Maltese Habitats
Transitional Coastal Wetlands
Some coastal wetlands appear to be transitional between freshwater wetlands and saline marshlands in the sense that the biotic assemblages they support consist of species typical of both freshwater and saline habitats. Such wetlands arise when rainwater collects in depressions cloe to the sea. Under appropriate conditions, these pools become colonised byspecies typical of freshwater which have some degree of tolerance to maritime influence. During the dry period the only water arriving in these depressions is seawater carried by wind and wave action; conditions therefore favour brackish water species.
The same habitat therfore supports different suites of species at different periods of the annual cycle. Some long-lived and tolerant brackish water species may persist throuhout the freshwater phase giving rise to the specific biota which characterise such wetland.
