As tidal waters move up into the marsh and then retreat, detritus is carried and distributed throughout the estuary. After salt marsh plants die, microorganisms break the plants down into detritus, which serves as a food source for many small animals. Animals seek refuge from predators in the thick marsh vegetation. Salt marshes are composed of a variety of plants, mainly rushes, sedges and grasses. Red mangroves grow closest to the water, followed by blacks and then whites. Tampa Bay supports red, black and white mangrove species. They are the dominant wetland vegetation type in the Tampa Bay watershed. In addition, mangrove forests protect uplands from storms, waves and floods. Mangroves also function as the basis of the food chain for a multitude of marine species such as snook, snapper, tarpon, jack, sheepshead, red drum, oysters, crabs and shrimp. Mangrove forests are important because they trap and cycle pollutants and they provide shelter and nursery areas for fish, crustaceans, and shellfish. Wastewater treatment plants and industrial discharges are relatively small sources of nitrogen loading to the bay today. Stormwater is the water that runs off the land with rainfall, carrying with it fertilizer and pesticide residues, as well as trash.Ībout one-quarter of the present nitrogen load to Tampa Bay comes from atmospheric deposition, or air pollution, primarily from power plants and automobiles. However, in the 1970s, major improvements to sewage treatment plants reduced the nitrogen in the wastewater, or “effluent,” by more than 90 percent, leading to clearer water and sparking a recovery of seagrasses that continues to this day.Ĭurrently, more than half the nitrogen entering Tampa Bay comes from stormwater runoff from urban and residential areas. Wastewater (sewage) discharges were once a major source of nitrogen to Tampa Bay. Water with an overdose of nitrogen is often a murky pea-green color and is said to be “eutrophic.” Although it is an essential plant nutrient, excess amounts of nitrogen fuel the growth of algae that clouds the water and robs it of oxygen. Nitrogen is a major pollutant in Tampa Bay.
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