What makes a Swamp a Swamp?
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Hey, smarty pants, see if you can guess where I am right now. Here are some hints to help you out. It's very wet and very muddy, and there's lots of plants and animals around. I hear some of you saying rainforest, which is a great guess, but not quite. Wait, did somebody say a swamp? If you did, you got it. I'm in a swamp, but I'm not alone.

I'm Missy Muskrat, and today I'll be your guide showing the trusty narrator around my swampy home. Hope you packed a lunch, trusty narrator. Thanks for joining me, Missy. To be honest, I don't know if I'd want to be traveling through a swamp alone. But having you here makes me feel a lot better. Really? Fenceless, three-pound rodent who runs away and dives into a hole at the sign of trouble. I see.

Well, it's still nice to have someone to talk to who can explain all about swamps. Like, what kind of plants and animals can you find in a swamp? Where are swamps located? And what makes a swamp a swamp? That I can definitely do. Great. Then it's time for another whiff of Science and History on... The Smart Egg! The Smart Egg!

Have you ever asked questions like, I wonder who invented toilets? Or, why do dogs wag their tails? Something.

Then have I got the thing for you. The Brains on Universe, a family of podcasts for kids and their adults. My name is Joy Dolo, and I host a funny and fabulous history show called Forever Ago. We explore the history of everything from bubblegum to how we sent messages before cell phones.

I live in New Zealand, and the Maori people there use smoke signals to send messages. There's also Brains On, a science show where we answer kids' questions like... Do plants sleep? And... Why do some people have asthma? And on the debate game show Smash Boom Best, you get to judge which is cooler, chocolate versus cheese, or Spider-Man versus Batman.

What is Batman's personality? He's a rich guy. Find Forever Ago, Brains On, and Smash Boom Best wherever you get your podcasts. Or head to BrainsOn.org to learn more. Okay, smarty pants. What's the first thing you think of when I say a swamp? Did you say water or wet? That's right. Swamps are murky bodies of water. Now, I'm not planning on swimming in the swamp, but I did bring my wading boots like you told me to, missy.

Are you sure it's not too deep? Nope, not here at the edge. It only gets deep in the middle. Okay, here I go. Wow, walking in the swamp is fun. Yep, you'll notice it feels squishy when you walk around here. Why is that? It's because swamps have soft, muddy bottoms where plants usually take roots.

The soil in swamps is different from other soil because it's watery all the time. Marshes also have soft, muddy bottoms like this. Places like swamps, marshes, and bogs are called wetlands. Okay, Smarty Pants. Do you know the difference between a marsh and a swamp? Swamps have something marshes don't. Is it A. Grass, B. Trees, or C. Free Wi-Fi?

If you said trees, you're right. When a marsh is shallow enough, trees start to root there. That's how a marsh becomes a swamp. Swamps are areas that are usually flooded with water. But shrubs and trees can grow there. Also store something you use every day. Hmm. What's something you use that could be stored in a swamp? Go ahead. Shout it out. Did you say...

Water again? That's right. Some of the water people use in our homes is stored in swamps. But wait, this doesn't look like water I'd want to drink or brush my teeth with. No, you don't want to drink swamp water. Not until it's been purified. Ah, that makes sense. So what other things will you find at a swamp? Birds. Lots. Birds.

Hmm, that bird over there has a huge neck and long legs. Howdy, I'm Harry Heron. I'm one of 60 species of freshwater wading birds. Ooh, a fish. Gotta go. You can also find lots of furry friends in swamps, like beavers, minks, and muskrats like me. Besides our regular inhabitants...

also get some interesting visitors. Oh, yeah? Like who? Buffalo are known to stop at swamps to drink water and eat plants. And in North America and Europe, moose visit swamps. Hey, Marty Moose here. Just stopping by for a little lunch. Yum, yum, yum, yum. Oops. Seems those plants I ate gave me some swamp gas. Pee-yew. Later.

Smarty Moose likes to fart and run. Yeah, and it does kind of stink around here. Could that all be from one moose? Nope, that's swamp gas you smell. Smarty Pants, what do you think swamp gas is? Is it A, when a swamp creature... B, a gas station in a swamp. Or C, a gas from rotten plants at the bottom of the water.

The answer is C. After plants in a swamp die, they sink to the bottom of the water. Without air, the dead plant matter builds up faster than it can decay. The slow decay of plants without oxygen creates a gas that smells like rotten eggs, which people refer to as swamp gas. While it may sound gross to you, the plant matter actually makes the soil very rich in nutrients for new plants to grow.

I like eating plants at swamps, but there's another animal that loves eating swamp plants. Smarty Pants, is it A, cows, B, deer, C, horses? If you said deer, you're right. Hey, deer, make sure you save some plants for me. Wow, there are so many interesting sounds in a swamp. Let's see if the Smarty Pants can identify what they are. Read it, read it.

Ah, that was too easy for you. It was pretty obviously a bird call, a frog croak, and... What do you think that buzzing was? Did you say dragonflies?

Yep, there's lots of fascinating creatures either visiting or making swamps their homes. But what happens to swamp creatures when it gets cold outside? Smarty Pants, any ideas? In winter, many animals crawl into the mud to stay alive and warm under the snow and ice until spring. Good thinking. What's that plant over there? It's so fuzzy. It looks like a cat's tail.

That's exactly what it's called. A cattail plant. And its roots are one of my favorite foods. Want some? I'll pass. Oh, but I do see a food I like here. There's a blob of jelly. All I need is some peanut butter and... Eat that if I were you. Why not? Jelly is delicious.

I'll let my friend Frida Frog explain that. Trusty narrator, what you thought was jelly was actually my eggs. Oh. Frog eggs look like blobs of jelly, and like our fellow amphibians, toads, and salamanders. We love swamps, but sometimes we have to compete for our insect food source with something you wouldn't expect. Smarty pants. What surprising thing lives in a swamp and eats insects?

I'm hearing lots of names of animals, but believe it or not, some swamp plants eat insects. The pitcher plant looks like a pitcher you'd keep iced tea in. When insects crawl or land on it, they slide down the slippery sides and fall into its trap. Another insect-trapping plant you can find in a swamp is sundew. Scientists think sundew plants use insects for food. Cool!

And gross. What kinds of trees grow in swamps? There's a tree I think you'll like. It's one you can get syrup from. Smartypants, what swamp tree can you get syrup from? Is it A. Oak, B. Pine, or C. Maple?

If you said maple, you know your trees and your syrups. Red maple trees grow in swamps. The next time you're enjoying pancakes or waffles with syrup, be sure to thank a swamp. Besides providing syrup, swamp trees also provide a home to lots of swamp creatures. Woodpeckers, owls, and wood ducks all live in swamp trees.

Depending on what part of the swamp you're in, you could also run into some creatures that are a little scary. Oh yeah? Like what? Alligators live in swamps for water moccasins. Hmm, smarty pants. Do you know what a water moccasin is? Is it A, a type of shoe, B, a type of snake, or C, a small alligator? The answer is...

Water moccasins are a type of poisonous snake with a pretty potent bite. It's very painful for humans and deadly for me. Maybe we should get out of the water. Also, this swamp gas is starting to smell pretty nasty. Any chance we could find something pleasant smelling in a swamp? What do you think, Smarty Pants? The answer is yes. Really? What is it? Flowers. Many types of sweet-smelling flowers grow in swamps.

Ah, much better. Question for you, Missy, and for you too, Smarty Pants. Are swamps freshwater or saltwater? The answer is swamps that are farther from the coast contain freshwater, while swamps closer to the coast are made up of saltwater.

That makes sense, since the ocean is saltwater. Since the mangrove swamp has saltwater, would we find different creatures there than in other swamps? Oysters and fiddler crabs live in the mud of mangrove swamps. Raccoons also live there. Small fish eventually leave the mangrove swamp and swim to the ocean. That is, if they can escape the hunting birds. Sounds like swamps are quite the ecosystem.

Animals and people all need swamps and other wetlands. Plants and animals need a place to grow and live, and people need swamps for water. Marshes, swamps, and other wetlands are a kind of biome or a part of the world with similar weather, temperature, animals, and plants. Wetland biomes can be found all around the world, usually along the edges of rivers and lakes.

Depending on the kind of swamp it is. There's more than one kind of swamp? Yes, sirree. Would you like to know the different kinds? Sure, right after this quick break. This episode is brought to you by IXL.

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My friend Missy Muskrat just told me that there are actually different kinds of swamps. Who knew? So what makes one swamp different from the other? Different swamps are named for something that grows in them. Ah, smarty pants. What do you think swamps are named after? Is it A. Muskrats, B. Flowers, or C. Trees and shrubs? Well, swamps named after muskrats would be amazing.

Amazing! Most swamps are named for the trees and shrubs that grow in them. For example, red maple swamps are found in the northeastern United States, cypress swamps are in the southeastern USA, and willow swamps are in the western USA. Mangrove swamps, which can be found near the ocean, cover big areas along tropical coastlines around the world.

Mangrove swamps have salty water, while cypress swamps have fresh water. Very cool. Say, how do plants and animals get the food they need in swamps? Let's ask them. Herons and alligators are carnivores. That means we eat meat. Moose and deer are herbivores. We eat plants.

Frogs are both carnivores and herbivores. So omnivores? Not quite. As adults, we eat meat like insects and small vertebrates. But as baby tadpoles, we start out as herbivores eating plants. And even though I usually eat plants too, I'm actually an omnivore because sometimes I eat small animals in the water. There

All kinds of animals and plants eating and getting energy in a swamp. So we have a food web that passes energy through the swamp community. Plants get energy from the sun. Herbivores eat the plants. Carnivores eat the herbivores. And everything is eaten by the detritivores, such as mushrooms, who eat dead plants and animals. It may sound a little gross, but it's the way the swamp community continues its cycle of life.

That's amazing. Also, all this talk about eating made me hungry. I can go for some pancakes right after I grab some fresh maple syrup. A super shout out to super fan Danielle in Elk Grove, California. We hear you listen to Who Smarted every night and love learning about lots of interesting topics. Thanks for smarting with us and singing along to the theme song.

This episode's Swamps was written by Sarah Swietek and voiced by Sarah Swampy-Sweetik, Olivia Dagobah-Davis, Adam Swampthing-Davis, and Jerry Kolber. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Heron-Hahn.

Who Smarted? is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios. Our associate producer is Max Marsh-Kamasky. The theme song is by Brian No Gator Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex-Davis. Who Smarted? was created and produced by Adam Tex-Davis and Jerry Kolber. This has been an Atomic Entertainment production. Who Smarted?