T he Bitter End
of the remaining marshlands the U.S. This approximately half a million acres helps to create a healthy and viable habitat, not only for fishes and other marine animals, but for a wide variety of birds as well. Each winter we see large numbers of migratory birds taking up their winter residence here in the lowcountry. What makes this a magnet for all these creatures? It's simple: food. When I’m doing tours I frequently use the term "crop" when I refer to Spartina. Just as corn or wheat are crops for us, so too is Spartina, for marsh inhabitants. With each acre producing three to seven tons or more of marsh grass, it’s the key ingredient in the vegetable soup of the marsh. These numbers are close to the same amount of dry matter for an acre of corn. With all this being said, what does winter have to do with the dance? If spring is considered a time of new birth, it stands to reason there’s also a time of death, and that’s where the Danse Macabre, or the Dance of Death, comes in. All of our lovely green Spartina turned a nice golden hue while it flowered preparing for the coming year, but now winter has reared its ugly face, and what was once green and lush is now brown and coarse. For the next year this crop of grass will continue to break down with ultraviolet energy from the sun and wave action. High tides and the bigger spring tides will carry the nutrient-rich dead grass, or wrack, out of the marsh and into the waterways where it will be utilized by multiple species. The marsh grass provides the slurry of life, a rich nutrient of detritus that will start feeding animals at the single cell level, diatoms, dinoflagellates, zooplankton, and a myriad of other ultra-small critters. Every animal that lives in the saltwater marsh or visits to feed there owes its life to Spartina. On a much larger scale even the first ten miles of ocean receives a staggering amount of nutrients that contribute to the well-being of a healthy coastal marine ecosystem. I know some people belittle the DNR for their very active stance on protecting our saltwater marsh grasses. But without this stewardship, this ball of twine that is the marsh would unravel in a hurry. No Spartina = no redfish. No Spartina = no blue crabs. No Spartina … well you get the point. We've seen too much of our coastal wetlands developed and forever changed in the past and personally I prefer having the marsh. How about no Spartina = no balanced budget? Okay, so there’s a limit to even what Spartina can do. So, the next time you look at this innocuous green grass, look a little deeper and with a better understanding of what this little plant does for us, even in the heart of winter. Birth, life, death, rebirth.
Danse Macabre
By Captain J. Gary “Gator” Hill
W
elcome one and all to a new year! I'm sitting here on this 2nd day of January [way past his deadline ~ Editor] with temps hovering in the 20s, dreaming of summer. The reality of winter is setting in and I cringe at the fact that we still have a couple of months of this accursed weather to get through. However, as a naturalist and a realist, I know that with the winter comes a weird "Danse Macabre" in the marsh. Since March or April our Spartina alterniflora, what we commonly refer to as marsh grass, has been growing at a hyperactive rate. This robust smooth cordgrass is native as far north as Newfoundland and southward to the northern part of Argentina. Growing on average between three and seven feet in a single season, it has distant cousins as diverse as bamboo and corn, which share in these accelerated growth patterns.
Through the summer Spartina goes about its daily business of providing a root structure that helps bind the marsh together. By fall it has matured, and then acts as a natural dampener for wave action caused by storms and hurricanes. With a stalk that is very supple and absorbs the driving forces of waves, it’s extremely important in protecting our environment as well as property. From spring to fall, the marsh grass is busy; so busy in fact, that it’s considered the most valuable resource in our saltwater ecosystem. It serves as home, and acts as a nursery of sorts, to a myriad of fishes and crustaceans, and provides the perfect hiding spot for what I call "Itty Bitties," sheltering them from the bigger predatory fish that would have their way with them. In addition to being one of the healthiest saltwater marsh systems in the U.S., Georgia’s is also one of the largest, home to nearly one third
Until next time, Happy New Year, and I'll see y'all on the water!
Email: jgaryhill@gmail.com 22
Southern Tides Magazine
January 2018
