Along the southeastern United States Atlantic coast, tidal salt marshes are important habitats. Salt marshes are regarded for their role as a buffer between the mainland and the ocean, as well their high levels of biodiversity. A salt marsh reduces the impact of flooding during hurricanes and act as a natural filtration system for pollutants.
While they are important habitats, salt marshes are probably most notable for their unique ecology. Because the harsh environment is subjected to twice daily tidal inundation, the flora and fauna living in salt marsh habitats must be able to withstand salt water during high tide and extreme dryness and scorching temperatures during low tide. Salt marshes may also have hypoxic conditions, meaning low levels of oxygen, which are caused by decomposing organic material.
Salt marshes are home to many important and potentially vulnerable species in the southeastern US, including oysters, fiddler crabs, blue crabs, marsh periwinkle snails, mullet, and many others. Salt marshes are ecologically important as they provide food, safe refuge, or nursery habitat for at least 75% of fisheries species.
Human development along the coast is preventing the natural migration of salt marsh habitats that normally accompany sea level change. If a marsh is not able to keep up with changes in relative sea level rise, it can lead to increased flooding of the marsh, resulting in the conversion of a salt marsh habitat into an intertidal mud flat. As climate change results in projected rise of global sea levels, salt marsh habitats around the world become increasingly threatened.
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