gain with the tide.
Life at the beach is very different. The beach proves to be a harsher habitat to live in for animals and plants. That is because what makes up a beach is always shifting and moving with the waves and the wind. Animals which live in this area cope with the conditions by usually burrowing into the sand, these would include clams, worms, sand dollars, and crabs. Much of what we find on top of the sand is material that has been washed ashore, seaweed which has become adrift and empty shells of animals which have been eaten.
Lighthouse Point contains areas of wetland or salt marsh which, like the wetland of the Mill River, provides nursery grounds for many animals and a home to crustaceans, fish, birds, reptiles and mammals. Salt marshes also provide a filtering system for pollutants and contaminants. They also trap nutrients and sediment which are slowly released into the water through decayed vegetation. Salt marshes are usually intersected by salt water creeks or tidal creeks which rise and fall with the tides. Lighthouse Point is intersected by Morris Creek. There was once a large expanse of wetlands in the Morris Creek area along the shoreline to East Haven. Through development this wetland has been broken up and reduced. Morris Creek has been rerouted many times due to the expansion of Tweed-New Haven Airport. These smaller marshes are not as effective as filtering and drainage systems. Sediment and nutrient rich silt brought through a marsh by creeks and rivers build up in the salt marsh and give marsh plants an ideal place to sprout and grow undisturbed. The most common plants in the salt marsh are grasses. The toughest, most productive grass is the spartina grasses. These grasses provide an abundant food source for the animals which make the marsh their home. The many plants we find in the salt marsh are dependent on the presence of salt water above the ground level at least some of the time. Salt marsh cordgrass which we find along tidal creeks and along the harbor edge is frequently flooded by saltwater. Where it is better drained, we find saltmeadow hay, spikegrass, sea lavendar, and glasswort. Farther inland within the marsh we find marsh elder and seaside goldenrod. The grass that marks the end of the salt marsh is called Phragmites. No saltwater reaches this point and dryland plants begin. Near the beach there is a grove of small gnarly trees which are persimmon trees. We usually find these thriving in a warmer climate. This grove is said to be the most northern grove of persimmon in the United States.
Lighthouse Point Park
(figure available in print form)
Salt marshes are vital to the ecology of the area supplying cover and homes to wild aquatic life and food for birds and mammals. It takes thousands of years for a salt marsh to form and very little time for a marsh to be destroyed. Since the early part of the century over fifty percent of the salt marshes in Connecticut have been destroyed through dredging, filling, waste disposal, industrial sites, housing developments, airports, and parking lots. At this time, most salt marshes are protected by law.
|Animal or Plant||Where did you find it?||Points|
|Orange Sulphur Butterfly||________________________|
|Diamondback Terrapin (turtle)||________________________|
|Black Crowned Night Heron||_______________________|
|Long-Billed Marsh Wren and nest||________________________|
|Regal Fritillary Butterfly||________________________|
|Salt marsh grass||________________________|
Create a Creature
Students will be able to:
1) describe adaptations of sea creatures to their environments;
2) describe how adaptations can help sea creatures survive in their habitat;
3) interpret the importance of adaptations in animals.
Students design a variety of sea creatures adapted for various aquatic habitats.
Aquatic animals are the product of countless adaptations over long periods of time. These adaptations, for the most part, are features that increase the animalsÍ likelihood of surviving in their habitat.
When a habitat changes, either slowly or catastrophically