Wetland habitats are extremely productive in terms of plant life. At the next level of a food chain are primary consumers: plant- eaters or herbivores. Primary consumers include rabbits, mice, deer, and certain other mammals, some insects and fish, and ducks, geese, and certain other birds.

The role of consumers in an ecosystem is to obtain energy by feeding on other organisms and sometimes transfer energy to other consumers. Changes that affect consumers can impact other organisms within the ecosystem.

Secondary consumers can be carnivores (animals that eat only meat) or omnivores (animals that eat both meat and plants). Whooping Cranes and snakes are examples of secondary consumers.

Let’s look at an example of a wetland food chain: Plants → Insects → Fish → Birds. Plants in the water grow from nutrients in the soil and in the water. Then insects eat the plants. The fish eat the insects and then the heron eats the fish.

No, Algae are producers and are autotrophs. Fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms are decomposers, which decompose organic matter present in dead and decaying remains of plants and animals. …

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests and coral reefs. Wetlands can be thought of as “biological supermarkets.” They provide great volumes of food that attract many animal species. These animals use wetlands for part of or all of their life-cycle.

Today, we know that wetlands provide many important services to the environment and to the public. They offer critical habitat for fish, waterfowl and other wildlife, they purify polluted waters, and they help check the destructive power of floods and storms.

How do you drain a wet play area?

1. Install area drains or a French drain.
2. Install a vegetated swale.
3. Plant wet areas with native wetland or bog plants.
4. Create meandering paths with materials that rise above the wet, muddy areas.
5. MYTH: Water hungry plants such as willow dry out wet areas.