The Watt

... More >

the Watt have given rise to an abundance of highly specialized forms of life. The Watt bottom consists of recent marine deposits (sand, silt, clay) with a high proportion of organic substances, which form the first link in the food chain. The Watt has little in the way of plant life: near high-water mark there are glassworts (Salicornia europea), farther seaward eelworts (Zostera), and occasionally also algae and seaweed. Most forms of animal life, therefore, have adjusted to the movement of the tides, either burying themselves in the ground at low tide or living permanently there. Only a few shellfish manage to survive above ground by storing water in their shells. Most of the denizens of the Watt (worms, shellfish, crustaceans) feed on organic substances floating in the water or lying on the bottom which they absorb in the water they breathe in or take in on the surface of the Watt. Some shellfish, shrimps and bristle worms are predators or scavengers.