Wildlife in Estuaries Show Value of U.S. Coastal Reserves

First-of-its-kind inventory shows how wetlands benefit animals—and people

Article Updated:   November 3, 2023 By: Tom Wheatley
Projects: U.S. Conservation
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Wildlife in Estuaries Show Value of U.S. Coastal Reserves
Photo courtesy of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System

Editor’s Note: This article was updated Nov. 3, 2023, to note that climate change and other factors are threatening wildlife species and their habitats. 

Relying on 140 camouflaged camera traps in 29 estuaries, scientists with the National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs) captured thousands of photos that represent the first inventory of North American coastal wetland wildlife. The images will be used to help answer questions about how to best support, protect, and restore wildlife species and their habitats in the face of climate change and other threats.

Scientists placed the cameras in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in 2022. (The Pew Charitable Trusts’ coastal wetlands conservation work is focused on the U.S., thus the photo gallery doesn’t include Canadian sites.) The cameras were active only for the summer in 14 reserves and for a full year in the other 15 sites. The work in total documented more than 150 species of wildlife across North American wetlands, including armadillos in Florida, bobcats in South Carolina, elk in Oregon, and egrets in Puerto Rico. As with any credible, multisite, scientific project, researchers used consistent protocols across reserves, including camera placement, height, and settings.

National Estuarine Research Reserves create cultural and economic benefits to surrounding communities. Some of the photos depict the different ways humans use coastal wetlands, too; the cameras captured people birdwatching, kayaking, and hunting. Subsequent analyses of the images will address how to best manage the lands to enhance these and other recreational uses.

The project was underwritten by the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Analysis of the images is ongoing, and ultimately will address questions related to the biodiversity of different reserves, such as the prevalence of certain species and the impact that non-native species have on the wetlands and the native species that rely on them.

The reserve system is a network of 30 coastal and Great Lakes sites that cover approximately 1.4 million acres of estuaries in 25 states and Puerto Rico. And the system is poised to grow: Louisiana—the only coastal state without an NERR—and Wisconsin are in the process of designating new sites (Atchafalaya Basin and Green Bay, respectively).

Congress created the system under the Coastal Zone Management Act in 1972, with the aim of protecting and studying the country’s estuaries. Today, NERR sites are used for education, recreation, training, research, and for monitoring ecosystems, and are popular with local communities for the recreational and educational benefits they offer.

Tom Wheatley oversees The Pew Charitable Trusts’ work to increase resiliency for biodiversity and vulnerable communities in the Southeast and to support and expand the National Estuarine Research Reserve System as part of Pew’s U.S. conservation project.

A white-tailed deer surveys its surroundings in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Reserve. Deer were one of the only species spotted in every reserve in the NERR photo inventory—hardly surprising given that deer live on every continent except Antarctica. There are 60 species of deer worldwide, and all have their eyes on the side of their heads, giving them a wide range of vision—310 degrees compared with only 180 degrees for humans—which makes it easier for them to spot predators, but almost impossible for them to focus their vision on a specific point.
Photo courtesy of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System
An Eastern phoebe takes flight in San Diego County, California’s Tijuana River Reserve. Phoebes belong to one of the largest bird families—flycatchers—which contains more than 400 species. Phoebes are notoriously solitary, with egg-laying females often chasing males away from the nests. Their name is an onomatopoeia, derived from their “fee-bee” call.
Photo courtesy of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System
This North American black bear in Alaska’s Kachemak Bay Reserve had likely recently emerged from hibernation. The species is found in most of North America, including as far south as Florida and northern Mexico. Despite their high body fat percentage, bears are incredibly athletic, able to swim across rivers and lakes, climb trees quickly, and run at speeds of 30 to 35 miles per hour, easily outpacing 27.79 miles per hour, the top speed of sprinter Usain Bolt, the fastest man ever.
Photo courtesy of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System
A raccoon carries its kit in its mouth in Florida’s Guana Tolomato Matanzas Reserve. Raccoons are found everywhere in the continental United States, except for parts of the Rocky Mountains and deserts, and prefer urban areas. They have powerful sight and hearing, allowing them to see in almost complete darkness and hear the movement of earthworms underground. Because of their dexterous paws and thumbs, raccoons are one of the only mammal species that can open doors and garbage can lids in search of food or shelter.
Photo courtesy of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System
A bald eagle flies above a salt marsh in Alaska’s Kachemak Bay Reserve. Although they are impressive predators, bald eagles are occasionally known to harass other birds until they drop their prey or even snatch fish directly out of other birds’ talons, using their grip strength, which is 10 times stronger than that of a human’s. Bald eagles have extraordinary eyesight and speed; they can fly at altitudes of more than 10,000 feet, or almost 2 miles, spot a small animal with amazing clarity from that distance, and dive at speeds of roughly 100 mph to snatch them.
Photo courtesy of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System
A red-winged blackbird alights in dense brush in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Reserve, which is home to nearly 200 bird species. Red-winged blackbirds are typically very social, often migrating in flocks of more than 1,000 individuals that in turn combine with other flocks to form bands of more than 1 million birds. During winter, they roost in groups that can range from a few individuals to several million. Though the red-winged blackbird population has declined by roughly 90 million over the past 50 years primarily due to habitat loss, it is still one of the most populous bird species in North America, with a population estimated at about 150 million.
Photo courtesy of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System
A great blue heron flies over a marsh in Florida’s Apalachicola Reserve. Herons are excellent fishers and thus often live in marshes and along rivers. They fish by wading slowly—or often standing still for long stretches—and waiting patiently for their prey before striking quickly with their sharp, spear-like beaks. Great blue herons are massive birds, often standing up to 4½ feet high, with wingspans up to 6 feet wide.
Photo courtesy of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System
The wildlife inventory demonstrated that coyotes live in just about all the United States, except Hawaii. Unlike wolves, coyotes do not live in packs, but rather in family groups. They also usually travel and hunt alone, like this coyote in California’s San Francisco Bay Reserve. Coyotes communicate with each other using mostly eye contact and subtle facial expressions and body language. They also have the widest vocal range of all North American mammals, with adult coyotes having 11 or more vocal tones to communicate information and feelings, and each coyote having a distinct voice, just like humans. A cub can recognize the howl of its parent calling it back to the den just as humans can identify voices over the phone.
Photo courtesy of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System
This broad-winged hawk, photographed in Puerto Rico’s Jobos Bay Reserve, is probably not stopping to take a sip of water. Because they can survive off the water present in their prey, hawks very rarely drink water, and nest only in those areas to hunt. They typically perch on branches and swoop down quickly to capture their prey, which are mainly reptiles and amphibians, but also small mammals, birds, and insects. Hawks are usually solitary and highly territorial, but band together by groups as large as tens of thousands during migration, forming a tornado-like vortex known as a “kettle” or a “boil.”
Photo courtesy of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System
American white ibises, like these on Georgia’s Sapelo Island Reserve, are usually found around freshwater marshes or coastal estuaries where they can hunt and forage for food in the shallow wetlands. They wade through the water slowly with their heads down and sweep their long bills side to side, probing the muddy surface for crustaceans, which make up the bulk of their diet, small fish, or insects. They are nonvisual, tactile hunters, meaning that they do not see their prey, but rather feel their movement with their beaks before clamping down and capturing them.
Photo courtesy of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System