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Many species of frogs live in wetlands, while others visit them each year to lay eggs. Snapping turtles are one of the many kinds of turtles found in wetlands. Many species of fish are highly dependent on wetland ecosystems. [44] [45] Seventy-five percent of the United States' commercial fish and shellfish stocks depend solely on estuaries to ...
These are groups with members found in wetland environments throughout the world. Ceratophyllum demersum is a cosmopolitan species of aquatic plant.; Drosera, the sundews, are carnivorous plants with species found on every continent except Antarctica.
The biotic characteristics are mainly determined by the organisms that occur. For example, wetland plants may produce dense canopies that cover large areas of sediment—or snails or geese may graze the vegetation leaving large mud flats. Aquatic environments have relatively low oxygen levels, forcing adaptation by the organisms found there.
Wetlands exist on every continent, except Antarctica. [19] The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or saltwater. [18] The main types of wetland are defined based on the dominant plants and the source of the water. For example, marshes are wetlands dominated by emergent herbaceous vegetation such as reeds, cattails and sedges.
Aquatic animals, from fish to salamanders, are generally able to live with a low amount of oxygen in the water. Some can obtain oxygen from the air instead, while others can live indefinitely in conditions of low oxygen. [3] The pH in marshes tends to be neutral to alkaline, as opposed to bogs, where peat accumulates under more acid conditions.
Coastal wetlands also reduce pollution from human waste, [41] [42] remove excess nutrients from the water column, [43] trap pollutants, [44] and sequester carbon. [45] Further, near-shore wetlands act as both essential nursery habitats and feeding grounds for game fish, supporting a diverse group of economically important species. [46] [47] [48 ...
Wetlands have decreased by as much as 50% since 1900 and in some parts of the world by 90%. [19] [20] Inland wetlands, freshwater marshes making up about 20-25% of all freshwater wetlands globally, [21] have been decreasing approximately 1.2% each year throughout the last century (since 1900). [22] [23]
Many small animals use aquatic plants such as duckweeds and lily pads for spawning or as protective shelters against predators both from above and below the water surface. Aquatic plants are important primary producers and are the basis of food web for many aquatic fauna, especially wetland species. [38]