What adaptations improve plant and animal suitability for life in a wetland?

Targets

At the end of this Unit you should be able to answer the following questions 

1. What is a wetland ecosystem?

1.1 What are various types of wetlands, and why do they matter?

1.2 What plants and animals may live in a wetland site?

1.3 What adaptations improve plant and animal suitability for life in a wetland?

2. What are the roles of various organisms in a food web?

2.1 Who are the producers, consumers, and decomposers in a wetlands habitat?

2.2 What are food chains and food webs?

What human actions affect wetland ecosystems?

3.1 How do changes in one environment affect other environments?

3.2 What human actions have positive effects or negative effects on wetland habitats?

targets

If you knew you were going on vacation to a place where it rained all day every day, what would you pack? An umbrella, raincoat, rubber boots - these things could help protect you from the weather at your destination.

Similarly, wetland plants and animals have structures and behaviors that help them to survive in the places they live. 

Is a camel suited for a wetland?  No, its padded feet and hump which stores water are suited for a sandy desert. 

Is a frog well suited for a desert? Of course not.  Part of a frog's lifecycle requires that a tadpole live in water.

Adaptations are ways that living organisms are suited or fitted to their environment.