By: Kory Edmundson

Marshes

What is a Marsh?A marsh is a flooded grass land

found next to ponds or lakes. Very large marshes can be found in North America . There are 2 different types of marshes: a fresh water marsh and a salt water marsh. Each marsh has different animals in it because not all animals can live in salt water or fresh water environments.

Salt Water MarshMarshes are very important habitats . So much

grass grows here that the only habitats on earth that grows more plants per acre than marshes are rainforests. This grass is very important for life in the ocean. When it dies the tide carries it into the ocean where its nutrients feed a variety of food chains. Many ocean animals would not be able to survive with out the marsh grass food for them or the animals they eat. Some animals that live in a salt marsh are Juvenile Fish, Periwinkle Snail, River Otter, Great Blue Heron, Oysters, Blue Crab, Bottlenose Dolphin, Diamondback Terrapin, Fiddler Crab, and Horseshoe Crab.

Freshwater Marsh A freshwater marsh is a lot of plants living

in fresh water found along the sides of ponds, lakes, streams, and some rivers. A freshwater marsh has standing water and that has mostly soft-stemmed plants such as water lilies, arrowheads, and sedges. A large variety of birds, animals, insects, fish, and reptiles live in freshwater marshes.  Animals like raccoons, muskrats, beavers, frogs, turtles and lots of species of birds and insects are common in marsh lands.

What is the problem with Marshes?

Everyday more and more trash, dirt, houses, and old junk goes in to the marshes. These problems can cause animals to die and kill species. We are slowly killing the marshes, the great plants, and animals that live there. If we destroyed the marshes then we can also help clean them up so all animals can live in it.

The Clean up Programs There is a lot of stuff that we can do to

help the marshes. We can recycle, community service, or go to local rivers and ponds to pick up trash.

Smart Technology Some technology that could be

used are: thermometers, computers, microscopes, cameras, video cameras, recorders, and sonar equipment.

Bibliography

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/habitats/saltmarshes.htm http://library.thinkquest.org/J003192F/marsh.htm

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/marsh/freshwater.shtml

http://water.epa.gov/type/wetlands/marsh.cfm

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Marsh