![]() The eastern hognose snake consumes almost exclusively on the toads that can be found near the kettle ponds. A variety of reptiles are also associated with these freshwater ecosystems. Spadefoot toads spend most of the time hiding underground, emerging only occasionally on warm, rainy nights to breed. Among those species is the remarkable eastern spadefoot toad. These special habitats provide refuge for a number of species including 12 different types of amphibians. Kettle ponds are formed when the kettle holes discussed earlier are deep enough to intersect with the water table, thereby flooding the depression and creating a pond or lake. Vegetation helps to stabilize the dunes and combat erosion.įreshwater ecosystems on Cape Cod, like most aspects of the peninsula, are a direct result of a glacial past. Plants that grow on the dunes are uniquely adapted to endure the harsh conditions of their sandy, windy environment. Dunes are a prominent feature on Cape Cod National Seashore covering about one-third of the land surface. Heathlands and grasslands are a unique ecosystem that provide habitat for similarly unique animals such as the vesper and grassland sparrow, which are types of open-land birds.ĭunes on Cape Cod are a result of a variety of interconnected forces including glacial activity, erosion, deposition, and destabilization of the ground surface by early settlers. Without these disturbances, these ecosystems would likely be replaced with forests. The grasslands are also a result of past disturbances by either settlers or fires. They lie on top of the sandy sediments left behind as the glaciers retreated. Heathlands and sandplain grasslands are a direct result of Cape Cod’s glacial past. Pitch pine and scrub oak forests, heath lands, sand plain grasslands, and dunes make up the terrestrial ecosystems. These ecosystems provide habitat for an abundance of plant and animal life. Eelgrass and sand forms a habitat mosaic in Pleasant Bay, Cape Cod National Seashore.Ī variety of ecosystems can be found on Cape Cod including marine, estuarine, freshwater, and terrestrial. ![]()
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