Delagoa is a

marine ecoregion A marine ecoregion is an ecoregion, or ecological region, of the oceans and seas identified and defined based on biogeography, biogeographic characteristics. Introduction A more complete definition describes them as “Areas of relatively homogen ...

along the eastern coast of Africa. It extends along the coast of

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

from the

Bazaruto Archipelago The Bazaruto Archipelago is a group of six islands in Mozambique, near the mainland city of Vilankulo. It comprises the islands of Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, Banque, Santa Carolina (also known as Paradise Island) and Shell. Nyati Island i ...

(21°14’ S) to

Lake St. Lucia Lake St Lucia (Lake Saint Lucia) is an estuarine lake system in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is the largest estuarine lake in Southern Africa, covering an area of approximately , and falls within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (a Worl ...

in South Africa (28° 10' S) in South Africa's

Kwazulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

province. It adjoins the

Bight of Sofala/Swamp Coast The Bight of Sofala/Swamp Coast is a marine ecoregion along the eastern coast of Africa, characterized by extensive mangrove swamps and coastal wetlands. It extends along the coast of Mozambique, from Angoche (16°14' S) to the Bazaruto Archipela ...

ecoregion to the north, and the Natal ecoregion to the south. It has Africa's southernmost tropical coral reefs and mangrove forests. It is the southernmost

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

ecoregion, marking the transition from the tropical Indo-Pacific to

Temperate Southern Africa Temperate Southern Africa is a biogeography, biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the temperate waters of southern Africa, where the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean meet. It includes the coast of South Africa and Namibia, and reach ...

Geography

The dominant shoreline feature in the ecoregion is sandy beaches backed by coastal dunes. The dunes can reach up to 120 meters in height, and older dunes are vegetated. Behind the coastal dunes are lagoons, including river estuaries, closed saline lagoons, and salt lakes. The warm

Agulhas Current The Agulhas Current () is the western boundary current of the southwest Indian Ocean. It flows south along the east coast of Africa from 27°S to 40°S. It is narrow, swift and strong. It is suggested that it is the largest western boundary curren ...

runs southward parallel to the coast.

Habitat types

Seagrass meadow A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and ...

s are found in sheltered waters behind coastal islands and in large estuaries. Outcrops of sandstone support algae and corals, including coral reefs. Hard corals are reaching their southern limit, and soft corals are more common. The Bazaruto Archipelago is home to fringing reefs and patch reefs made up of soft and hard corals. High thickets of ''

Porites ''Porites'' is a genus of stony coral; they are small polyp stony (SPS) corals. They are characterised by a finger-like morphology. Members of this genus have widely spaced calices, a well-developed wall reticulum and are bilaterally symmetric ...

'' and ''

Acropora ''Acropora'' is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. ''Acropora'' species are some of the major reef corals r ...

'' hard corals grow in the archipelago's sheltered back reefs. Fringing reefs are also found at Inhaca and Portuguese Islands near Maputo Bay. The southernmost reef corals are found on the northern coast of Kwazulu-Natal in South Africa, between the Mozambican border and Cape Vidal. A community of hard and soft corals, sponges, and

ascidians Ascidiacea, commonly known as the ascidians, tunicates (in part), and sea squirts (in part), is a polyphyletic class in the subphylum Tunicata of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer "tunic" ...

, known as the Maputaland Reef Complex, live on submerged outcrops of fossilized dune and beach rock 9 to 13 meters below the surface. The corals do not form reef structures. Mangroves occur at Bazaruto Island, at the mouth of the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountaino ...

, and around

Maputo Bay Maputo Bay ( pt, Baía de Maputo), formerly also known as Delagoa Bay from ''Baía da Lagoa'' in Portuguese, is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique, between 25° 40' and 26° 20' S, with a length from north to south of over 90&n ...

, including

Inhaca Island Inhaca Island (Portuguese: ''Ilha da Inhaca'') is a subtropical island of Mozambique off the East African coast. The main village is Inhaca, situated just over a kilometer from Inhaca Airport. Various tourist lodges are situated along the northwe ...

and the estuary of the

Komati River The Komati River, also known as the Inkomati River or Incomati River (in Mozambique, from Portuguese Rio Incomati), is a river in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique. Originating in north-western Eswatini, it is joined by the Crocodile R ...

Fauna

The seagrass meadows of the

are home to

Dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...

s ''(Dugong dugon)''. Loggerhead and

leatherback sea turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weights ...

s lay their eggs on the region's sandy beaches. The offshore area between Závora and Vilanculos attracts

whale shark The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, D ...

s ''(Rhincodon typus)'' and

manta ray Manta rays are large rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, '' M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, '' M. alfredi'', reaches . Both have triangular Pectoral fin#AnchPect ...

s ''(Manta alfredi'' and ''Manta birostris)''.Pereira, Marcos & Litulo, Carlos & Santos, Rodrigo & Costa Leal, Miguel & Fernandes, Raquel & Tibirica, Yara & Williams, Jess & Atanassov, Boris & Carreira, Filipa & Massingue, Alice & Marques da Silva, Isabel. (2014). Mozambique marine ecosystems review. 10.13140/2.1.2092.5766.

Protected areas

Marine protected areas include: *

Bazaruto National Park The Bazaruto Archipelago National Park (BANP) is a protected area in the Inhambane Province of Mozambique on the Bazaruto Archipelago. The park was proclaimed on 25 May 1971. It is off the coast of the Vilanculos and Inhassoro districts, coverin ...

, Mozambique *

Maputo Special Reserve Maputo Special Reserve (formerly known as Maputo Elephant Reserve) is a nature reserve in Mozambique. The reserve is located on Maputo Bay, approximately 100 kilometers southeast of the city of Maputo, Mozambique. The Reserve is 1,040 km2 (4 ...

, Mozambique * Ilhas da Inhaca e dos Portugueses Faunal Reserve, Mozambique * Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve, Mozambique *

Machangulo Private Nature Reserve image:The Crocodile River traverses South Africa ESA418736, Machangulo.jpg, The southern perimeter of Maputo Bay from space: Machangulo peninsula and Inhaca Island are at right and top right respectively. The Machangulo peninsula is situated in the ...

, Mozambique *

iSimangaliso Wetland Park iSimangaliso Wetland Park (previously known as the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park) is situated on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, about 235 kilometres north of Durban by road. It is South Africa's third-largest protected area, ...

, South Africa

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Mozambique Ecoregions of South Africa Marine ecoregions Western Indo-Pacific