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Dieren en planten

Animals   Marine fauna   Animal plankton   The fauna coastal waters   Harbour fauna   
Jassa, Foto Fitis, www.fotofitis.nl

Harbour fauna

Marine harbours contain many solid structures such as quays, jetties and car tires are found along the piers. Plankton filter feeders such as barnacles, mussels, sea anemones and sea squirts attach themselves to these materials. The lastly mentioned is found more often on hard surfaces in harbours than on any other form of hard substratum. Harbour slaters, gammarids, green shore crabs and prawns also rummage between the stones. Grey mullet are typical harbour fish living off of the rubbish thrown overboard.

  • Safe harbour?

    Sea and river water slow down in the harbours. That's also when a lot of silt sinks, which must be regularly dredged out in order to maintain the necessary depth in the harbour. A lot of polluted products are contained in that harbour mud. High concentrations of PAHs, PCBs, heavy metals and pesticides threaten the harbour environment. Examples of animals suffering from pollution are the common dog whelk and the whelk. They have disappeared from the marine harbours due to the high concentration of organotin compounds, materials used to prevent growth on the ships' hull.