Approximately one-third of endangered wildlife live in the wetlands with more than half depending on the wetlands at some point in their life spans for survival. In the state of Florida, which contains 20 percent of the nation's wetlands, such species as the Florida Sandhill Crane, the American Alligator, the West Indian Manatee and even the Florida Black Bear are endangered species that depend, in large or in part, on the wetlands for survival.
Migratory birds depend on the wetlands as part of their life cycles. This includes all 46 species of American waterfowl. Since the 1930s, the U.S. federal government has focused on conservation of these birds by the acquisition, enhancement, and restoration of wetlands across the country. Drought, however, threatens some of the wetlands in places like China and can result in the extinction of birds that depend on the wetlands for a breeding ground, which includes 9 of 15 of the world's documented crane species.
Fish depend on the wetlands for three primary life functions: food sources, cover from predators and breeding grounds. The benefits of the warmer, shallow waters of the wetlands help young fish to grow faster, and the natural water filtration system of the wetlands helps reduce water pollution and provides a habitat for several endangered species of fish. Shellfish such as shrimp, oysters, clams and crabs depend on coastal wetlands to survive. Other fish used for human consumption, such as bass, catfish and flounder, would be severely impacted by the loss of the wetlands they inhabit.
The delicate balance of the wetlands is a complex system that benefits all forms of animal life. Amphibians depend on the bugs and insects who call the wetlands home for a food supply. Other animals, such as deer, raccoons, otters and bears, benefit from the wetlands and the vegetation that grows there to sustain their survival. Some, like the muskrat, can live nowhere else but the wetlands. Animals such as beavers are equipped to create their own wetlands.