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The Weird and Wonderous Wildlife of Wetlands

Written on: December 10th, 2024 in Education and Outreach, Wetland Animals

By Olivia Allread, DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program

Though pretending to be a National Geographic photographer is on our resumes, working in wetlands really does provide an exclusive opportunity to get up-close and personal with wildlife. Weather, soil, water, humans – many factors influence the presence of fauna in all wetland types. Each type of habitat can have specific, uniquely adapted species that call that wetland home, and some even exclusively depend on said wetland for their survival. As avid explorers of these ecosystems in Delaware, we’ve snapped some pretty interesting photos. Let’s browse through some of the weird and wonderous wildlife of wetlands.

Water Stick (Ranatra linearis)

At first glance, we thought this was plant debris until it moved. As an underwater predator, these insects not only camouflage well in their environments, but can ambush prey quickly. Water sticks adopt a mantis-like pose when submerged, capturing passing creatures like tadpoles, invertebrates, and small fish. This species uses its hooked front legs to catch food, while its tail acts like a snorkel above the water to siphon air for breathing. A crazy characteristic of this insect is that during hot summer days, adult water sticks often leave the pond to hunt in emergent vegetation or may fly to a new pond. Quite the journey for a small, slender bug.

Bryozoan

Meet this mysterious microscopic organism. A bryozoan, or zooid, grows no larger than 4 millimeters (5/32 of an inch) wide and forms colonies – like those pictured – that may contain thousands or millions of individual invertebrates. There are approximately 4,000 species in the phylum Bryozoa, and colonies come in many shapes and sizes. Species and colonies range from flat to folded, leaflike bushes to bouquets of sponges or flowers. Bryozoans lack any respiratory, excretory, or circulatory systems, but have a central nerve ganglion that allows them to respond to stimuli. As filter feeders, these creatures spend most of their life immobile, free floating or attaching to structures and vegetation underwater. Pretty neat for a big blob found in the Rehoboth Bay.

Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)

Large and in charge. At up to 12 inches long, the Eastern tiger salamander is the largest salamander in Delaware and is listed as endangered by DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife. This amphibian spends most of its life in burrows below the upland forests of the coastal plain where they feed on snails, worms, and insects. When ready to breed in early spring, they emerge from the forest to migrate to vernal pools, or Delmarva Bays, one of Delaware’s unique wetland communities. The salamanders depend on these non-tidal wetlands for survival, using the pools to lay eggs on submerged vegetation and as a safe space for larvae to mature. Time is of the essence when researching or tracking the population in Delaware, as these crawlers only stay up to two weeks in vernal pools before heading back to their upland forested habitat.

Piebald Deer

We were happy our wildlife cameras spotted this one! Often mistaken for albino, piebald deer are few and far between in populations, with less than 2% of white-tailed deer having the genetic mutation. This recessive trait mutation causes varying amounts of white hair with brown patches or mostly white hair with very little brown patches on the animal. Not only are piebald deer highly visible to predators, but they are also often born with physical abnormalities such as shortened legs, deformed hooves, or arched spines. Currently in some states there are hunting restrictions and laws against harvesting these deer for sport or management purposes. Historically speaking, some Native American and Indigenous tribes believed these deer were spiritual or sacred and therefore not be hunted or bad luck to kill. All in all, seeing a piebald deer is a rare and beautiful sight.

Hellgrammite (Corydalus cornutus)

Here is something you don’t see every day. Featured here in its larval stage, the hellgrammite or Dobson fly, takes two names for the two distinct life stages it lives. As a larva, the macro-invertebrate spends up to three years in freshwater under rocks in swift moving water, using thick filaments as gills for breathing. During this larval stage, the aquatic insect is equipped with an impressive set of pincers, or mandibles, to catch and eat their prey such as small fish, other aquatic insect larvae, and tadpoles. After years of aquatic life, the hellgrammite larva enters full metamorphosis to emerge into a winged Dobson fly, only to live for a few days. And don’t worry, the pincers did not get us this time…

Glass Eel (Anguilla rostrata)

This little thing can go a long way. The American eel is a migratory species that spawns in the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean but spends its adult life within inland waters along our coasts. Born in the Sargasso Sea between the Caribbean and Bermuda, the juvenile eels will drift in the open ocean for months or more until currents carry them inland towards the nearest estuary or river (termed catadromous). During the early stages of their life they will metamorphose into a glass eel, shown here, as currents assist with migration transport into estuaries. Named for their transparent, glass-like appearance these little 2-inch wonders will make their way upstream in the late winter and early spring in search of freshwater or brackish habitats to grow in.

We use the term “weird” lightly here, as more of a hook to get folks reading and engaged about wetland wildlife they might not ever encounter or known existed. One of the most impactful ways of sharing knowledge about nature is through photography. It can be a form of conservation, helping raise awareness about a particular species or habitat. It can be considered an art form, capturing the beauty of living things aiding in the understanding of our delicate ecosystems. Diving into the wonders of the natural world in this way doesn’t require more than a cell phone and taking a good look at your surroundings. Working in wetlands is no easy task, so taking a quick photo is nice break from the mud and sweat, but even more worthwhile knowing it’s not just for our own camera roll.

Tags: Animals, Wetlands