Lagooninhabiting

Lagooninhabiting refers to organisms that inhabit lagoons, a type of coastal water body that is shallow, sheltered, and partially enclosed by barriers such as sandbars, barrier islands, or coral reefs. Lagoons typically experience brackish to saline conditions, with salinity and water depth that can change with tides and rainfall. The term emphasizes the ecological setting rather than a single taxonomic group.

Lagoons are characterized by gradients in salinity, temperature, and sediment types, from sandy bottoms to mud flats and seagrass meadows. They often receive nutrients from surrounding catchments and can support high primary productivity, including phytoplankton, macroalgae, and seagrasses. They also serve as nurseries, feeding grounds, and refuges for many species that exploit the sheltered environment.

Organisms that inhabit lagoons include fish such as mullet and gobies, crustaceans like shrimps and crabs, mollusks, sea urchins, and various invertebrates. Birds and marine mammals may rely on lagoons seasonally for feeding. Adaptations frequently include tolerances to fluctuating salinity, sedimentation, and turbidity, as well as life-history traits that utilize lagoons for juvenile development or shelter during vulnerable life stages.

Human uses of lagoon habitats include fishing, aquaculture, tourism, and coastal protection. Lagoon ecosystems face threats from pollution, nutrient run-off leading to eutrophication, dredging, sedimentation, habitat conversion, and climate-related changes such as sea level rise and warming waters.

Conservation and management efforts focus on protecting water quality, preserving hydrological connectivity, maintaining natural hydrodynamics, and restoring degraded seagrass beds and mangroves. Research on lagooninhabiting communities aims to understand species interactions, succession, and responses to disturbance to inform sustainable use and protection of these dynamic coastal systems.