Salt Marshes
Everything you need to know about Salt Marshes
Where you will find Salt Marshes
You can find Salt Marshes in New Jersey, and east coast. They are also found on the shores of estuaries.
Information and Things You Need to Bring
Salt marshes are made of salt water that has been brought in by tides. It is called a marsh because of the mud and peat that has been composed in it. Salt marshes contain decomposing plant material that makes oxygen levels in peat very low. If you ever wanted to go to a salt marsh with your family here are somethings you would need to bring:
- Boat so you can look around
- Food in case the family gets hungry
- Boots you can walk in water with if you want to walk in the Salt Marsh
- Camera to take a picture of the beautiful animals of the salt marsh
- First aid kit
Plants in Salt Marshes
There are many different types of plants in salt marshes. Many of them are native plants that have been there for a long time. Some are invasive plants that are taking away the homes of the Native plants.
- Widgeon Grass (Ruppia Martima) (Native plant)
- Phragmites Reed (invasive plant)
- Seablite (Suaeda) (Native Plant)
- Pickle- weed (Salicornia) (Native Plant)
- Spartina (Native Plant)
Animals in Salt Marshes
Fish:
- Carp
- Atlantic Silverside
- Winter Flounder
- Four-Spine Stickleback
- Shrimp
- Sand Eel
- Least Tern
- Common Tern
- Cormorant
- Osprey
The Science of Salt Marshes
Salt marshes work as a filter to take sediments and toxins out of water so it is safe to drink. A impact humans have on salt marshes is they destroy them so they can make more land to build houses on. Most of the united states salt marshes were destroyed between 1950 and mid 1970s.
How to protect salt marshes
You can protect salt marshes by letting people know the damage they are doing to our water supply by destroying salt marshes for land.