The World of the Salt Marsh

The World of the Salt Marsh PDF Author: Charles Seabrook
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 0820343846
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
The World of the Salt Marsh is a wide-ranging exploration of the southeastern coast—its natural history, its people and their way of life, and the historic and ongoing threats to its ecological survival. Focusing on areas from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, Charles Seabrook examines the ecological importance of the salt marsh, calling it “a biological factory without equal.” Twice-daily tides carry in a supply of nutrients that nourish vast meadows of spartina (Spartina alterniflora)—a crucial habitat for creatures ranging from tiny marine invertebrates to wading birds. The meadows provide vital nurseries for 80 percent of the seafood species, including oysters, crabs, shrimp, and a variety of finfish, and they are invaluable for storm protection, erosion prevention, and pollution filtration. Seabrook is also concerned with the plight of the people who make their living from the coast’s bounty and who carry on its unique culture. Among them are Charlie Phillips, a fishmonger whose livelihood is threatened by development in McIntosh County, Georgia, and Vera Manigault of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, a basket maker of Gullah-Geechee descent, who says that the sweetgrass needed to make her culturally significant wares is becoming scarcer. For all of the biodiversity and cultural history of the salt marshes, many still view them as vast wastelands to be drained, diked, or “improved” for development into highways and subdivisions. If people can better understand and appreciate these ecosystems, Seabrook contends, they are more likely to join the growing chorus of scientists, conservationists, fishermen, and coastal visitors and residents calling for protection of these truly amazing places.

The World of the Salt Marsh

The World of the Salt Marsh PDF Author: Charles Seabrook
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 0820343846
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 380

Get Book

Book Description
The World of the Salt Marsh is a wide-ranging exploration of the southeastern coast—its natural history, its people and their way of life, and the historic and ongoing threats to its ecological survival. Focusing on areas from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, Charles Seabrook examines the ecological importance of the salt marsh, calling it “a biological factory without equal.” Twice-daily tides carry in a supply of nutrients that nourish vast meadows of spartina (Spartina alterniflora)—a crucial habitat for creatures ranging from tiny marine invertebrates to wading birds. The meadows provide vital nurseries for 80 percent of the seafood species, including oysters, crabs, shrimp, and a variety of finfish, and they are invaluable for storm protection, erosion prevention, and pollution filtration. Seabrook is also concerned with the plight of the people who make their living from the coast’s bounty and who carry on its unique culture. Among them are Charlie Phillips, a fishmonger whose livelihood is threatened by development in McIntosh County, Georgia, and Vera Manigault of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, a basket maker of Gullah-Geechee descent, who says that the sweetgrass needed to make her culturally significant wares is becoming scarcer. For all of the biodiversity and cultural history of the salt marshes, many still view them as vast wastelands to be drained, diked, or “improved” for development into highways and subdivisions. If people can better understand and appreciate these ecosystems, Seabrook contends, they are more likely to join the growing chorus of scientists, conservationists, fishermen, and coastal visitors and residents calling for protection of these truly amazing places.

Salt Marshes

Salt Marshes PDF Author: Judith S Weis
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813548519
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
Tall green grass. Subtle melodies of songbirds. Sharp whines of muskrats. Rustles of water running through the grasses. And at low tide, a pungent reminder of the treasures hidden beneath the surface.All are vital signs of the great salt marshes' natural resources. Now championed as critical habitats for plants, animals, and people because of the environmental service and protection they provide, these ecological wonders were once considered unproductive wastelands, home solely to mosquitoes and toxic waste, and mistreated for centuries by the human population. Exploring the fascinating biodiversity of these boggy wetlands, Salt Marshes offers readers a wealth of essential information about a variety of plants, fish, and animals, the importance of these habitats, consequences of human neglect and thoughtless development, and insight into how these wetlands recover. Judith S. Weis and Carol A. Butler shed ample light on the human impact, including chapters on physical and biological alterations, pollution, and remediation and recovery programs. In addition to a national and global perspective, the authors place special emphasis on coastal wetlands in the Atlantic and Gulf regions, as well as the San Francisco Bay Area, calling attention to their historical and economic legacies. Written in clear, easy-to-read language, Salt Marshes proves that the battles for preservation and conservation must continue, because threats to salt marshes ebb and flow like the water that runs through them.

The World of The Salt Marsh

The World of The Salt Marsh PDF Author: Charles Seabrook
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
ISBN: 0820345334
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
The World of the Salt Marsh is a wide-ranging exploration of the southeastern coast--its natural history, its people and their way of life, and the historic and ongoing threats to its ecological survival. Focusing on areas from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, Charles Seabrook examines the ecological importance of the salt marsh, calling it "a biological factory without equal." Twice-daily tides carry in a supply of nutrients that nourish vast meadows of spartina ( Spartina alterniflora )--a crucial habitat for creatures ranging from tiny marine invertebrates to wading birds. The meadows provide vital nurseries for 80 percent of the seafood species, including oysters, crabs, shrimp, and a variety of finfish, and they are invaluable for storm protection, erosion prevention, and pollution filtration. Seabrook is also concerned with the plight of the people who make their living from the coast's bounty and who carry on its unique culture. Among them are Charlie Phillips, a fishmonger whose livelihood is threatened by development in McIntosh County, Georgia, and Vera Manigault of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, a basket maker of Gullah-Geechee descent, who says that the sweetgrass needed to make her culturally significant wares is becoming scarcer. For all of the biodiversity and cultural history of the salt marshes, many still view them as vast wastelands to be drained, diked, or "improved" for development into highways and subdivisions. If people can better understand and appreciate these ecosystems, Seabrook contends, they are more likely to join the growing chorus of scientists, conservationists, fishermen, and coastal visitors and residents calling for protection of these truly amazing places.

Human Impacts on Salt Marshes

Human Impacts on Salt Marshes PDF Author: Brian R. Silliman
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520258921
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Book Description
"Human Impacts on Salt Marshes provides an excellent global synthesis of an important, underappreciated environmental problem and suggests solutions to the diverse threats affecting salt marshes."—Peter B. Moyle, University of California, Davis

Life and Death of the Salt Marsh

Life and Death of the Salt Marsh PDF Author: John Teal
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780345310279
Category : Marsh ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"At low tide, the wind blowing across Spartina grass sounds like wind of the prairie. When the tide is in, the gentle music of moving water is added to the prairie rustle.... " One of nature's greatest gifts is the string of salt marshes that edges the East Coast from Newfoundland to Florida -- a ribbon of green growth, part solid land, part scurrying water. Life and Death of the Salt Marsh shows how these marshes are developed, what kinds of life inhabit them, how enormously they have contributed to man, and how ruthlessly man is destroying them.

Salt Marsh Diary

Salt Marsh Diary PDF Author: Mark Seth Lender
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0312656017
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
The author chronicles the daily life of a salt marsh as observed from his nearby home, where he also records in intricate detail the activities of regional birds.

Day in the Salt Marsh, A

Day in the Salt Marsh, A PDF Author: Kevin Kurtz
Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
ISBN: 193435919X
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
Introduces young readers to hourly changes in the salt marsh as the tide comes and goes, following the animals that have adapted to this ever-changing environment as they hunt for food or play in the sun.

Ecology of Dunes, Salt Marsh and Shingle

Ecology of Dunes, Salt Marsh and Shingle PDF Author: J.R. Packham
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780412579806
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Summary: Discusses coastal sand dune, shingle beach, and salt marsh ecosystems, communities based upon relatively unconsolidated granular deposits which frequently rest upon solid rock or, much more rarely, on peat.

Marvels in the Muck

Marvels in the Muck PDF Author: Doug Wechsler
Publisher: Boyds Mills Press
ISBN: 9781590785881
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
The salt marsh is not so friendly to humans, but it's the only place to be for many creatures and plants. Breathtaking photographs and fascinating facts reveal the secrets of the salt marsh and celebrate this squishy and surprising habitat.

Tidal Marsh Restoration

Tidal Marsh Restoration PDF Author: Charles T. Roman
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 9781597265751
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
Many coastal tidal marshes have been significantly degraded by roadways and other projects that restrict tidal flows, limiting their ability to provide vital ecosystem services including support of fish and wildlife populations, flood protection, water quality maintenance, and open space. Tidal Marsh Restoration provides the scientific foundation and practical guidance necessary for coastal zone stewards to initiate salt marsh tidal restoration programs. The book compiles, synthesizes, and interprets the current state of knowledge on the science and practice of salt marsh restoration, bringing together leaders across a range of disciplines in the sciences (hydrology, soils, vegetation, zoology), engineering (hydraulics, modeling), and public policy, with coastal managers who offer an abundance of practical insight and guidance on the development of programs. The work presents in-depth information from New England and Atlantic Canada, where the practice of restoring tidal flow to salt marshes has been ongoing for decades, and shows how that experience can inform restoration efforts around the world. Students and researchers involved in restoration science will find the technical syntheses, presentation of new concepts, and identification of research needs to be especially useful as they formulate research and monitoring questions, and interpret research findings. Tidal Marsh Restoration is an essential work for managers, planners, regulators, environmental and engineering consultants, and others engaged in planning, designing, and implementing projects or programs aimed at restoring tidal flow to tide-restricted or diked salt marshes.