Wetland Interactions You have probably already started to notice that animals and plants in a wetland cannot exist alone. Each part of a wetland depends on other parts of the wetland to survive. Taken all together, the many, many living things in a wetland form a complex food web. When the plants in a wetland die, bacteria in the water help them to decay. The decaying plant matter is called detritus which some critters eat, including oysters and crabs and small fish. What do larger birds and mammals in a wetland eat? Oysters and crabs and small fish! Even humans can get involved in the food web of a wetland. We like to eat certain birds, like ducks or geese. We also eat crabs, oysters, and larger fish. Some people make a living by catching and selling fish, so that they too are dependent on a wetland to survive. Look at the diagram of a food web below. Use the information from that diagram to help you draw a wetland web of life. Draw your web on the Wetland Web Worksheet. You might want to use the BACK button at the bottom of this page to review the descriptions of common wetland inhabitants to help you as well.

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