To use this interactive poster, click on the wildlife featured in the above image. There you can learn more about that specific species. For each of the species selected you will learn the common and Latin name, as well as how that plant or animal contributes to the fragile eco-system present in the salt-marsh. Please take the time to click on each one (there are eleven) so you can identify them in the wild.

Note:  Through most of these pictures, you’ll see grasses, either front-and-center, or in the background. These important and unique marsh grasses are the building blocks for much of the life in the estuary. When bay grasses are broken down and decomposed by fungi and bacteria, this decaying organic matter is called DETRITUS. Detritus feeds many of the bottom-dwelling species that live in the sediment and mud of the estuary, which are then eaten by other organisms of the estuary, and so on and so on…

Poster Credits: Photos and descriptions by Rich King, Barnegat Bay naturalist and photographer with contributions by Dr. John P. Wnek.

Graphic design by Glenn Foster.
Original interactive design by Brian Belanger, co-founder of The Parkday Organization.