○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ SREL ○○○○○○○○ Wetlands SeriesCarolina Bays FactSheet ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ DEFINITION CAROLINABAYWILDLIFE water;asadults,theyde- Carolinabaysareisolated AlthoughmanyCarolina pendonCarolinabaysas wetlandsinnaturalshallow baysaretemporaryponds breedingsiteswherethey depressionsthatare thatholdwateronlypart laytheireggs. largelyfedbyrainand oftheyear,thesewetlands shallowgroundwater. hostavarietyofwildlife, PLANTLIFEINBAYS Thesebayshaveanellipti- providingvaluablehabitat Averagewaterdepthand calshapeandgenerallya forsuchanimalsasfrogs, soiltypehavealargeinflu- northwesttosoutheast salamanders,turtles, enceonthetypesofplants orientation.Theyarefound snakesandalligators. foundinandaroundCaro- primarilyinGeorgiaand Manybirds,suchasher- linabays.Manybayscon- theCarolinas,butrange ons,egretsandmigratory taintreessuchasblack fromFloridatoDelaware. waterfowl,liveinCarolina gum,sweetgum,magnolia, Asmanyas300Carolina bays.Alsomammals,such baldcypressandmaple, baysexistontheSavannah asdeer,raccoons,skunks andshrubssuchassumac, RiverSite. andopossumsgetfood buttonbush,gallberryand andwaterfromCarolina redbay.Alsocommonin HABITATDESCRIPTION bays.Inaddition,micro- Carolinabaysarewater Carolinabaysvaryinsize scopicorganismscalled lilies,sedgesandvarious fromlessthananacreto zooplanktonliveinCaro- grasses.OntheSRS,60 manyacres.Waterlevels linabays.Salamandersand percentoftherareand arenormallylowestin frogsareamongthemost threatenedplantspecies autumnandhighestin abundantwildlifefoundin arefoundinCarolinabays. earlyspring.SomeCarolina Carolinabays.Asamphib- baysarewetallyear,while ians,theseanimalsspend WETLANDFUNCTIONS othersfillwithwater,then partoftheirlivesinthe Althoughdifferenttypes ○○○○○○○○○○○○ dryup,dependingonthe ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ season.Theamountof ofwetlandsvary,someofthemostimportantandmost timeatypicalbayholds commonfunctionsofwetlandsare: watercanvarygreatly 1.Floodcontrolandwateravailability. fromyeartoyeardepend- 2.Waterquality—theypurifywaterbyprocessing inguponrainfall.Forex- nutrients,suspendedmaterialsandotherpollutants. ample,duringa13-year 3.Erosioncontrol. period,RainbowBayonthe 4.Wildlifehabitat. SavannahRiverSiteheld 5.Recreation. wateronlyfivedaysone yearandabout280days anotheryear. DIDYOUKNOW? ■ResearchersbelieveCarolinabaysare30,000to100,000years oldorolder,yetscientistsarenotcertainoftheirorigins. ■OnetheoryoftheoriginofCarolinabayssuggeststhatame- teorhitEarththousandsofyearsago,breakingintopiecesthat madedentsastheyskippedacrosstheplanet’ssurface.One legendevenhasitthatCarolinabaysaredinosaurfootprints(not true). ■SomepeopleconsiderCarolinabaystobeannoyingwetspots. Farmerscommonlyplowedthroughthemandbuildersfilledand pavedoverthemuntilfederalwetlandsregulationsbeganpro- tectingtheminthemid-1970s.Still,Carolinabaysandother wetlandscontinuetobelosttoagricultureandcommercialdevel- opment. ■Morethan97percentoftheCarolinabaysoncefoundinSouth Carolinahavebeendestroyedorseverelyaltered.Moreprotected CarolinabaysarefoundontheSRSthanintheremainderof SouthCarolina. ■TheUnitedStateshaslostmorethanhalfofitsoriginalwet- landareas.Morethan400,000acresarelostannually. ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ BAYRESEARCH WETLANDSPROTECTION StandardTime,onweek- Waterlevelsvarygreatly TheEnvironmentalProtec- days.Thephonenumberis fromoneCarolinabayto tionAgencyoffersatoll- 1-800-832-7828. thenextandfromoneyear freehotlinethatisrespon- tothenextevenatasingle sivetopublicinterest, MOREINFORMATION bay.Giventhevariations, questionsandrequestsfor Formoreinformationon ecologistsattheSavannah informationaboutthe Carolinabays,pleasecall RiverEcologyLaboratory valuesandfunctionsof theSavannahRiverEcology arestudyinghowamphib- wetlandsandoptionsfor Laboratory,Outreach(803) ians,plantsandzooplank- theirprotection.The 725-0156orPublicRela- ton(near-microscopic hotlineoperatesfrom9 tions(803)725-2473. organismstotallydepen- a.m.to5:30p.m.,Eastern ○○○○○○○○○○○○ dentonwatertosurvive) ○○○○○○○○ adapttosuchextreme change.Scientistsare developingacomputer- basedmodelthatcould predicttheeffectsofcli- ThisfactcardisapublicationoftheUniversityofGeorgia’s maticchange—particu- SavannahRiverEcologyLaboratory.TheLaboratoryisoperated bytheUniversityofGeorgiaunderacooperativeagreementwith larlyglobalwarming—on theU.S.DepartmentofEnergytoconductecologicalresearchon thezooplanktonandother theSavannahRiverSite,anuclearmaterialsprocessingfacility animalsandplantsof ontheGeorgia/SouthCarolinabordernearAiken,S.C. Carolinabays..