Bio 126 Marsh and Wetlands

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Bio 126Marsh and Wetlands
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Current state

• In California we have lost 90 of our wetlands

• Much of the Great Central valley was a seasonal
  marsh

• Our Largest lakes with miles of marshy shoreline
  were by Bakersfield. They had 2,100 miles of
  marshy shoreline

• 40 of the SF Bay has been filled in with land.

• Rivers have been channelized, shoreline reduced

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Types of Marshes

• Salt water marine or sea water marshes along
  bays and sea shore

• Mangrove swamps, important for island building in
  warm waters

• Brackish mix of salt or sea water and fresh
  water locations may vary by seasonal flow

• Estuaries river meets a bay, or sea

• Fresh water along streams and lakes

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Ecological Roles of Wetlands

• High productivity
• Filters water Laminar flow
• Fisheries
• Migrating resident birds
• Food, cover, nesting sites
• Traps nutrients, pollutants

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Salt Marsh Plants

• Halophytes at leading edge
• Plants adapted to salty conditions
• Many have Salt glands
• Succulents have swollen tissues that store water
  like Pickleweed

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Anatomy of Salt Marsh

• Open sea water
• Mudflats still under water
• Salt marsh above ground by inches, right next
  to mudflats.
• Salt content of soil high
• Fresh water marsh, higher up, and farther back
  from mud flats
• Salt content of soil very low

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Mudflats

• Forms new land by silting,
• Limited by high-tide line
• Area still under water at high tides
• Wind blows dust, plant trap sediments settling
  down slowly build up soil
• Differences in compaction create tidal meanders
  deeper channels
• Highest salt content same as sea
• Eel grass and sea lettuce- dominants
• Wading birds eat animals in mud

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Salt Marsh edge with sea water

• Cordgrass dominates
• Hollow stems, 2-3 ft. tall
• Rhizomes trap detritus, and sediments add to soil
• Highly productive
• Has nitrogen fixing bacteria in roots
• Few things eat cordgrass
• Fuels a detrivore based food chain
• Decays in mud, microorganism eat detritus
• Worms, snails, fish larvae eat microorganisms
• Birds, larger fish, eat worms etc.

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Salt Marsh farther inland

• Salt in soil is less than 2
• Saltgrass most common
• Other salt-tolerant species may be present such
  as
• Saltbush
• Sea Blite
• Marsh Grindelia a gum weed

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Fresh Water Marsh

• On inflow of creeks into salt marshes
• Around lakes streams inland
• Deltas of rivers

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Fresh Water Marsh Plants

• Floating plants microphytes
• Duckweed and Water-ferns
• Water hyacinth an introduce weedy species
• Tule Bullrush small spike of flowers and seeds
• Triangular stems up to 6 ft.
• Cattails column of small flowers / feather
  seeds
• Round hollow stems up to 10 ft.
• Can not tolerate water deeper than 4 ft.
• Shrubs and Trees Riparian areas
• may include Willows, Alder, Cottonwood, Sycamore

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A Saltwater Marsh in California
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Good website to view marshplants

• www.msnucleus.org/.../ mudslough/mudplants.html

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Cord grass
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Pickleweed
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Marsh GrindeliaGumplant
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Cattails
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Bull rush - Tule
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Marsh Birds

• Northern Harrier
• Rails
• Black Phoebe
• Kingfishers
• Egrets, Herons
• Ducks
• Western Meadowlark
• Smaller Waders Stilts, Avocet, Peeps Brewers and
  Red-winged Black birds

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Northern Harrier the marsh Hawk
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Great Egret
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Snowy Egret
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Great Blue Heron
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Green Heron
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Belted Kingfisher
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American White Pelican
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Canvasback Duck
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Lesser Scuap
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Ruddy Duck
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Pintail Duck
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American Wigeon
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Common Golden Eye
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Barrows Golden Eye
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Northern Shoveler
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Pied Billed Grebe
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Bufflehead
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Double Crested Cormorant
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American Avocet
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Black necked Stilt
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Killdeer
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Green winged teal
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Blue winged teal
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Cinnamon Teal
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Experimental field research in Marsh Ecology
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Other Marsh Animals

• Black-tailed Jack Rabbit
• Tule Elk
• Racoons
• Skunks
• Muskrats
• Otters
• Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
• Norway Rats
• Introduced red fox hunts marsh birds

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• Harrier, Northern

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A new Dawn for the Delta

• Glen Martin
• SF Chronicle December 30, 2005

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• SAN FRANCISCO BAY Bonanza of birds on the bay
  Tidal marshes' recovery has brought record
  counts
• Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer
• Saturday, March 26, 2005

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• SAN FRANCISCO BAY Bay researchers try to mow
  down enemy Invasive hybrid weed is suffocating
  mudflat habitats
• Glen Martin, Chronicle Environment Writer
• Tuesday, October 11, 2005

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Spartina alternifolia- Atlantic Smooth Cord
Grass
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