Wetlands!

Augusta Creek in Kellogg Forest

Wetlands vary dramatically in size; from a small pond to an entire continents shoreline. They are home to countless species; everything from phytoplankton, algae, and plants as producers; amphibians, birds, waterfowl, reptiles, mammals, fish, and insects as consumers; to fungi and bacteria as decomposers. In wetlands these interactions form more of a food web, than a straight food chain, as there are so many niches to fill. In just the area where the riverbank meets the water, there is life under the water, under the floor of the river, on the water’s surface, on the bank, in the air, and under the ground soil.

Pen at Brook Lodge in Augusta

 Wetlands are not only vital to the communities in the ecosystem themselves, but also the ecosystems nearby. Wetlands filter water that drains into aquifers and groundwater sources, provide water for the soil of adjacent ecosystems, and can transfer water underground across entire continents. They also serve as flood control, and soil control, as they stabilize nearby ecosystems soil nutrient balances.

Research Ponds at KBS

 Most people already know about rivers, lakes, and marshes, but there are many more types of wetlands. Bogs are a unique type of marsh, consisting of rain-fed areas that are high in acidity, and low in nutrients. They contain a vast amount of dead organic material called peat usually obtained from decomposing Sphagnum moss. Intertidal zones are areas where land and sea meet (or in the case of Michigan, where land and Great Lakes meet). Although the species diversity is much less than other wetlands, it still hosts numerous plants and invertebrates that fill its unique niches, such as starfish (a keystone species of these zones by the sea)

Shoreline of Lake Michigan in Muskegon

Unfortunately, globally, wetlands have been drained, filled in, and polluted, contaminating freshwater with sediment and toxins, and affecting everything from clean water availability and wildlife survival, to global climate change. Over 50% of America’s wetlands alone have been cleared away since the beginning of European colonization, and 60% of the world’s major rivers have been fragmented by dams, leading to reduced biodiversity, population displacement, and water pollution, forever changing the ecology of the planet.

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Bishop's Bog in Portage