An Ecossytem At Risk:america's Wetlands

11 Pages 2658 Words

sses have adapted quite readily to this mix and with it many small animals have adapted as well. Often times there are also long mud flats that do not hold much vegetation but hold abundant amounts of shellfish such as oysters, mussels, and shrimp. I have been fortunate to spend a great deal of my time on the coast fishing for redfish and have observed the many transactions that take place in the tidal grass and the mud flats. Birds such as herons, egrets, and ospreys all thrive in the marshes. Shrimp, minnows, flounder, and other game fish spend a great deal of their lives growing up in the marshes. While in the marshes I have watched Great Blue Herons slowly tiptoe across the water’s edge and sit like a statue for minutes until at last they dart their heads down and come up with a shiny squirming minnow in their beaks. I have also watched as redfish are scoping the mud for crabs. Their tails with the large spot on the back come flapping back and forth across the water. One of the neatest things I have ever seen was when a group of dolphins came across a school of redfish on an oyster bank at the edge of a mudflat. The dolphins went into attack mode and created a scene similar to a killer whale attacking a seal. Water was splashing each and every way and the raw power of the dolphins was unleashed. However, as I have said before coastal wetlands are not the only wetlands. Inland wetlands also play a very important role in the environment. Inland wetlands can be found on every continent except for Antarctica. Wetlands need not be covered by water at all times of the year. A good definition of wetlands is as follows, “wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.” North Carolina has many important inland wetlands. Perhaps the rarest wetlands are those of the Southern Appalachians. ...