streams meets with
ocean saltwater. The plants and animals that live in estuaries must adapt to the different
types of water for survival. Estuaries include mudflats, beaches, mangroves, and
submerged vegetation and marshes. Nineteen states along the Pacific and Atlantic
Oceans boast at least one estuary, offering ample opportunities to observe and explore
these critical habitats. These are places where fish, birds and animals of all sorts
congregate to feed, find refuge, grow to adulthood, and stage migrations.
http://elements.nb.ca/theme/estuaries/janice/importance.htm
• Estuaries and Fish
• Estuaries provide a nursery for the larval forms of some marine fish species, and provide
shelter and food for many young and adult fish and shellfish. These in turn provide food for
other levels of the food chain including shore birds, waterfowl, larger fish and marine
mammals. Many seafood species such as lobster, herring, menhaden, gaspereau, crab,
oyster and clam rely on the rich food supply of estuaries during some part of their life cycle
(Environment Canada, 1987).
WHY IS THE ESTUARY IMPORTANT?
11. Estuaries help control erosion and reduce flooding of
the mainland. Sand bars buffer the impact of waves,
while 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 environmental filter as plants
and animals in estuaries filter pollutants out of the
water. Particles in the water are either removed by
chemical processes (aerobic respiration, sulfate
reduction, methanogenesis) or by the feeding of
estuarine animals and bacteria. For instance, salt
marsh plants trap some of the chemicals and
pathogens carried by rivers and move them into soils
where they can be neutralized. Oysters filter
impurities out of water as they eat, collecting the
contaminants in their bodies. One 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. However,
toxins can accumulate in estuaries causing many
environmental and health problems.
(http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/544)
Estuaries are crucial.
12. • Mangrove trees, cord grass and lily pads Loblolli Milkwort
•
PLANTS OF THE PAMLICO-ALBEMARLE ESTUARY
13. • Cord grass
MANGROVE TREES AND CORD GRASS ARE SOME OF THE ESTUARINE SPECIES THAT HAVE ADAPTED TO
UNIQUE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. IN ALMOST ALL ESTUARIES THE SALINITY OF THE WATER CHANGES
CONSTANTLY OVER THE TIDAL CYCLE. TO SURVIVE IN THESE CONDITIONS, PLANTS AND ANIMALS LIVING IN
ESTUARIES MUST BE ABLE TO RESPOND QUICKLY TO DRASTIC CHANGES IN SALINITY.
Mangrove trees
Cord crass
Salt meadows
Fanwort grows in water
14. Some mammals find estuaries an important food source, including
black bears living along coastal areas. The bears turn over rocks
on the mudflats to uncover invertebrates. Some bears use the
mudflats to dig for clams, using their long nails to carefully pry
open the shells so they can devour the clam inside. Smaller
mammals include raccoons and opossums that hunt for small fish
and invertebrates. Otters use estuaries for food and a place to
raise their young. Red wolves were declared extinct in the wild in
1980, but red wolves bred in captivity were reintroduced in North
Carolina beginning in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
in 1987. Eight wildlife refuges have been established along the
North Carolina coast to protect the habitats of animals and birds.
MAMMALS
American river otter
Red wolf
Black bear hunting for clams
15. CREATURES OF THE PAMLICO-ALBEMARLE ESTUARY
Black bear
Alligator
Green frog
Mosquito
Rattlesnake
Water moccasin
Turtle
16. Raccoon Terrapin
Raccoons use salt marshes to hunt for
food. As omnivores, raccoons eat shell
fish, including mollusks, blue crabs and
Gulf crabs that come into the saltwater
marsh at high tide. They also eat other
small animals. Raccoons help plants grow
in the salt marsh by helping disperse the
seeds to new locations once the plant
matter passes through their bodies.
One species of turtle that spends time in the
saltwater marsh includes the Diamondback terrapin,
a member of the pond and marsh turtle family. The
turtle gets its name from the diamond-shaped
markings and grooves on its top shell. The turtle's
skin ranges in color from pale gray to black with dark
spots or stripes. The turtles are often seen sunning
themselves on mudflats during the day. Two other
species, the Atlantic green and the Atlantic hawksbill
turtles, live in the state's saltwater marshes although
both are on the endangered and threatened list.
17. • Back barrier sounds
• Back barrier sounds lie parallel to the coast, between the mainland shore and the
barrier islands.
• The largest North Carolina estuary is Pamlico Sound. Water drains into this system
from eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, from the Chowan, Roanoke,
Pasquotank, Pamlico, and Neuse Rivers, from marshes, swamps, forests, and
grasslands. (http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/544)
RIVERS, STREAMS, AND OTHER WATERWAYS
18. The wildlife living in estuary mudflats provide an abundance of food to much of the other
wildlife. Shelled creatures such as mussels, clams, snails and amphipods live on the
mudflats where they feed on detritus, disintegrated organic matter from dead plant
material from marsh grasses, mangrove trees and sea grasses. The invertebrates also
eat microscopic plants called phytoplankton. Segmented worms and lugworms also live
in the mudflats. Once the mudflats are covered in water at high tide, bigger fish hunt for
the invertebrates as their food source.
INVERTEBRATES
19. • Shorebirds use the mudflats as a food source all year round. During migration,
sandpipers and dunlin stop at various mudflats and fuel their energy to continue to
their nesting or wintering grounds. The long legs of great blue herons, great egrets
and green herons make it easy for them to walk along the edges of the marshes as
they search for their next meal. Thousands of snow geese that spend the winter along
the coast in the Pacific Northwest spend hours each day digging for goodies in several
of the estuary's habitats. Brant, a species of geese found in North America, eat the
seeds of the marsh plants while snow geese eat bulrushes and sedges that grow
underwater.
BIRDS
Snow geese
Blue heronDunlin
Sandpiper
20. • Some areas of the estuary are home to
submerged aquatic plants that include
bottom-dwelling algae and eelgrass, which
are appealing to seahorses, blue crabs,
turtles and fish. Young shrimp use the sea
grasses to hide from predators until they're
old enough to head out to the open sea. Fish
in the estuary include snook, trout, mullet and
redfish that all rely on the shallow waters as
a food source. Catfish, sheepshead, silver
perch and grouper also live in estuaries.
Spiny lobsters, shrimps, crabs, oysters and
clams require healthy estuaries for survival.
MARINE LIFE
21. • Excessive Nutrients
• Toxic Materials
• Erosion and Sedimentation
• Habitat Loss
WHAT THREATENS THE PAMLICO SOUND?
22. Nutrients are substances which help plants and animals grow. Two nutrients, nitrogen and
phosphorous, are present in plant fertilizer and wastes from animals and people. Rain can
wash fertilizer from lawns and fields into streams and the Sounds. This type of pollution is
called "nonpoint source" since it does not come from a single point, but it is from water
running off a large land area. Sewage treatment plants and leaky septic systems can also add
nutrients to the water. When pollution comes from a single point, such as an outfall pipe, it is
called "point source" pollution.
When too many nutrients get into the water, they disturb the natural balance by allowing too
much algae (microscopic plants) to grow. The algae cloud the water and block vital sunlight to
underwater plants (submerged aquatic vegetation or SAV). When the algae die and decay,
they use up much of the oxygen needed by fish and shellfish, often killing them.
https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html
EXCESSIVE NUTRIENTS
23. • Toxics are chemicals that can cause cancer (carcinogens) or other harmful effects.
Their effects can be immediate such as a poison, or occur very slowly such as with
cancer. Streams and rivers are very effective at hiding the effects of poisons. Often the
fish that are killed are not seen. They may be small and hard to see or eaten by
turtles, snakes, crabs, or other scavengers. Modern pesticides (i.e., chemicals used to
kill animals, insects, or plants) used on lawns and fields are very poisonous but,
fortunately, they break down much more quickly than older pesticides such as DDT.
Because these modem pesticides are toxic they should not be used near rivers or
streams or along roads with storm drains which lead to a stream. Cancer-causing
substances enter our rivers from municipal sewage treatment plants or industrial
discharges and sometimes from nonpoint source discharges. Although we are usually
exposed to low concentrations of carcinogens, there are thousands of cancer-causing
agents. The cumulative effects of these agents is not fully understood.
https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html
TOXIC MATERIALS
24. • Every time it rains around the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed, water erodes the land.
The precious soil which washes away into streams is called sediment. Sediments are
carried downstream and may eventually enter the Sounds, where they settle out of the
water and cover the bottom.
• Sediments can harm Sound life in several ways. Sediment particles pick up toxic
materials on their surface and concentrate them on the bottom of the Sound. Floating
or suspended sediment clouds the water, cutting off light to submerged plants. Excess
sediment smothers clams, oysters, and other bottom dwellers.
• https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html
EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION
25. • An animal’s habitat is its home. Habitat provides shelter, food, water, and space. As
more and more people come to live and work around the Albemarle and Pamlico
Sounds, more and more habitat is being lost. Some animals, such as squirrels, can
adapt to these changes and learn to coexist with humans. But many others, such as
black bears, bald eagles, and black ducks, do not adapt well to change. Habitat
damage and loss can decrease a population of plants or animals or even cause
extinction.
• Wetlands, one of the most important types of habitat, are threatened all around the
Albemarle-Pamlico watershed. They are filled in for development, drained for
agriculture, or dredged for marinas. Pollution has degraded water quality in the
Sounds and their rivers, resulting in declines of important submerged plants and
scallops.
• https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html
HABITAT LOSS
26. HABITAT SWEET HABITAT
Some of the flora and fauna native to the upland creeks, the salt marsh, and the mudflats.
27. • City Sewage Treatment Plants:
Due to an increase in population, many sewage treatment plants receive more wastewater than they have
been designed to handle. Often this leads to discharge of poorly treated sewage into our rivers and
streams.
• Industry:
Treating wastewater to the extent that it does not harm the environment takes a special effort. Certain
industries do excellent jobs of cleaning their wastewater, but others do not. Since industries release tens of
millions of gallons of wastewater into our rivers every day, proper treatment is essential.
• Agriculture and Forestry:
Farms and forestry operations that allow sediment or pesticides to enter our rivers and streams, or that
infringe upon wetlands, damage our estuary.
• Development:
Runoff during construction and from parking lots should be controlled to prevent erosion.
Wetland areas should be preserved; they do not make good locations for homes and shopping
centers.
• Consumers:
Most environmental problems are ultimately caused by the consumer. Industry and business must make a
profit to provide jobs. We, as individuals, can help by doing our share. We can buy environmentally sound
products such as brown paper; do without immaculate lawns which require fertilizers and pesticides; and
do not waste water.
• https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html
WHERE ARE THESE PROBLEMS?
28. Estuaries are fragile ecosystems
that are very susceptible to
disturbances. Natural
disturbances are caused by the
forces of nature, while
anthropogenic disturbances are
caused by people. Natural
disturbances include winds, tidal
currents, waves, and ice.
Anthropogenic disturbances
include pollution, coastal
development, and the introduction
of non-native species to an area.
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/est
uaries08_natdisturb.html
Natural disturbances
to estuaries
29. • The Sounds depend on us for life just as we depend on the Sounds. Therefore, it is extremely
important that we exercise great care with our actions. We must become responsible citizen
caretakers of the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed in order to restore and preserve our natural
neighborhood.
• Conserve water. Take short showers; run dish and clothes washers only when full; and place a
plastic bottle in the toilet tank to reduce the amount of water flushed.
• Make certain your septic system is working well and is not overflowing.
• Use household chemicals and pesticides carefully. Choose the least toxic material, and buy only
what you need. Follow instructions, and dispose of leftovers carefully.
• Plant vegetation along streams to prevent soil erosion and to absorb excess nutrients from
fertilizers.
• Recycle used oil, paper, aluminum cans, and glass.
• Use a sewage pump-out station on land to empty boat toilets.
• Observe posted boat speed limits. Large wakes from boats can erode shorelines and banks.
• Clean up debris and trash from a local stream to improve stream flow and water quality.
• https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html
HOW CAN I HELP?
30. • American Oceans Campaign (1996). Estuaries on the Edge: The Vital Link Between Land and Sea.
Washington, DC: American Oceans Campaign.
• North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries. “Fish habitat information.” Accessed July 10, 2006.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. County Species List for North Carolina, March 2006.
• O. H. Pilkey et al (1998). The North Carolina Shore and Its Barrier Islands: Restless Ribbons of
Sand. Durham, NC: Duke University Press
• D. Frankenberg (1997). The Nature of North Carolina’s Southern Coast: Barrier Islands, Coastal
Waters, and Wetlands: An ecotourist’s guide to the North Carolina coast, from Portsmouth Island to
Calabash. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
• http://elements.nb.ca/theme/estuaries/janice/importance.htm
• https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html
• http://omp.gso.uri.edu/ompweb/doee/science/descript/albpam.htm
• Photos courtesy of Creative Commons and Flickr
SOURCES
