Georgia Regions and Habitat websites.
These are from the DOE. I’ve not explored them so let me know of the ones you think are awesome and which
ones are not worth the time.
Piedmont
http://www.lilburnes.org/Students/Habitats/piedmont.htm
https://sites.google.com/a/whiteoakes.org/menright/georgia-regions/piedmont-region
http://www.freewebs.com/thompsonwhes/piedmont.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0213900/
Mountains
http://www.lilburnes.org/Students/Habitats/mountains.htm
https://sites.google.com/a/whiteoakes.org/menright/georgia-regions/mountain-region
http://www.freewebs.com/thompsonwhes/mountain.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0213900/
Swamp
http://www.lilburnes.org/Students/Habitats/okefenokee.htm
https://sites.google.com/a/whiteoakes.org/menright/georgia-regions/swamp-and-marsh-regions
http://www.wacona.com/okefenokee/okefenokee.html
http://www.freewebs.com/thompsonwhes/swampmarsh.htm
Coastal Plain
http://www.lilburnes.org/Students/Habitats/coast.htm
https://sites.google.com/a/whiteoakes.org/menright/georgia-regions/coastal-plains
http://www.freewebs.com/thompsonwhes/coast.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0213900/
Atlantic Ocean
http://www.lilburnes.org/Students/Habitats/ocean.htm
https://sites.google.com/a/whiteoakes.org/menright/georgia-regions/ocean
https://sites.google.com/site/georgiahabitats/atlanticocean
http://www.freewebs.com/thompsonwhes/atlanticocean.htm
??Marsh?? – The DOE did not offer any so we will find our own!
http://www.gpb.org/georgia-outdoors-classic/georgias-marshes (Whether or not you research this one, you
HAVE to see if the video will come up for you!! Plus you can use the side bar to see other Georgia Outdoors
videos/photos/articles.)
http://www.coastalgadnr.org/eo/sm (This is pasted on the sixth page.)
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1183 (I went ahead and copied it below , but I did
NOT do a grammar check.)
Tidal Marshes
Almost a third of the Atlantic Coast's tidal salt marshes are located in Georgia's Lower Coastal Plain, as are thousands
of acres of rare tidal freshwater marshes. Immortalized in poet Sidney Lanier's poem "The Marshes of Glynn," these
wide expanses of salt marsh are the most visible physical feature along Georgia's 100-mile-long coast. The salt
marshes stretch in a band four to six miles wide between the mainland and coastal barrier islands. A major reason for
Georgia's extensive expanses of salt marsh is that its coast experiences the highest tides along the southeastern
shoreline. In general, the higher the tidal range, the greater the production potential of the marsh.
Estimates of Georgia's total tidal marshland acreage vary. In 1977 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
reported that Georgia had 429,294 acres of tidal marshland, more than any other state on the East Coast. The study,
however, did not distinguish between salt marsh and freshwater marsh. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources
estimates that the state encompasses more than 378,000 acres of salt marsh.
Georgia's salt marshes are some of the most biologically productive natural systems on Earth. They produce nearly
twenty tons of biomass to the acre—which makes them four times more productive than the most carefully cultivated
cornfields, according to the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The enormous productivity helps to make the
salt marshes primary nursery areas for blue crabs, oysters, shrimp, and other
economically important fish and shellfish. Young shrimp and other marine organisms also
use salt marshes as shelters and hiding places from predators. In addition, salt marshes
help filter pollutants from the water and act as buffers against offshore storms. The
potential damage from large storm-spawned waves and tides is greatly reduced when
they pass over the marshes.
Tidal Creek, Sapelo Island
The origin of the salt marshes can be traced to the Pleistocene geologic epoch that began about 18,000 years ago.
Rising sea levels from melting continental glaciers created shallow lagoons behind young barrier islands. Ocean
currents and tidal rivers flowing into the quiet lagoons deposited large amounts of clay and sand sediments there.
Gradually, the sediments built up to the degree that they were no longer underwater at low tide.
The muddy soils then became fertile ground for one of the world's most salt-tolerant plants, Spartina alterniflora, or
smooth cordgrass. Spartina took root in the lagoonal sediments and flourished. Today, vast expanses of Spartina
dominate Georgia's salt marshes.
Georgia's twice-a-day tides are the lifeblood of the salt marshes. Incoming tides bring in nutrients from estuaries
connected by tidal creeks to the marshes. The nutrients nourish and feed the grasses of the marsh. Outgoing tides
carry nutritious marsh products—including detritus produced from decaying Spartina —back into the estuaries. There,
the products help to sustain large numbers of other marine organisms. The outgoing tides also remove wastes from
the marsh.
Salt Marsh Zones
The salt marsh may appear to be a homogenous, table-flat expanse of grass. But biologists usually divide the salt
marsh into ecological zones, which are based on increasing elevation from creek banks to the landward edge of the
marsh. With each change in elevation, tide inundation is to a lesser depth and for a shorter period of time. The height
of Spartina and the length of time it is exposed to saltwater also vary in each zone.
Zones in Georgia's salt marshes usually include creek bank, low marsh, high marsh, salt pan, marsh
hammock, and marsh border community. Spartina is at its most luxuriant, growing as tall as ten feet, along
creek banks. There, the tides bring in abundant nutrients and clay and sand sediments and efficiently wash
away salt, dead matter, and other waste.
Adjacent to creek banks are natural levees, which build up when the high tides overflow the banks and
deposit sediments. Spartina grows three to four feet atop the levees. Behind the levees is the low marsh zone, where
Spartina also grows about three to four feet tall. Though the tides flood this zone several hours a day, it does not get
as many nutrients and sediments as the upper creek bank. The only other plants in the low marsh zone are algae,
especially blue-green algae and diatoms. The sand content of the soil is less than 10 percent.
The high marsh zone is closer to land. Only a few inches of elevation may separate it from the low
marsh zone. Spartina is only a foot or so tall in the high marsh. Soil sand content is about 10-70
percent. Seawater inundates only an hour or so each day in the high marsh. The soil usually is
saltier than the low marsh because of poor tidal flushing. In the areas of high marsh closest to
land, however, freshwater runoff may have considerable influence on the vegetation. Here,
Spartina must compete with other salt-tolerant plants like glasswort, needlerush, saltbush, and
sandwort. About 18 percent of Georgia's salt marshes are composed primarily of needlerush
(Juncus roemerianus).
Salt pans are small barren areas of the high marsh too saline for any vegetation to grow. They form where
evaporation concentrates large amounts of salts in the marsh soil.
Marsh hammocks are actually marsh islands, the only dry land in the marsh. Living there are trees like red cedar and
wax myrtle and other plants like cactus, saw palmetto, yaupon holly, and yucca. About 1,200 hammocks dot Georgia's
salt marshes. Some are only a fraction of an acre in size; some cover more than 1,000 acres and support maritime
forests.
Only the highest of tides that occur once or twice a month reach the marsh border community, a transition zone
between marsh and upland areas. Growing here are groundsel bush, marsh elder, sea ox-eye daisy, and other plants
and shrubs able to withstand strong wind, salt spray, and an occasional inch or so of saltwater.
Salt Marsh Processes
All marsh soils are anaerobic, or without oxygen, except for the first few millimeters of the surface and around
Spartina roots and crab and worm burrows. Anaerobic bacteria living in the soil are responsible for the breakdown of
accumulated organic matter. The bacteria break down the organic matter into ammonium, hydrogen sulfide, methane,
and other products. Hydrogen sulfide gives the salt marsh its characteristic rotten-egg odor. Red streaks in marsh
mud also indicate the presence of oxidized iron, a common and important element in the marsh.
Spartina is
responsible for most of the food produced in the salt marsh. Less than 10 percent of the
living plant is consumed directly by insects, snails, and other organisms. But when
Spartina dies in the fall, bacteria and fungi break it down into minute particles called
detritus. Washed into the tidal creeks and estuaries at high tide, the detritus becomes the
most important part of the estuarine food web. The minute, decaying grass particles
Marsh Detritus
create a nutritious "soup" that feeds clams, crabs, small fish, oysters, plankton, and
shrimp.
Phytoplankton, which are tiny free-floating green plants in the water column, and microalgae known as diatoms,
which coat the mud's surface, also contribute significantly to marsh and estuarine food production. They produce their
own food through photosynthesis and are consumed by other organisms, including larval forms of marine creatures,
which support even larger animals.
Salt Marsh Animals
Most of the organisms that live in the salt marsh are transients that spend only part of their life cycles there. The
marsh has few resident plants and animals because of the harsh environment. The major conditions that severely limit
resident life are the intermittent exposure to air and saltwater as the tides rise and fall, the rapid changes of water
temperature and salinity with the inflow and outflow of estuarine waters, and saturated, anaerobic soils.
Many species of crabs live in the marsh. The brown squareback crab (Sesarma cinereum) is found on the landward
side of the marsh. The purple squareback crab (S. reticulatum) and mud crab (Eurytium limosum) are found in the
mud area on the levees in the dense Spartina. Two abundant fiddler crab species are the mud fiddler (Uca pugnax),
found in both high and low marsh, and the sand fiddler (U. pugilator), occurring in great numbers near the landward
edges of the marsh. The largest but least common of the fiddlers is the red-jointed fiddler (U. minax), which has a
high tolerance for freshwater.
Three species of snails are also commonly found in the salt marshes: the marsh periwinkle (Littorina irrorata), the
mud snail (Ilynassa obsoleta), and the air-breathing coffeebean snail (Melampus bidentatus). The snails feed on
detritus and algae and are a food source for many larger animals.
More than 100 insect species have been identified in Georgia's salt marshes. Two dominant species are salt marsh
grasshopper (Orchelimum fidicinium) and the planthopper (Prokelisia marginata). An ant (Crematogaster clara) lives
in the stems of Spartina. Two species of salt marsh mosquito are Aedes taeniorhynchus and A. sollicitans, both of
which attack humans. Three blood-sucking midges, Culicoides furens, C. hollensis, and C. melleus, breed in the salt
marsh. These noxious insects, commonly called "no-see-ums," are very abundant in the summer. Other annoying
marsh-breeding insects are deer flies (Chrysops spp.).
The only reptile inhabiting the salt marsh is the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys
terrapin). Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) occasionally feed in the marsh. Three bird species nest in the marsh—
the clapper rail, or marsh hen (Rallus longirostris); seaside sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus); and long-billed marsh
wren (Telmatodytes palustris). Great blue herons (Ardea herodias), common and snowy egrets (Egretta spp.), and
other wading birds commonly forage in the marsh at low tide. The willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus), though
common on beaches, is more common in the salt marsh.
Several mammal species also feed in the salt marsh. Raccoons are one of the most abundant. Marsh rabbits are
common along the marsh edges adjacent to high ground. Mink and otter are common but seldom seen. The rice rat is
common along the tidal creek levees.
Marsh Protection
In 1970 Georgia legislators, fearing that the state's coastal salt marshes would be irrevocably damaged by a proposed
phosphate mining operation and other industrial activities, passed the Coastal Marshlands Protection Act. The
jurisdiction of the act includes marshlands, intertidal areas, mudflats, tidal water bottoms, and salt marshes. They
were spurred on by scientific studies showing the immense value of the marshes for storm protection, for pollution
filtering, and as a nursery area for more than 70 percent of Georgia's economically important crustaceans, fish, and
shellfish.
The law provides the state government with the authority to protect tidal wetlands. The government manages certain
activities and structures in marsh areas and requires permits for other activities and structures. Erecting structures,
dredging, or filling marsh areas requires a permit from the Marshlands Protection Committee, administered through
the Coastal Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Research
Much of the world's pioneering research on salt marshes took place at the University of
Georgia Marine Institute on Sapelo Island. Established in 1953, the institute was the country's first and is one of its
most renowned centers dedicated to the exploration of salt-marsh and estuarine ecosystems.
The remote location of the institute provides researchers unparalleled access to largely undisturbed salt marshes,
which offer an ideal laboratory for studying how natural systems function as a whole. This ecosystems approach,
pioneered by University of Georgia ecologist Eugene Odum, was based on the relationship between the biological
(e.g., plants and animals) and physical (e.g., tides and geology) components of the environment.
Among other things, early scientists at the institute began charting the local food web. They studied how
microorganisms broke down the marsh grass into particles small enough to be consumed by tiny organisms that were,
in turn, eaten by the larger fish, birds, shrimp, and crabs. The researchers also helped to establish the importance of
coastal areas as nurseries for shrimp, oysters, and other ocean organisms. Their studies were the early building blocks
of ecosystem and landscape ecology, as well as of the emerging fields of conservation and restoration ecology.
Today, several institutions on the Georgia coast are involved in salt-marsh research. One focus of current research is
understanding the causes of an unprecedented salt marsh die-off that occurred in Georgia in early 2002. More than
1,200 acres have been affected. The mysterious marsh die-offs have laid bare large swaths of Spartina and
needlerush. The problem has significant implications for fisheries, navigation, water quality, and wildlife.
Freshwater Tidal Marshes
Georgia's freshwater marshes occur upstream of estuaries, primarily along rivers that flow into the estuaries. The
most extensive are those at the mouth of the Altamaha River and in the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge along the
Savannah River. Tides influence water levels, but the water in the marshes is fresh. The marshes may extend for
some distance up the rivers before being replaced by cypress-gum or hardwood swamps. Much of the area now
covered by freshwater marsh was cypress swamp before it was cleared and diked for rice culture.
The lack of salt stress allows a greater diversity of plants to thrive. Shallow freshwater marshes contain cattail, wild
rice, pickerelweed, bulrushes, smartweeds, arrowhead, and arrow arum and help to support a large and diverse range
of bird and fish species, among other wildlife. The deeper freshwater marshes are abundant, occupying about 25,000
acres, and consist almost exclusively of giant cutgrass (Zizaniopsis miliacea).
Tidal freshwater marshes are now relatively rare natural communities because vast tracts of them were lost to saltwater intrusion, drainage for development and agriculture, and other reasons. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
believes that the remaining freshwater marshes in the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge are threatened by the
deepening of the Savannah Harbor.
Another concern among scientists and conservationists is that rising sea levels brought on by global warming could
result in freshwater marshes being converted into salt marshes.
http://www.coastalgadnr.org/eo/sm
Georgia's Salt Marshes
Georgia's salt marshes play a unique role in maintaining the delicate
balance of nature so vital along our coastal estuaries.
Created as a result of glacial processes during the ice ages, the origin of
Georgia's marshlands can be traced back to the melting of the
continental glaciers resulting in higher sea levels. One theory suggests
that sediment, sand, and soil brought down by the rivers, blown by the
wind, and washed ashore by the waves gradually built up into ridges and
dunes on the landward side of the shoreline. Water from the melting
glaciers resulted in rising sea levels, which flooded the coast and
mainland, and the ridges were given prominence as barrier islands.
Ocean waters behind these islands formed lagoons, and later the marshlands. This process took place several
times; thereby creating additional marshes between more barrier islands, and finally the salt marshes as we
know them today.
Developed from the lagoons that filled with sediments and deposits from rivers and streams flowing to the
ocean, the marshlands of Georgia gradually began to assume their status as a vital part of some of the world's
greatest estuaries.
The most common of the salt marsh plants in Georgia is a tall cane-like grass called smooth cord-grass,
Spartina alterniflora, which virtually covers the coastal marsh area. The environment in which the salt marsh
flourishes is neither all terrestrial nor all marine, but rather a combination of both.
Many salt marsh plants actually do better in a fresh water environment but are not
often found there because of the competition from other species. But in the zone
where land meets a salt water bay, very few plants can survive. Most plants die
when flooded by salt water at high tide, but salt marsh plants have the ability to
remove most of the salt from the water it uses. This is accomplished by keeping
high concentrations of dissolved solids in the root structure and extracting salt
through highly specialized salt glands on the leaves.
These plants are hardy and have extensive underground structures. The plants root
system grows horizontally, giving rise to new plants. This allows the marsh grass to
spread rapidly. That's important, because these structures hold the marsh together
and slow erosion. An added benefit of the plants root structure is that the plant is
protected from hazards such as freezing or fire. This salt marsh grass is responsible
for the continuation and survival of the balance of nature within the estuarine
ecology. Georgia's coastal marshlands encompass approximately 378,000 acres in a four to six mile wide band
behind the barrier islands. Thriving in the waters of the estuaries, these marshes have been identified as one of
the most extensive and productive marshland systems in the United States. It is production almost beyond
comprehension, producing nearly twenty tons to the acre; it is four times more productive than the most
carefully cultivated corn. Georgia's salt marshes produce more food energy than any estuarine zone on the
eastern seaboard.
The tide is truly the life blood of the marsh bringing its contribution with each coming and going. The incoming
tide nourishes and feeds the grasses of the marsh and the outgoing tide transports food and nutrients produced
by the salt marsh to the sea. In general, the higher the tidal range the greater the production potential. Georgia
tides average approximately 6 1/2 feet but exceed 10 feet during
the highest spring tides.
As the salt marsh grasses die and decompose, nutrient by-products
are produced and taken by the outgoing tides and begin to feed an
ever-growing number of organisms until all forms of marine life in
the estuary have benefited. These minute, decaying grass particles
feed small fish, plankton, oysters, shrimp, clams, and crabs. The
marsh serves as a nursery ground for young fish, shellfish, and
crustaceans, which in turn support larger fish and the cycle goes on
and on. In addition, the stems and grass provide refuge for many
adult animals in estuaries where the salt and fresh water mixes.
The salt marsh serves as a primary nursery ground for many economically important fish and shellfish. Were it
not for the marsh, juvenile populations of crabs, shrimp, and fish would be greatly reduced.
The commercial catches of many popular offshore food fish show a direct relationship to the ratio of marsh
versus open water inshore. In other words, in regions where the inshore areas contain abundant salt marshes,
the offshore regions are more productive yielding more fish and other important food species. Catches of many
species of shrimp are greatly increased by the amount of salt marsh inshore of the commercial fishing area.
Additionally, our salt marshes act as buffers against offshore storms. Without their dissipating effect, hurricanes
and northeasters on the Atlantic coast would do much more damage. The destructive fury of large storm waves
and tides is greatly reduced by their passage across the marsh. The grass absorbs most of the wave and
current energy, which lessens the damage that can be done.
The Coastal Marshlands Protection Act
In 1970, the State of Georgia established the Coastal Marshlands Protection Act (CMPA) to protect the marsh
and estuarine areas, and to regulate the activities within these public trust lands that is held for the citizens of
Georgia. Through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Coastal Resources Division (GADNR-CRD),
the CMPA is enacted to protect the estuarine area so that residents and visitors of Georgia alike can fish, boat,
use, and enjoy all our salt marsh and tidal waters have to offer. Activities and structures in the coastal
marshlands are regulated to ensure that the values and functions of the coastal marshlands are not impaired
and to fulfill the responsibilities of each generation. As public trustees of the coastal marshlands for succeeding
generations, GADNR-CRD allows for the sustainable use of the estuarine area through permits and other
methods of authorization that will preserve the condition of the marsh while still allowing for its enjoyment.
The Coastal Marshlands Protection Act (CMPA) regulates activities and water dependant structures in
jurisdictional marshlands. Projects that require a CMPA permit include marinas, community docks, bridges,
dredging, bank stabilizations longer than 500’, modifications to any such structure, and any construction not
exempted from the Act, such as single-family private recreational docks. If you are planning any construction or
activity in or near salt marsh in the State of Georgia, you must contact our office for a jurisdictional
determination and to find out if you need a CMPA permit for your project. Click here for more information