Brennan McClung
Shanon Moore
Abby Brancaleon
Coastal Wetland
Coastal Wetlands are land areas
covered with water all or apart of
the year. They include rivers, inlets,
bays, sounds, and mangrove forest
swamps in sheltered regions along
tropical coasts: all in temperate
zones.
Coastal Wetlands are located
mainly by large bodies of water.
Coastal Wetlands can be in all
parts of the world, a few examples
include:
•The Texas Gulf Coast
•Mississippi River Delta
•Southern Florida-Everglades
Climate
Temperature in Coastal Wetland:
40-80 degrees F
RainfallThey usually get 40 inches of rain a
month so they are humid foggy
and at times freezing
Unpredictable flows of freshwater
from coastal land and rivers after
heavy rains and of salt water from
the ocean as a result of storms,
hurricanes, and typhoons affect
the Coastal Wetlands overall
Climate.
Average temperature in the
Everglades stays between 65 and
85 Degrees F. The rainfall, on the
bottom, varies from about 1 inch
to 7 and a half inches.
Plant Adaptation's
 Annual Spikerush
 The Annual Spikerush is
able to stay in Coastal
Wetland Biomes because
of the Warm
temperatures.
Plant Adaptation's (cont)
 Arrow Arum
 This plant can grow in
light or darkness.
 So the Arrow Arum can
survive in a coastal
wetland even when there
is too much or too little
light.
Plant Adaptations (cont)
 American Lotus
 This plant is able to grow
in 16 ft deep water.
 And with coastal
wetlands having there
numerous deep waters,
the American Lotus can
survive.
•Short bill for shallow water
•Pointed bill to jab at mud quickly
•Sense of Touch in bill to locate pray
•Can Tolerate large range of salinity
•Non-retractable feeding tubes
•Eggs develop into larvae within a day
•Live off plant detritus between high/low tidal marks
•Climb stems of marsh grasses to avoid predators
•Operculum used to protect from cold
Soil and Chemical Cycling
•Hydric silty soil
•Good quality
•Filter pollutants and excess nutrients from plants
Economic Value
•Reduce storm damage
•Provide large amounts of species for food
•Store excess water to reduce flooding
Human Disturbance
•One third of mangrove forests destroyed
•Over-fishing of animals
Human Disturbance
•One third of mangrove forests destroyed
•Over-fishing of animals
Whooping Crane
Grus americana
•Lives in North America in the coastal wetlands of Texas USA
•They migrate not disperse
•They eat: Crabs, clams, crayfish, snails, minnows, frogs, larval insects,
and leeches
•Live in a nest made of bulrushes about 4 feet wide with flat topped
central mound up to 5 inches above water
•Their habitat is salt flats and marshes in the prairie during the winter
and during the summer they live in poorly drained wetlands in
Canada
Endangered because: power lines, illegal hunting, and habitat
loss. They are also susceptible to chemical spills and
petroleum contamination
They are endangered. It is thought that there are about 173 whooping
cranes left.
These birds are seriously endangered. They are trying to increase the
numbers by observing them in forest preserves and in captivity and they
are trying to save their habitats and minimize human threats with law
enforcement.
Coastal Wetlands Protection
Act
Year:2003
Mississippi
Regulated Activities:
•Dredging, excavating, or removing of aggregate of any kind
•Dumping, filling, depositing, aggregate of any kind
•Killing or damaging flora or fauna
•Erecting structures that affect the flow of the tide
This is enforced by the Mississippi Commision on
Marine Resources and the state of Mississippi
This law is protecting all the living things in the coastal wetlands
and preventing human intervention that could potentially cause
harm to the environment and living things.
No Changes have been proposed or made to this law