Salt Marshes
Zaid, Mota { } Eliseo, Columbie
Introduction
- There are many salt marshes in the US
- Big Lagoon State Park [] Christchurch, New Zealand [] Sapelo Island, Georgia []
- Marshes are part of a larger category of wetlands
- American Alligators are the Apex predators of Salt Marshes
Christchurch, New Zealand
Sapelo Island, Georgia
Atlantic coastal, Connecticut
Decomposers
The three roles of decomposers, principally bacteria and fungi, in estuarine intertidal flats and marshes have been reviewed by Peterson and Peterson (1979). They are:
decomposition of dead organic matter into inorganic nutrients and the cycling of these nutrients
conversion of often indigestible plant materials (such as cellulose) to a form (i.e., microbial biomass) that can be assimilated readily by detritus and deposit feeding organisms
conversion of dissolved organic and inorganic materials into consumable particulate matter
American Aligator
Kingdom: animal
Phylum: chordate
Class: Reptile
Order: Crocodalia
Family: Aligatoridae
Genus: Alligator
Species: Alligator mississippiensis
Food web
The Abiotic Factors of Salt Marshes
- Temperature
- pH
- Currents
- Minerals
- Sunlight
- Rock
- Water
- Flooding
- Mud and Cement
- Tides
Biotic Factors of Salt Marshes
There are many biotic factors in Salt Marshes such as:
Animals
Plants
Fungi
Bacteria
Protist
Human Impacts on Salt Marshes.
Three hundred and fifty years of wetland destruction and pollution have left a legacy on New England salt marshes. Today, some of the challenges facing wetland managers and scientist include the identification or imperiled salt marshes, the prioritization of sites for restoration, and the development of ways to measure the effectiveness of restoration efforts. Human Impacts are:
Pollution
Coastal Development
Improper marsh elevations
Non-native species