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=Mudflat= From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mudflats are typically important regions for wildlife, supporting a large population, although levels of biodiversity are not particularly high. They are often of particular importance to [|migratory birds]. In the [|United Kingdom] mudflats have been classified as a [|Biodiversity Action Plan] priority habitat. The maintenance of mudflats is important in preventing coastal erosion. However, mudflats worldwide are under threat from predicted [|sea level rises], land claims for development, [|dredging] due to shipping purposes, and [|chemical pollution]. Several especially shallow mudflat areas, such as the Wadden Sea, can be used for the sport of [|mudflat hiking].
 * Mudflats** (also **mud flats**, **tidal flats**, **tide flats**, etc.) are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as [|bays], [|bayous], [|lagoons], and [|estuaries]. Mudflats may be viewed [|geologically] as exposed layers of [|bay mud], resulting from deposition of [|estuarine] [|silts], [|clays] and marine animal [|detritus]. Most of the sediment within a mudflat is within the [|intertidal zone], and thus the flat is submerged and exposed approximately twice daily.

General sketch-map of a tidal plain, showing the typical tripartition in [|supratidal], [|intertidal] and [|subtidal] zones. The most apparent character of the area is the development of tidal channels, mainly interesting in the intertidal zone. In this case, the tidal flat is protected seaward by a [|beach barrier], but in many cases (low-energy [|waves] and [|longshore currents]) the tidal flats may directly pass into a shallow marine environment.

The pair of **Delaware Capes** that denote the outermost boundary of the Bay with the Atlantic are [|Cape Henlopen] and [|Cape May]. The [|Cape May-Lewes Ferry] crosses the Delaware Bay from [|Cape May, New Jersey], to [|Lewes, Delaware]. Management of ports along the bay is the responsibility of the [|Delaware River and Bay Authority]. The shores of the bay are largely composed of [|salt marshes] and mud flats, with only small communities inhabiting the shore of the lower bay. Besides the Delaware, it is fed by numerous smaller streams. The rivers on the Delaware side include (from north to south): the [|Christina River], the [|Appoquinimink River], the [|Leipsic River], the [|Smyrna River], the [|St. Jones River], and the [|Murderkill River]. Rivers on the New Jersey side include the [|Salem River], [|Cohansey River], and the [|Maurice River]. Several of the rivers hold protected status for the unique salt marsh [|wetlands] along the shore of the bay. The bay serves as a breeding ground for many aquatic species, including [|horseshoe crabs]. The bay is also a prime [|oystering] ground.
 * Delaware Bay **
 * Delaware Bay** is a major [|estuary] outlet of the [|Delaware River] on the Northeast seaboard of the [|United States] whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the [|Atlantic Ocean]. It is 782 square miles (2,030 km2) in area.[|[][|1][|]] The bay is bordered by the State of [|New Jersey] and the State of [|Delaware]. It was the first site classified in the [|Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network].

HorseShoe Crabs Horseshoe crabs look similar to [|crustaceans] but actually belong to [|Chelicerata], and are therefore more closely related to [|spiders and scorpions]. The earliest horseshoe crab fossils are found in geologic layers from the late [|Ordovician] period, roughly 450 million years ago.
 * Horseshoe crabs** are [|arthropods] that live primarily in shallow ocean waters on soft sandy or muddy bottoms. They will, however, occasionally come on shore, e.g. for mating. They are commonly used as bait and in fertilizer, and in recent years there has been a decline in number of individuals, as a consequence of coastal habitat destruction in Japan and overharvesting along the east coast of North America.
 * Limulidae** is the only recent [|family] of the [|order] **Xiphosurida** and contains all the 4 living [|species] of **horseshoe crabs**:



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