At the Nature Trail:
This is an outstanding example of a salt marsh, part of the estuary. Students should be aware that THIS is what the Biloxi coast looked like naturally, before the beaches and casinos were planted here.
At the Nature Trail:
This is an outstanding example of a salt marsh, part of the estuary.
Students should be aware that THIS is what the Biloxi coast looked like
naturally, before the beaches and casinos were planted here.
Excerpts from pamphlet, "Salt Marshes. Nursery Grounds of the Gulf", Julie Miller. Published by Gulf Coast Research Laboratory.
Salt marshes are a vital part of an estuarine environment, that is an area where fresh waters from rivers and streams mix with oceanic waters. Salt marshes are formed along shores in temperate and tropical zones when wave action is docile (Students: Is this true along the Biloxi coastline?) allowing grasses to become established. These grasses will then stabilize the sediment and promote their own growth. The differences in coastal wetlands are a factor of the rivers that feed them as well as the climate.
Salt marshes are sometimes referred to as nursery grounds because of their invasion by juvenile fish and shellfish. The Gulf provides critical habitat for 75% of the migratory waterfowl crossing the U.S. Most of the coastal fishery species of the United States must have access to estuaries and marshes during some phase of their life.
One million acres of coastal marshes have been lost since 1954, and have been disappearing at a rate of about one-half percent per year. The Gulf coast marshes comrise 60% of the U.S. total. Education and legislation is needed to promote the wise use and management of this resource.
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