Figure 11. Snow geese concentrated on a salt marsh. Photo by Rex Schmidt; courtesy 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 



these attract predatory birds and mammals: 

 harriers ( Circus cyaneus ) , short-eared 

 owls ( Asio f lammeus ) , rough-legged hawks 

 ( Buteo lagopus ) , weasels ( Mustela sp.), 

 raccoons ( Procyon lotor ), minks ( Mustela 

 vison ) , otters ( Lutra canadensis ) , and, 

 more rarely, foxei [ Vulpes fulva ). Some 

 larger mammals occasionally feed in the 

 salt marsh vegetation also: rabbits 

 ( Syl vi lagus f loridanus and S. 

 transitional is ) , and white-tailed deer 

 ( Odocoi leus virginianus ) feed on the 

 vegetation. Muskrats ( Ondatra zibethica ) 

 feed on the low marsh but prefer less 

 salty marshes with small tides. Where 

 they are abundant, mammals can be an 

 important part of the marsh. However, 

 they are not a conspicuous part, since 

 they are generally nocturnal and are 

 seldom noticed. 



Mammals of the marsh avoid getting 

 wet for the most part. Some, like mice, 

 are adapted to the high salinity 

 environment of the salt marsh. Because 

 mice can concentrate and expel salt in 



their urine, their need for freshwater to 

 wash out salt acquired in their diet is 

 reduced. 



4.2 ORGANISMS WITH MARINE ORIGINS 



4.2.1. Invertebrates 



Most of the low marsh fauna are 

 invertebrates. The larger ones have been 

 fairly well-studied, the smaller much less 

 so. 



Meiofauna. 



Benthic 



meiofaunal 



animals are defined operationally by their 

 ability to pass through a 0.5- or 0.3-mm 

 mesh. They include such groups as 

 nematodes, foraminiferans , harpacticoid 

 copepods, soil mites, and ol igochaetes. 

 Many of these organisms are abundant in 

 marsh sediments. For example, Teal and 

 Wieser (1966) found nematodes numbering 

 10 7 /m 2 and weighing 7.6 g in Georgia 

 marsh soils. Similar numbers of nematodes 

 have been found in marsh soils of South 



20 



