Nyssa Aquatica  

Habitat 
Inhabiting deeply flooded areas like swamps, sloughs, and river floodplains 
 
Diet 
Producer 

Role in Ecosystem 
Stabilizes soil, filters water, and offers nesting sites in flooded swamps 
 
Behavior 
Important flood-tolerant wetland specialist. 

Human impacts on the water tupelo are profound and varied, largely because this species is a dominant tree in southeastern U.S. freshwater forested wetlands, which have been heavily modified for agriculture and development. 

I wake up and see the sun rising on the horizon. Once I get up, I hear the birds chirping and I feel the wind blowing on my leaves. I went and got a coffee from Starbucks, then woke up the other trees. After I drank my coffee I went on a swim around the swamp. As a water tupelo, I have dark green leaves and grayish brown bark. I walk and swim with my roots and branches so I can get my steps in. When it gets dark, I go back to my spot in the swamp and go to bed, listening to the frogs ribbiting. 

Karter Hildebrandt, Colbie Coggins, Zoe Masorio