What is a Lagoon

Lagoons are isolated bodies of water separated from oceans, seas, or rivers and surrounded by land. They are typically shallow, often less than 6 feet deep. They can occur naturally or be mechanically dredged and artificially constructed. Lagoons are perhaps most famously associated with tropical islands or Caribbean shorelines and are part of a type of coastal wetland ecosystem.

What is the Biology of a Lagoon?

Lagoons host a variety of marine and aquatic life, according to the geography of the area they inhabit. As they are typically warmer and calmer than the adjacent ocean or sea, they present an ideal environment for fish, shellfish, and waterfowl. Plants such as water lilies, reeds, mangroves, and seaweeds can thrive in lagoons and are host to a variety of bacteria, fungi, and microorganisms important for their ecology. In certain tropical lagoons that are kept from the open ocean by coral reefs, shark and other large predatory aquatic species are part of the Lagoon’s wildlife.

Benefits of Lagoons

Lagoons can provide a variety of benefits to the environment through their functioning ecosystem. For instance, seagrasses and algae can play an important role in regulating water temperature by absorbing heat from the sun. Lagoons help to filter runoff from land and absorb pollutants, collecting them on their sediment before they find their way into the ocean. Finally, lagoons provide important habitats for aquatic mammals and fish, who use them to breed, feed, and breed again.