Brought to you by: Amanda Wink,Jayne Hirst, Marissa Van Dyke,

And ZacH Hunnings!

Wetlands are important to frogs, salamanders, and MORE! Amphibians hatch from eggs laid in wet ground or water. Young amphibians look like little fat fish called “Tadpoles”. Tadpoles have no legs but they have a long tale to swim. They breathe through gills. But… they wont be like that for their whole life, they will eventually grow legs and begin to breathe through lungs. Soon they will spend the rest of their lives on land. Salamanders (on the other hand) most of their adult life hidden in the forest/swamps. They eat worms and snails. “Watch out other insects they will eat u 2”! Most salamanders have bright colorful skin. Their bright colors warn predators about their poison. (don’t get to close)

That’s all we have for amphibiansHERES…………

There are tons of birds in the Wetlands. They usually have long beaks and long legs to help them stand in the muddy water. They use their beaks to catch fish, frogs, and crabs. Some of the types are Mallard Ducks, Canadian Geese, Seagulls, Blue Herons, Pelicans, Egrets, Rails, Cranes, and turns. Sometimes birds will get mixed up and eat the wrong things that people throw in the waters. If this continues to happen there might be a few birds that will be distinct. Please Stop littering and save the birds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!♥♥♥♥♥

We ♥ Birds!!

Wetlands don’t have a characteristic climate like other biomes. They can exist in polar, temperate, and tropical zones. Although not in deserts. The temperature can vary greatly, but by depending on the location of the wetlands. Many of the worlds wetlands are in temperate zones that are midway between the north and south poles also the equator. Wetlands in Arabian Peninsula can reach a 122 Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius). In Northern Siberia, which is a polar climate temperatures can be as cold as -60 degrees Fahrenheit (- 51 degrees Celsius). The rainfall that a wetland receives depends on it’s location. In southern Asia they can receive up to 200 in. (500 cm.) of rain. Wales, Scotland western Ireland can receive about 59 in. (That’s A LOT)

Deer use a variety of sounds to communicate like grunts and blows. Deer can not see in color but they can see shapes. They can also hear very well… better than people. The deer eat plants, or berries. Their fur can be used as coats or blankets to keep warm. They are called herbivores. They usually bed in grassy areas or in the woods. (P.S. It is not Bambi!)

Florida once was filled with everglades but in the 1900’s people drained most of the everglades for houses, towns, and dams. The problem is that no water is flowing through the wetlands. The water that is flowing with dangerous and poisonous chemicals. Now Florida has only one everglade. Today in Florida people know the importance to our wetlands. We are now building dams that flow through the wetlands. In addition scientist are saving money to get animals from zoo’s. Thanks to these efforts the wetlands are serving!!

When there is a heavy rain fall or any rain at all the wetlands soak up the rain like a sponge. During heavy rains on the oceans near the wetlands, the wetlands absorb the waves. This prevents buildings and roads near by from getting damaged. When the flows through the wetlands the plants and the bacteria remove the dangerous chemicals from the water. The soil in the wetlands removes the tiny pieces of rock.

Guides to the Wetlands

In order for a wetland to be in good condition the water should have a good quality. There should never have chemicals in or around the wetlands because they can hurt and possibly kill the animals. Them wetlands are very important for the animals. The wetlands is a big habitat for many animals.

You heard about amphibians, but have you heard about insects? Well the wetlands have thousands of insects. Scientist even found 40 different types of mosquitoes in the wetlands of Southern Florida. The animals depend on insects, we do too. Here is a couple of insects that live in the wetlands (ants, dragonflies, disonycha Pennsylvania (that’s a weird name for a bug), bees, butterflies, ladybugs, spiders (yikes), and many more. There are a lot of common bugs in that list. There is so much more you can learn out in the wetlands.

“HEY YOU how about you help the wetlands”? You can go to www.neponset.org/ and lend a donation. It has a club that goes and you know help the Wetlands. They would ♥ your donation. So go ahead and save one wetland at a time! (Give a shout out to Shirley W. Gray, Gail Gibbon, Microsoft PowerPoint 2003, and www.neponset.org!

The wetlands are something we all need to keep clean. There are millions of animals and plants that you could endanger. Most of them help us live and breathe. Some fish and animals help our environment. If you pollute or litter the animals and plants they could die. If you don’t do anything about it you could say “GOOD BYE” to the wetlands. If you want that to continue it will happen so keep in mind “STAY CLEAN AND EVERYTHING ELSE WILL TOO! :)

The Wetlands are found almost all around the world. Mostly Wetlands are often near lakes, ponds, rivers, and the ocean. Also have you ever heard of bogs, swamps, or marshes? Well… bogs are in cool climates. Large bogs are found in Canada, northern parts of the US, and Europe. Marshes are form along the shores of many lakes and rivers. Swamps plant life are mostly underwater. Some swamps are found in the southern USA. There are so many bogs, swamps, and marshes all around the world. All you need to do is step outside and help them!!!

Examples of wetland mammals are Raccoons, Beavers, muskrats, minks, and river otters. River otters are easily found in swamps and in marshes in North America! Others make their homes in burrows, and under the ground in little homes. They build little slides to escape easily when a predator comes near them. Their teeth are SSOO sharp that they can use them to cut down trees and branches. They use them to build a wall to prevent water from getting out. There are so much stuff about and hope you will find out more by visiting an aquarium near you!

Plant and animals depend on nutrients. Nutrients recycling starts when the dead plants are broken down by the process of decomposing. Decomposing is preformed by the decomposer of organisms. especially microscopic life forms called “bacteria”. Bacteria eats dead plants, animals, muskrats and many other creatures help the bacteria by chewing, tearing, and shredding the dead plants into smaller pieces. Moving water mixes the pieces of plant and animals with the decomposer bacteria by speeding. The moving water also aids nutrient recycling by causing more water to contact the air and absorbed oxygen.

Fortunately, people are discovering how important wetlands are to the health of the environment that surrounds the wetlands. Many countries now have laws to protect the wetlands, and they are working to protect even more. The Ramsar convention is an international treaty that has been signed by 146 parties to help the wetlands and their recourses. This is not the type of party your thinking. Also scientist are trying to stop the harmful things that are happening to the wetlands. We are trying hard to get are wetlands back to normal. Were really on the way to recovery

Many wetlands are covered with plants everywhere. Here are some examples of these plants one plant is called a cattail. Cattails grow over 6 feet tall. They have a fuzzy brown top that looks like a burnt hotdog. If you look closely at one on the top there’s seeds. When the time is right the seeds break away from the top and fly away in the world. Also they have trees growing in wet mud (gross) One of these trees are called a mangrove tree. The mangrove tree has huge roots so if a storm comes they will not fall down. Also even algae is a bacteria but do you know its made out of tiny plants. These are some of the plants that live in the wetlands. Try and find out for yourself you don’t know what you might find!(?)

Catfish can be small but they can be huge. There are lots of them in the wetlands.

Unlike other fish catfish don’t have scales, They have big mouths and eat stuff off the bottom the pond/river.

They ONLY live in fresh waterThere are 37 known catfish families.The last one was named as late as June, 2005There other characteristics are their hollow

leading ray on the dorsal and pectoral fins.People today ♥love♥ catfish today because the

are tasty!!People catch catfish with their bare-hands or

fishing rods.

Reptiles lay their eggs on land. They depend on their home for food. Like Alligators they live in swamps, bogs, and marshes in the warm parts of the world. They have dark, long, flat bodies. A giant mouth long rows of sharp teeth. They attend to eat fish, turtles, crabs, crayfish, and anything else they can find. Reptiles have slick, scaly skin. Their cold blooded. Some reptiles are nocturnal. There is 1 important thing I should tell you BE CAREFUL AROUND ROARAWESOME REPTILES!!!!!!!!!!!! (That means you People!)

V.S.

Soil in the Wetlands are usually in bogs. A bog is damp and lacks the food that living things need to grow. Most plants can’t survive under these conditions. But peat moss can. It is the most common plant in a bog. Most of the soil is saturated, this means it is full of water for most of the year. The reason the soil is saturated varies. The Wetlands are on the edge of a lake or pond with vegetation growing out of water and in soils at the lake margins. The lake levels determine the location of the wetland by controlling where the zone of soil saturation exists. Sometimes wetlands may not easily let the water flow.

There are many places you can visit wetlands. Like in North Carolina, and lots more. Going on a tour of the wetlands might be fun but it

can also hurt the wetlands. Littering and pollution. Some animals might even die from being in captivity. If you go on a tour

don’t litter. PLEASE!!??

There are dolphins in the wetlands, along with otters. The otters. The otters aren’t active around humans,

but active when humans aren’t around. There are also alligators, crocodiles, snakes, crabs, and eels.

Some of the snakes are the water moccasin, and the yellow belly water snake.

Dolphins were can I begin They’re Friendly, Valiant, Active, Vibrant, and some much more! They swim in pods which is basically their family. They swim through the wetlands but is not their regular

home. They eat jellyfish, squid, fish, and crabs. 1 Dolphin named “Winter” got caught in a fishing net and had and infection in his tail. He was held at the Clear Water Marine Aquarium. So then they cut it off. He soon was able to swim but not the right way. His tail was going side to side. They are supposed to go up and down. Doc. McCarthy made him a fake tail to help him swim. He then could swim. He was then known as a dolphin that never gave up!!

http://seewinter.com/winter/winters-story

Water in the wetlands is apart of everything in the wetlands. Like all of the fish, plants and animals. If there was no water everything will die some water grows stuff like peat moss. If the water gets polluted it won’t only kill fish… it will kill most of the animals that drink the water in that area.

So help the wetlands water stay clean by not littering or polluting the wetlands!!

If you see foot prints that are from an alligator or bear, You shouldn’t go that way unless you know its an old track. If you ever get caught up with an alligator don’t run just don’t move because they wont think you are a prey if you should have a first aid kit and I usually have a pistol for protection if you get caught up in the path of an animal. (P.S. Zach wrote this slide!)

There are many types of fish in the wetlands. Some of them are the bass, mullet, catfish, crappy, striped bass, and many more. Many fish are fewer in the wetlands. Be careful if you stick your hand in some if the fishes mouths. “It may take your hand off’”. That’s why you should know your fish!!

Zoom around the wetlandsIf you want to go to the wetlands here are some places to

go! BEAR RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE- Utah, DELTA MARSH- Mantobia, POINT PELEE NATIONAL PARK- Ontario, MOOSEHORN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE- Maine, GREAT SWAMP NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE- New Jersey GREAT DISMAL SWAMP NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE- Virginia, FOUR HOLES- South Carolina BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE-Florida EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK-Florida CORKSCREW SWAMP SANCUTARY-Florida OKEFENOKEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE-Georgia REELFOOT NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE-Tennessee ARANSAS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE-Texas KENAI NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE-Alaska JAMES CAMPBELL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE-Oahu THE ASAKAI- Kauai! Lots of places to see the wetlands.

Food Chain

The first wetlands formation was 300 million years ago

2/3 of all wetlands areas in the US are found in Alaska

Sections of some big cities were built where Wetlands use to be, They include Boston, San Francisco, and Washington

Less than ½ of 2/5 million acres of wetlands that were in the continental US still exist

Africa has more wetlandsSome dolphins can get caught in fishing nets

like Winter that got his tail cut off and had to get a fake one.

Created and Illustrated by: Amanda Wink♫ Jayne Hirst☼ Marissa Van Dyke(♥ Johnny Depp) Zach Hunnings☻