Saltmarsh Ecology Lesson Plan Grades 5-12 Minimum # Educators: 1 Objectives

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  Students will be able to list the benefits of the wetlands, understand their impact on the ecosystem, and identify plants and animals commonly found there.
  
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  The student will be able to identify and compare representative organisms and structures of invertebrate and vertebrate animals, both aquatic and terrestrial.
  
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  The student will be able to summarize and differentiate various structures for defense, movement and obtaining resources.
  
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  Students will recognize the importance of the estuarine ecosystem to both humans and animals and how South Carolina is unique among other Atlantic coast states.
  
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  Students will be able to define stewardship and consider ways in which they can become better stewards of the state’s resources.
  

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  Observation, comparison
  

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  1-hour (minimum)
  

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  Schedule the salt marsh study at or near low tide. More plants and animals will be exposed at this time. Spring and fall are the best times for studies.
  

1. 
   Begin by telling the students to look out at the Charleston Harbor – ask:
   
   1. 
      What body of water is that?
      
   2. 
      What type of ecosystem is that? ~Estuary
      
   3. 
      What is an estuary? ~Where the river meets the sea.
      
   4. 
      What three freshwater rivers empty into the Charleston Harbor? ~The Cooper, Wando and Ashley
      
   5. 
      What ocean do they meet up with? ~ the Atlantic Ocean
      
2. 
   Next, bring out “Marsh Metaphors” and explain the game:
   
   1. 
      What is a metaphor? ~ A comparison without using like or as.
      
   2. 
      Each item in the bag will be compared to some quality of the marsh or estuary.
      
   3. 
      Have a student pull out one item and walk the class through how the item represents the estuary. (Repeat with other items)
      
      1. 
         Whisk – Mixing of fresh and salt water (Brackish water)
         
      2. 
         Goldfish – Nutrients
         
      3. 
         Sponge – Pluff mud (soaks up excess water)
         
      4. 
         Baby bottle – Nursery for small marine animals
         
      5. 
         Coffee filter – Filters out pollutants large and small
         
      6. 
         Pillow – Resting place for migratory birds
         
3. 
   Now they’re ready to explore the marsh.
   

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  Discuss the plants and animals you see – some from the list below may or may not be seen based on the time of the year.
  

2. Spartina Alterniflora (Smooth cordgrass) – is the dominant plant in the salt marsh environment. Spartina does not like salt but is able to tolerate the salty environment due to specialized cells which excrete the salt from their system. Spartina is absolutely essential to the salt marsh environment because its root system anchors the pluff mud. For every inch tall the plant grows it will put down one foot of roots.

3. Periwinkle Snail – live on Spartina stalks and crawl up and down as the tide rises and falls. Their “tongue” is called a radula and consists of 300 rows of teeth. They use the radula to scrape algae from the stalk as they crawl along.

4. Eastern Oyster – is every important both in helping to decrease shoreline erosion and as a fishery. Where there are oyster reefs (or beds) wave action is less likely to wash away the sand or mud. Baby oysters, called spat, must have a hard place to attach to or they will die – most attach onto other oyster reefs. Oysters are also very important to water quality. Since they are filter feeders, as they take food from the water they also remove toxins. One oyster can filter between 2-2 ½ gallons of water per hour. At the DNR we have an oyster shell recycling program which helps create new oyster beds.

5. Ribbed mussel – is often found along the edges of the shoreline, stuck into the pluff mud. These can be eaten but usually are not because they contain large amounts of grit.

6. Sea lettuce – is a type of green algae that is only two cell layers thick. Algae is very important because it produces between 70-80% of the oxygen in the atmosphere. Algae is also used in many products ranging from ice cream to make up to toothpaste.

7. Fiddler Crab – There are several species that inhabit the marsh including the sand fiddler and the mud fiddler. The males are females are distinguished by the size of their claws. The male has one large claw which he waves about to attract a female. The female, however, has two small claws.

8. Barnacles – are sessile organisms which live in the intertidal region. They are able to close their shell at low tide to keep moist within. The organism actually lives upside down within its shell and uses its cirri “feet” to filter food from the water.

1. 
   Bone yard beach – What forms when salt water begins to erode a shoreline into the maritime forest – leaving behind a beach full of dead trees.