Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: J. Makali Bruton
Taken: February 19, 2018
Caption: The additional, nearby Creek Ecology Marker
Additional Description: This marker is some hundred yards or so further along the Ravine Loop Trail.

Creek Ecology
Many creeks can be found throughout Little Mulberry Park. These creeks are home to dozens of small invertebrates, frogs and salamanders. On any given night the creek edges come alive as the Marbled Salamanders (Ambystoma opacum) and Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) trudge through the wet leaf litter in search of prey. The echoing calls of thousands of tree frogs such as the Grey Tree Frog Hyla versicolor, hint at just a small percentage of the life found along these important creek edges.
In these areas are dense mats of decomposing debris that collects along the narrows of the creek edges. These are ideal basking zones for the Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon), a common non-venomous snake found in this region. Creeks such as the one you are viewing at this site are important ecological components to the life cycles of the species described above. The key aspect you can provide is cleanliness. Trash and other debris left behind by hikers clog and degrade the water quality for inhabitants of these areas. Please “Pack It In and Pack It Out” to keep Gwinnett Wildlife Wild!
Submitted: February 24, 2018, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana.
Database Locator Identification Number: p417433
File Size: 4.220 Megabytes

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