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Three different species of shrimp are collected commercially from offshore and from the salt marsh. They are the pink shrimp, the brown shrimp, and the white shrimp. They are large, up to 10 inches in...
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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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At low tide, the periwinkles crawl down to the base of the stem, where algae grow best, and graze the algae off the stems. When the tide rises, however, the periwinkles crawl up the stems. Why don't...
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The wrens build their nests in the tips of living Spartina. The nests are made out of dead Spartina. They are not open, but are covered, so the nest looks like a ball of dead grass. There is a hole on...
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Male fiddler crabs have one large claw, which can be either their left or right. They wave these large claws at other males to frighten them away from their territory. When they wave the claw, they...
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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...
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It ís a raccoon! Raccoons often feed near water and frequently visit the salt marsh during low tide. Raccoons are omnivorous and eat many different plants and animals. In the salt marsh, they often...
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Alligators are not normally found in brackish or salt water, although they do occasionally swim there. They much prefer freshwater and must return to it to drink. They can reach 19 feet in length, but...
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Salt grass sends underground stems called rhizomes into the salt flat. Sprouts from these rhizomes make stems and leaves above ground. You can see where the rhizome lies underground because the stems...
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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...