OutdoorNebraska

W e t l an d W e t l an d E n erg y F l o w E n erg y F l o w W etlands are special places with a huge variety of species. In fact, there is more life in a healthy wetland than in most other habitats. That's a lot of matter! (Matter is anything that takes up space.) So, with all these amazing creatures, who gets all the energy and where does it come from? Well, just like the water cycle, the energy cycle starts with the sun. The sun provides energy to plants in the form of light. This light energy (also known as radiant energy) allows plants to complete a chemical reaction called photosynthesis. Through photosynthesis, plants produce glucose (a kind of sugar). So, our food web starts with the sun, but the first energy transfer is to the plants in the wetland. This includes tiny species like algae and duck weed and also larger plants like swamp milkweed, smartweed and cattails. Wetlands even have huge plants like cottonwood and sycamore trees. So where does the energy from these wetland plants go? Well, it depends. The tiny algae are eaten by equally small aquatic insects like mosquito larvae, mayfly larvae and even amphibians like tadpoles. Algae are also eaten by some fish species. Larger plants like swamp milkweed, smartweed and blue flag iris provide nectar for butterflies and bees. Grasses and smart- weed provide seeds for birds. And then there are the larger plants like cottonwoods and sycamores which provide food for mammals like beavers and deer. Mulberry trees also provide berries for raccoons, deer and many birds. Okay, now we know where the energy from plants goes, but does it end there? No! Other animals like fish and turtles feed on aquatic insects like mosquito or dragonfly larvae. Tadpoles are eaten by fish, wading birds like great blue herons and raccoons. Butterflies and bees are eaten by adult frogs, salamanders, birds and large insects such as dragonflies. Small seed eating birds and even snakes are often prey for larger birds such as hawks and owls. Even larger still, predators like coyotes will eat deer. We are only scratching the surface here! The energy has to end there, right? It's already traveled so far! But no! Remember there is a web of energy constantly flowing through ecosystems in a cycle and it doesn't end. Even when an animal or plant dies, the energy left inside of them will go to decomposers like fungi and bacteria. From there, new types of matter will be formed, releasing nutrients into the soil that cycles back to the plants. And what about the other matter that isn't food, like air (gases), water and nutrients in the soil? How do they fit in? Are they even that important? The answer is yes. This matter is especially important to allow plants to photosynthesize (change the sun's energy into food). We also can't forget that plants are the foundation to the food webs in our ecosystems! Without them we could not trap the sunlight's energy here on earth. 10 — WETLANDOLOGY: A Kid's Book About Wetlands

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