Mangrove swamps contain very diverse communities due to the complex habitat formed by the network of mangrove roots. The mangrove leaves provide a food source to the detrital food chain. Seagrass beds and meadows consist of vascular plants with long, thin blades. They are most abundant in low intertidal to shallow subtidal areas. They provide a nursuray area for juvenile fish and a complex habitat for many animals.
Corals are anatomically simple animals that belong to the phylum cnidaria.
Coral reefs provide very complex habitat and often have associated communities with high diversity. There are two types of corals. First there are hermatypic or stony corals that are the reef forming corals and contain the zooxanthellae, this type of coral is restricted to warm, shallow waters. The second type of corals are ahermatypic corals which are solitary, do not form reefs, do not contain zooxanthellae, and are not restricted to warm, shallow waters and have been found in the cold, deep waters of the polar regions. Kelp beds are found in cold, temperate areas and can form forestlike growth along the inner continental shelf.