Wildlife Management- Wetland Management

Values of Wetlands

• Biologically productive and heavily used by wildlife

• Required component of many vert and invert life cycles

  • Waterfowl- game species (= funding) 

  • Amphibians

  • Invertebrates- provide food for all sorts of spp

• Economic value to humans

  • ⅔ of fish and shellfish spp commercially harvested associated with wetlands of some sort

  • Reduce flooding- help buffer when flood happens, absorbing much of the water

    • Riparian zones, floodplains, mangrove swamps

  • Improve water quality

  • Provide recreation sites- good for $ (hunting/fishing)

55 Technical Types of Wetlands

Based on below classification scheme (categories and subcategories)

• Wetland Categories

  • Marine

  • Estuarine

  • Riverine

  • Lacustrine

  • Palustrine

• Wetland Subcategories- based on:

  • Hydrologic Regime- when, how deep, variability

  • Substrate Type- soil

  • Water Chemistry

  • Vegetation

Marine

Open ocean

Estuarine

Semi-enclosed by land, but influenced by open ocean (river mouth, etc.)

• Where freshwater and ocean water mix

Riverine

Within channel generally along river/stream

Lacustrine

In depression or damned river channel (lakes)

Palustrine

Stereotypical wetland (marshes, swamps)

Common Wetland Categories Used by MI DNR

Each type of wetland potentially supports diff wildlife spp and needs diff management strategies

• Marshes

• Swamps

• Bogs

• Fens

Marshes

Standing water < an inch to several feet deep, can fluctuate seasonally or from year to year

• “Flooded grasslands”

• Dominated by herbaceous veg- might be some trees/woody veg but not lots

• Common Veg- cattails, grasses, sedges, rushes, arrowhead, pickerel weed, and smartweed

• Common Wildlife- fish (not always, need year round standing water), water birds (ducks, geese, herons, cranes, rails), song birds (marsh wren and yellow warbler), frog species, reptiles (turtles, water snakes), muskrats (like open water), beaver (less common), like woody veg), and otter (also less common)

  • Some spp more general, other more keyed in to specific habitat

Swamps

Flooded woodlands or shrublands, more likely to be flooded year round

• Dominated by shrubs in MI but all swamps are dominated by woody spp- some herbaceous but only flood-tolerant adapted

• Common Veg- red and silver maple, cedar, balsam, willow, alder, black ash, elm, and dogwood

• Common Wildlife- wood frogs, gray treefrogs, salamanders, barred owls, waterthrushes, prothonotary warblers, water shrews (big back feet with hair, can run across still water), and raccoons

  • Some spp more general, other more keyed in to specific habitat

Bogs

Accumulations of decaying veg form mats that fill in old ponds or kettle lakes

• Rare = species here are of high conservation concern

• Open water may be surrounded by floating veg, others are totally grown over and consist of spongy, waterlogged peaty soil covered by sphagnum moss

• Bog soils are usually highly acidic, and oxygen and nutrient deficient- leads to distinct veg community

  • High acidity = low decay rate = wet dead veg mat = more acidic

• Common Veg- labrador tea, poison sumac, tamarack and black spruce, orchids, insect eating sundews and pitcher plants (carnivorous plants)

• Common Wildlife- spotted turtle, southern bog lemming

Fens

Bogs that are less acidic (calcium soils)

• Rarest 

• Common Veg- prairie plants- prairie white fringed orchid, sweet grass, the bluestems, and blazing star

• Common Wildlife- EMR, butterflies such as Mitchell’s satyr and the Powesheik skipper