Salt marshes are found around the world, but the one you are about to tour can be found right here in South Carolina on the North American continent. Salt marshes are located only along the coast. This is because a salt marsh is an area that is flooded by saline (salty) water. The salt marshes are better developed as you move farther south in South Carolina.
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The bay anchovy is the most numerous fish in the estuaries of South Carolina. They are food to larger fish and to many birds. Anchovies are specialized to feed on plankton. They have a huge mouth and...
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How can low levels of DDT in farm fields end up at high levels in ospreys? Several different pesticides, an example of which is DDT, can be biomagnified by the food chain. The pesticides are used to...
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Blue crabs are active predators and effective scavengers. They occur throughout the estuary. They can swim by using their last pair of legs, which have been modified into paddles instead of walking...
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Clapper rails live their whole lives in the salt marsh. They even nest in clumps of Spartina just above the water. The downy black young are hard to see against the dark marsh mud. Both the adults and...
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The most abundant animals in the plankton are copepods, such as the one pictured. As adults, they are less than 1 millimeter in length. The abundance and diversity of plankton species are highest in...
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Detritus is the collection of dead stems of Spartina and other things that float. This combination of materials floats up in the marsh during high tides, and winds often drive it ashore, where it...
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There are several species of flatfish that occur in South Carolina. These include flounder, soles, and tonguefish. The flatfish lie slightly buried on the bottom, where they wait for prey, such as...
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Fungi are the only kingdom of life not represented in the plankton. Bacteria have only recently been demonstrated to exist in great abundance as our sampling gear has improved enough to capture these...
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There are two species of glasswort. One is an annual and lives only for one year, then dies. It is the taller, branched plant farthest out into the salt flat. The other is a perennial and lives for...
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Great blue herons are the largest of our herons. Standing over 3 feet tall, with a large, 6-inch-long dagger of a beak, they eat anything they can spear. They are bluish-gray in color. They most often...
