The high acidity, cold year-round temperatures, and limited oxygen supply, due to poor water circulation, discourage bacteria and other decomposers from breaking down material. There are wetlands in Israel. In 1850, there were 545,375 acres of tidal wetlands in the Delta and Bay. Today only 66,125 acres remain. Wetlands are habitats for several species of animals.
Habitats provide shelter and food to the live organisms that live there.
Wetlands are home to one third of the United States' endangered or threatened animals, including the California clapper rail, elderberry longhorn beetle, tiger salamander, and conservancy fairy shrimp. Most of the snakes that live in swamps are poisonous. The type of birds present at a wetland vary from season to season due to their migratory patterns. There are more live organisms in a healthy wetland than there are in almost any other kind of habitat. 66 percent of the commercial fish catch taken along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts in the US depend on wetlands for survival.