Wetlands
What unique plants and animals might you find in a wet area, like a pond (or even a puddle) near you?
Different types of animals and plants need different habitats to survive. One type of habitat is a wetland. Let's find out what animals might be found in a wetland and if you can find a wetland near you to explore.
Transcript
Abby Brown:
As humans, we all need food, water, and a safe place to rest and recharge. Just blocks away from here, thousands of people are eating, drinking, and sleeping. Some of them might not realize that just down the street, thousands and thousands of creatures are living in a habitat where they too are eating, drinking, and resting. Believe it or not this is a wetland.
Abby:
What kind of creatures do you think live in a wetland?
Joseph:
I think pretty much some frogs, some fish, some...
Abby:
What about snakes?
Joseph:
Uh yeah some snakes.
Abby:
What about slugs?
Joseph:
Yeah slugs!
Abby:
What about mosquitoes? What about fish?
Joseph:
I already said that!
Abby:
Okay!
Abby:
So Katy what type of wetland is this?
Katy Cantin:
Uh so this behind us is actually called a vernal pool. So it's a type of wetland that doesn't really stay around for a long time. So water comes in when the snow starts to melt and then it leaves kind of at the end of the summer.
Abby:
So what makes a wetland a wetland?
Katy:
So a wetland is an area that is usually wet all the time. So even though we think like, "Oh it's wet today," it's not necessarily wetland because there's no standing water here. So wetlands support water.
Abby:
Okay, and a wetland is an ecosystem, right? So tell me about all of the things that a wetland does to make it an ecosystem.
Katy:
So wetlands have kind of a really special soil that puts in a lot more nutrients to the plants around them and it can host a lot more animals too.
Abby:
We are so close to this city, how is it that this place can even exist so close?
Katy:
Yeah, so places like this are preserved or kept this way because we are really close to Waterloo, so if we didn't have places like this those animals that would normally live here like frogs and turtles aren't going to be able to live in the middle of town, so they like to live here instead.
Abby:
Because in town there's so much concrete and that is not part of a wetland.
Katy:
Right. Yeah, no concrete.
Abby:
Big wetlands like this are pretty rare in Iowa, which makes this one so valuable. But you might still be able to find smaller pieces of wetlands in your neighborhoods and, when you do, stop and take a close look. You might notice plants and animals that you've never seen before!
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