Ecotone

The noticeable transition between hardwood hammock and cleared land demonstrates another example of an ecotone. This kind of divide usually creates an edge effect, where there is a greater density of species living on the boundary than in either ecosystem it represents. Other examples of ecotones exist between marshlands (between dry and wet ecosystems), mangrove forests (between terrestrial and marine ecosystems), grasslands (between desert and forest), and estuaries (between saltwater and freshwater). Animal and plant species living primarily in an ecotone spot are called an edge species.