Click on the following links to read about animals of the estuary.
As you read, look for what kinds of things each animal eats, and write it in the correct category in your chart. (Looking
above, you can see that the Brant Goose has been filled in for you. We know that the Brant eats eelgrass, so it is listed
under the category of herbivore.)
Choose one of the animals that you read about. In your notebook,
write down why you think this animal is interesting. What else would you like to learn about it?
Decorator Crab |

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Saddlebag Island, WA |
Animals - Part 3
Remember the picture of shells in the eelgrass on the "Start Here"
page? Those shells are living creatures called batallaria snails. In Padilla Bay, you can see thousands of them on the mud
flats. In the picture below, you can see the little snails all over the beach.
Batallaria Snails |

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Padilla Bay, WA |
Guess what....all those thousands of snails do not belong there!
Back in 1930, some people decided to have an oyster farm in Padilla Bay. They brought oysters from Japan (they thought they
were better than our local oysters). The oyster farming didn't work out, but they later found that they had brought other
organisms with the oysters. When an animal or plant is brought from one habitat to another, it's called an invasive species.
What affect do you think an invasive species might have on the estuary system? What do you
think people should do about invasive species? In your notebook, write the title "Invasive Species" and write down what you
think.
Then, click on the links below to read about invasive species.
So far, batallaria snails seem to be getting along in Padilla Bay
without causing any problems. Are all invasive species harmless? In your notebook, write down what you learned about invasive
species.
Be prepared for our whole-group discussion time by having your notebook
filled out with the following items:
- What you've learned today.
- Any questions you still have about estuary animals.
- Interesting things you'd like to share (such as scientific drawings, interesting facts, etc.).
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