CW2: 2749

From Environmental Technology

1. Wetlands are the transitional link between the water and the land. Types: Estuarine Wetlands, Palustrine Wetlands, Emergent Wetlands, Shrub Wetlands, and Forested Wetlands.

2. Wetlands Protect and Improve Water Quality, Wetlands Help Control Flooding and Erosion, and Wetlands Provide Habitat for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife.

3. Once 95 percent of the area was covered in forest, today only 60 percent covers the area. We have destroyed 35 percent of our forests in this area. There are more than 50 major tree species and more than 2,700 different plant species grown in the Chesapeake Bay watershed today.

4. The functions of the forest are to Protect Water Quality, Create Habitat for Fish and Wildlife, Improve Air Quality, Encourage Recreation, and Contribute to the Economy.

5. Autotrophs - "Self Feeders," they have the ability to use carbon dioxide and sunlight to produce their own food.

Heterotrophs - "Other-Feeders," these animals acquire carbon by eating the organic matter contained in plant and animal tissue or dissolved in water. The animal breaks this organic material down into components it can use for energy and growth.

6. Phytoplankton is the Bay's most abundant food producer. The Bay's life support system depends on maintaining the delicate balance between the living and non-living components. Although the Chesapeake's potential production capacity is massive, it is also finite. Problems affecting the simplest producers dramatically affect the survival of consumers. During and algal bloom the bay can produce too much plankton and could effect the bay and its animals in a negative way.

7. I would say it is an inland problem because it is people that are destroying the wetlands. They are drying them out to build houses and buildings or use them for crop production. It is a problem and with time I'm sure it will make things even worse. The wetlands are vital to the health of places like the Chesapeake Bay. It's happening all over the country because our U.S. coast covers more than 11,600 miles of coastline. There are un-populated places on the coastline that are probably causing major problems but no one is around to see what is really happening. So No, I wouldnt say that the Chesapeake Bay problem is the only one that is out there.

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