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When you think of wetlands, images of landfill, dredging,
and mosquito control might come to mind. But wetlands and coral reefs
are second only to tropical fainforests in their rich diversity of species.
They are often called nurseries of the sea.
These ecosystems include an enormous variety of creatures, from bacteria
to barracuda. Many types of commericially important marine animals, such
as shrimp, crab, menhaden, anchovy, and striped mullet, spend the vulnerable
stages of early life sheltered in these wetlands and around coral reefs.
Saltmarshes, mangroves, estuaries, and swamps represent four types of
wetlands, or soggy, lowland areas that provide habitat for wildlife. In
the temperate zone, grassy tidal wetlands are called saltmarshes. In the
tropics, these tidal areas support mangrove forests. Estuaries are formed
around the brackish, silty water where a river meets the sea. Swamps are
a type of landlocked, freshwater wetland. Coral reefs are limestone "forests"
that grow in shallow, tropical waters.
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UXL Encyclopedia of Biomes
*R-SIBL QH541.14.U18
Habitats and Ecosystems: an encyclopedia of endangered
America
*R-SIBL QH76 .C73
Directory of Wetlands of International Importance
*R-SIBL QH541.5 .M3 D57 1990
Computer Indexes
General Science Abstracts
Biology Digest
Print Indexes
General Science Index*R-SIBL
Z7401 .G46
Biological Abstracts*R-SIBL QH301 .B37
Environment Abstracts*R-SIBL GF1 .E553
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Applied Wetlands Science and Technology edited
by Donald M. Kent
JSE 95-1554
Ecological Stress and the New York Bight: science
and management
edited by Garry F. Mayer
JSE 84-590
Heartbeats in the Muck: The history, sea life, and
environment of New York Harbor
by John Waldman
IRGC 00-5912
Tropical Mangrove Ecosystems
edited by A.I. Robertson
JSE 93-736
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