Intertidal Wetlands

Abstract Intertidal wetlands (Fig. 5.1) are an ecotone or transitional zone between marine, estuarine and terrestrial ecosystems. The transitional nature of the environment from land to saltwater creates gradients or zones in which the species composition and ecological processes change (15,25,26). Ecotones often allow numerous species to coexist along resource or environmental stress gradients. Consequently, the intertidal zones of tropical regions are well endowed with numerous forms of marine life of different evolutionary origins. This rich biological diversity increases from sandy shores to rocky shores to mangrove and seagrass ecosystems. Various biotic and abiotic factors have been used to explain the presence, absence or abundance of species in the intertidal zone (25). The following attributes have significance to the uniqueness of the intertidal ecology in the East African region.