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Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Salt Marsh Food Web
A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food. Some animals eat plants and some animals eat other animals. For example, a simple food chain links the plants, snails (that eats the plants), and the birds (that eat the snails). Each link in this chain is food for the next link. Food Webs are networks of several food chains. They show how plants and animals are connected in many ways to help them all survive. Below are some helpful terms associated with food chains and food webs.
Helpful Terms
Ecosystem- is a community of living and non-living things that work together.
Producers - are plants that make their own food or energy.
Consumers -are animals, since they are unable to produce their own food, they must consume (eat) plants or animals or both.
There are three types of consumers:
Herbivores -are animals that eat only plants.
Carnivores - are animals that eat other animals.
Omnivores - are animals that eat both plants and animals.
Decomposers -are bacteria or fungi which feed on decaying matter. They are very important for any ecosystem. If they weren't in the ecosystem, the plants would not get essential nutrients, and dead matter and waste would pile up.
Salt Marsh Food Web Activities
The salt marsh houses many different plants and animals that eat each other, which is an intricately woven web of producers, consumers, and decomposers. Consumers usually eat more than one type of food, and they may be eaten by many other consumers. This means that several food chains become connected together to form a food web. Use the “Helpful Terms” and the “Salt Marsh Inhabitants Guide” to help with the following activities.
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Salt Marsh Food Web Activity 1
Draw arrows from the prey to the predator(s).
Hint: Draw one food chain at a time.
Dec omposers
Detritus
Plankton
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Teacher’s Key
Salt Marsh Food Web Activity 1
Draw arrows from the prey to the predator(s).
Hint: Draw one food chain at a time.
Dec omposers
Detritus
Plankton
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Teacher’s Key
Salt Marsh Food Web Activity 2
Answer the following questions using the “Helpful Terms” and the “Salt Marsh Inhabitants’ Guide.”
1. Identify the producer (s):_ Salt Marsh Cordgrass, phytoplankton **__
- Identify the consumer(s):** Blue Crab, Fiddler Crab, Marsh Periwinkle, Oysters, Quahog Clam, Mussels, Oystercatcher, Laughing Gull, Great Blue Heron, Diamondback Terrapin, Flounder, Raccoon, zooplankton 3. Identify the herbivores: Marsh Periwinkle, Fiddler Crab 4. Identify the carnivores : Oystercatcher, Laughing Gull, Great Blue Heron, Diamondback Terrapin, Flounder, Raccoon 5. Identify the omnivores: Blue Crab, Oysters, Quahog Clam, Mussels, zooplankton 6. Why are decomposers important to an ecosystem? Decomposers feed on decaying plant and animal matter, so the nutrients contained within the matter can be reused. If decomposers were not in the ecosystem, the plants would not get essential nutrients, and dead matter and waste would pile up.
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Inhabitants Information
Laughing Gull
Laughing Gulls are normally seen near the water, but also can be found inland. They eat crabs, fish, mussels, clams, and terrapin eggs. Laughing Gulls eggs and young are eaten by foxes, raccoons, and even by herring gulls, and great black backed gulls.
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Herons are wading birds that can grow up to 4ft tall making them the largest heron in North America. They feed mostly on small fish, amphibians, and crustaceans. Great Blue Herons are eaten by eagles, hawks, and raccoons when they are young and sometimes as adults.
Diamondback Terrapin
Diamondback Terrapins are the only species of turtle in North America that spends its life in brackish water. They eat clams, snails, mussels, fish, shrimp, and crabs. Diamondback Terrapins females that are nesting are sometimes eaten by raccoons. Terrapin eggs and hatchlings are preyed upon by a wide variety of animals including crabs, gulls, foxes, and raccoons.
Flounder
Flounder are bottom dwellers in muddy sediments. They eat shrimp, crabs, and other fish. Flounder are eaten by humans, sharks, rays, and goosefish.
Raccoon
Raccoons live in sparsely wooded areas, near ponds, streams, and marshes. They eat mice, birds, oystercatcher eggs, terrapin eggs, crabs, fish, and frogs. Raccoons are eaten by bobcats, coyote, and great horned owls which primarily prey on the young.
Bacteria and Fungi (Decomposers)
There are many kinds of decomposers and most are microscopic. Fungi can be seen for example: mushrooms. Each decomposer has different jobs in the ecosystem. Some kinds of bacteria prefer breaking down meat or waste from carnivores. Actinolites only break down dead plants, including hard to break down plants and the waste of herbivores. Certain kinds of fungi prefer fruits and vegetables.
Detritus
Detritus is finely divided rock, animal, or plant remains. It fuels the marsh and its animals. Detritus is the base of a salt marsh food web.
Plankton
Plankton are microscopic organisms that float freely with oceanic currents and in other bodies of water. They are made up of tiny plants called phytoplankton and tiny animals called zooplankton. Phytoplankton use chlorophyll to convert energy from sunlight, inorganic chemicals like nitrogen, and dissolved carbon dioxide gas into carbohydrates. Zooplankton eat other plankton. Plankton are eaten by clams, oysters, mussels, fish, birds, and many other organisms.
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Commonly Asked Questions About the Cape Fear Salt Marsh and Estuary
What is an estuary? An estuary is defined as where the river meets the sea. It is often partially enclosed, with slow-moving currents and banked by low-lying lands covered in salt-tolerant grasses or salt marshes.
What is a salt marsh? A salt marsh is a low, wet area that is flooded by saltwater during high tides. These salty wetlands support many kinds of plants (producers) and animals (consumers). When these plants and animals die, bacteria and fungi (decomposers) release the energy trapped in these tissues back into the salt marsh system.
Salt marsh cordgrass, or Spartina , a grass able to grow in salty areas, usually dominates North Carolina salt marshes. This primary producer creates its own food through photosynthesis, using sunlight as its energy source. The tall grass slows the flow of water, trapping the soils, plankton and other nutrients carried in by the tides. Spartina also provides both food and habitat for many animals.
Spartina is considered a “nutrient bank” because it is rarely eaten until it has begun to decay. Crabs and other animals will eat the decaying grasses and what they do not consume, bacteria and fungi will break down into its basic nutrient components. These nutrients become suspended in the next tidal flood. In estuarine waters, tiny plants called phytoplankton take in these nutrients. Tiny animals called zooplankton then eat the phytoplankton. Zooplankton is the basic food source of small fish, which are eaten by larger fish, which are eaten by larger animals like birds such as herons. This simple transfer of energy is called a food chain. When other birds, sea turtles and humans eat the same fish as the heron, this creates a more complicated energy transfer network called a food web.
Why is the bottom of the salt marsh muddy, instead of sandy like the ocean floor? In calm water, tiny particles of silt settle to the bottom. Salt marshes can develop only in areas protected from the fury of ocean waves. The presence of salt marsh grasses in these low energy zones tends to further slow the flow of water. Decaying plant matter called detritus enriches the resulting “muck” on the bottom. This salt marsh is also in an area where freshwater mixes with saltwater. This mixing causes some particles that would normally stay suspended in the water to settle out.
Is the tide pattern in the salt marsh the same as that in the outer ocean? While the tidal pattern is very similar, the tide times will vary greatly. In our area the tide in the salt marsh usually rises and falls later than in the outer ocean. This time difference is influenced by the width and depth of the connecting inlet.
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Sea Scholars Vocabulary List
Community All the interacting plant and animal populations in a common area.
Consumer An animal that eats plants or animals or both in a food chain, food web or energy pyramid. Consumers are unable to produce their own food.
Condensation Is what occurs as water vapors come together, cool and form liquid water.
Decomposer Bacteria or fungi, such as a mushroom, that breaks down decaying plants and animals into their basic components.
Detritus Finely divided rock, animal or plant remains. Detritus is the base of one salt marsh food web.
Ecology The study of the relationships between organisms and their environment.
Ecosystem All the living and non-living things interacting in a defined area.
Environment The surroundings in which a person, other animal, or plant lives, which can affect growth. The Aquarium makes each animal's tank like a natural environment.
Estuary A semi-enclosed body of water where a river and ocean water meet and mix.
Evaporation Water leaving the surface of an object after it is turned into a gas or vapor by the sun’s heat.
Food web Several connecting food chains represented by the decomposers, producers and consumers in a community.
Habitat The place where a plant or animal lives.
Objectives: By the end of this activity students will be able to define words that will be used during their visit to the aquarium as a Sea Scholar.
Additional activity: Students may write sentences, look the words up in the dictionary, or doing mini-research papers on one of the words to increase their understanding of this vocabulary.
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Maritime forest A habitat containing trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and wildflowers, growing close to the ocean on relic dunes. Relic dunes are old dunes that were left behind as the ocean receded.
Nutrients The basic components needed by plants and animals to grow.
PH^ Is a measure of hydrogen ions in a solution. Acids have a pH below 7; bases or alkaline solutions have a pH above 7; neutral solutions have a pH of 7.
Photosynthesis A process plants use to make sugars from water and carbon dioxide. The sun provides the energy.
Precipitation Occurs when condensed water vapor becomes heavier than the surrounding air, changes to a liquid and falls to Earth. Depending upon conditions in the Earth’s atmosphere, precipitation can occur as rain, sleet, snow or hail.
Producer Plants that make their own food or energy.
Salinity The amount of dissolved inorganic (salts) in seawater. It is commonly expressed in parts per 1000 (0/00). Ocean water is approximately 32 0/ or 32 part of salt per 1000 parts of water.
Salt A water-soluble mineral that is found in seawater and in the earth. Sea salt is composed mostly of sodium chloride, but other salts are also present.
Salt Marsh Wetland area formed where oceans or estuaries meet the land.
Succession Changes in community structure, over time response to changing environmental factors. For example, a grassy field grows into a wooded forest.
Tides The regular rising and falling of coastal waters in response to the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. The tides are known as semi-diurnal, which means we experience two high and two low tides in a 24-hour cycle. In some places there are also wind driven tides.
Transpiration Evaporation of water that occurs from the leaves of a plant.
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
SALT MARSH ORGANISMS
PLANTS salt marsh cordgrass marsh lavender glasswort black needle rush seaside goldenrod sea lettuce yaupon phragmites sea oxeye wax myrtle saltmeadow hay
INVERTEBRATES MOLLUSKS mud snail false razor clam oyster drill marsh periwinkle quahog clam lightning whelk
CRUSTACEANS Amphipod fiddler crab mud crab pink shrimp hermit crab blue crab grass shrimp
INSECTS salt marsh mosquito deerfly rubber fly tiger beetle horse fly dragon fly sand fly
VERTEBRATES FISHES spot mummichog menhaden flounder croaker pinfish mullet silverside anchovy eel (larval stage) killifish REPTILES diamondback terrapin six-lined racerunner coachwhip snake common snapping turtle legless lizard rough green snake BIRDS brown pelican snowy egret marsh hawk common egret great blue heron barn swallow red-winged blackbird laughing gull osprey willet black skimmer purple martin American oystercatcher least tern royal tern MAMMALS North American river otter raccoon marsh rice rat white-tailed deer marsh rabbit gray fox
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
Objectives: By the end of this activity students will have created a herbarium that shows the relationship between nature and art.
Materials needed: Crayons Paper Paint* Paintbrush* Scissors Newspaper Heavy books Page protector Clear cellophane tape Plant species account worksheet Glue Pictures or illustrations 3x5 index card (optional) Notebook
Additional Activity: Instead of pressing or drying the leaves, you could try the ancient art of Nature Printing to document the leaf. This takes practice but is fun to learn.
Nature Printing Directions:
- Gently remove 1 or 2 leaves from the plant.
- Lay the leaves on newspaper.
- Paint the leaves with a brush and paint of your choice.
- Place the leaves on a clean section of newspaper.
- Place a clean piece of paper on top of the leaves and gently press.
- Remove the paper without smearing the paint.
- You should have a detailed impression of your leaf.
- Allow to the impression to dry.
- Cut out the impression.
- Glue in place on your herbarium sheet.
Herbariums
Herbariums are fun ways to learn about and document plants that you see in and around your home or schoolyard. It’s a great activity for class projects. Herbariums combine nature with art.
Activity:
Preparing your Herbarium Look around your home or schoolyard for a tree or plant that catches your eye. Gently remove one or two leaves. Make a bark rubbing by placing a sheet of paper against the bark of the tree. Using a crayon lengthwise, rub the paper against the bark until you have a clear pattern. Keep this rubbing in a safe place for later use. Take a photograph and/or make a quick sketch of the tree. Jot down a few notes about the tree or plant so that you can identify it. Place the leaves between two sheets of newspaper. Place heavy books on top of the leaves and set aside in a cool dry place for two weeks. Identify the tree by looking at field guides for your area, asking a friend or family member or by speaking with someone at a local plant nursery. Once you think you have the plant identified, look up information about the plant in books or on the Internet.
Constructing the Herbarium Using a sheet of paper, plan where you will put the various items you have prepared for your herbarium. Transfer the information about the plant from your notes to the 3x5 card. Place the card where you would like it onto the paper. Place your photo or illustration on the paper where you would like it. Cut a section of the bark rubbing and place on the paper. Place the pressed leaves on the paper. Once you have everything arranged as you like it, take the glue and secure the items to the paper. Once the glue is dry, place the paper with everything on it into the page protector. Seal the page protector with cellophane tape. Place the pages from each student into a notebook to display.
