Editing Wadden Sea (section)

== Fauna ==
[[File:Pilsumer Watt from the Leyhörn 2.jpg|thumb|left|The mudflats of the Pilsumer Watt near [[Greetsiel]], Germany]]
[[File:Phoca vitulina Terschelling.jpg|thumb|[[Harbor seal]]s on [[Terschelling]], [[Netherlands]]]]

The Wadden Sea is famous for its rich [[flora]] and [[Fauna (animals)|fauna]], especially birds. Hundreds of thousands of [[wader]]s, [[duck]]s, and [[geese]] use the area as a [[Bird migration|migration]] stopover or wintering site. It is also a rich habitat for [[gull]]s and [[tern]]s,<ref>{{Cite book |last = Couzens |first = Dominic |title = Top 100 Birding Sites of the World |publisher = [[University of California Press]] |year = 2008 |isbn = 978-0-520-25932-4 |pages = 27–29}}</ref> as well as a few species of [[heron]]s, [[Eurasian spoonbill]]s and [[Bird of prey|birds-of-prey]], including a small and increasing breeding population of [[white-tailed eagle]]s.<ref>{{cite news | title=Havørne sætter ny rekord i Danmark | url=https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/havorne-saetter-ny-rekord-i-danmark | publisher=[[DR (broadcaster)|DR]] | date=20 November 2019 | access-date=15 December 2019 }}</ref> However, the biodiversity of Wadden Sea is smaller today than it once was; for birds, [[greater flamingo]]s and [[Dalmatian pelican]]s used to be common as well, at least during the [[Holocene climatic optimum]] when the climate was warmer.<ref>{{cite book |author=Alanna Mitchel |date=2009 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/seasickoceanchan00mitc/page/78 |quote=right whale. |chapter=6-Reading the vital signs: life force |page=78 |location=Halifax, Canada |title=The fate of the fish. Seasick: Ocean Change and the Extinction of Life on Earth |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-53258-5 |access-date=29 July 2014}}</ref><ref name=Nikulina2015>{{Cite journal | author1=Nikulina, E.A. | author2=U. Schmölcke | year=2015 | title=First archaeogenetic results verify the mid-Holocene occurrence of Dalmatian pelican Pelecanus crispus far out of present range | journal=Journal of Avian Biology | volume=46 | issue=4 | pages=344–351 | doi=10.1111/jav.00652 }}</ref> Due to human activity and a changing environment, species have gone extinct, while others are expected to migrate in.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fmap.ca//ramweb/media/biodiversity_loss/downloads/RegionalExtinctionExamples.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110425162323/http://www.fmap.ca//ramweb/media/biodiversity_loss/downloads/RegionalExtinctionExamples.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-04-25 |title=Regional Species Extinctions - Examples of regional species extinctions over the last 1000 years and more. |website=archive-it.org}}</ref><ref>Karsten Reise, [https://waddensea-worldheritage.org/sites/default/files/2012_natural%20history.pdf A natural history of the Wadden Sea – Riddled by contingencies] ({{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20181011133320/http://waddensea-secretariat.org/sites/default/files/downloads/reise.pdf presentation slides]}}). Wadden Sea Station Sylt - AWI. accessed on 29 July 2014</ref>

Larger fish including [[Ray (fish)|rays]], [[Atlantic salmon]] and [[brown trout]] are still present in several sections of the Wadden Sea, but others like [[European sea sturgeon]] only survive in the region through a reintroduction project. The world's only remaining natural population of [[houting]] survives in the Danish part of the Wadden Sea and it has been used as a basis for reintroductions further south, but considerable [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] confusion remains over its status (whether it is the same as the houting that once lived further south in the Wadden Sea).<ref>Carl, R. and P.R. Møller (2012). Atlas over Danske Ferskvandsfisk. [[Natural History Museum of Denmark]], University of Copenhagen, and [[Technical University of Denmark|DTU]] Aqua. {{isbn|9788787519748}}</ref><ref>Borcherding, J.; M. Heynen; T. Jäger-Kleinicke; H. V. Winter; and R. Eckmann (2010). Re-establishment of the North Sea houting in the River Rhine. Fisheries Management and Ecology 17(3): 291–293. {{doi|10.1111/j.1365-2400.2009.00710.x}}</ref> [[European oyster]] once formed large beds in the region and was still present until a few decades ago, when extirpated due to a combination of disease and the continued spread of the invasive [[Pacific oyster]], which now forms large beds in the Wadden Sea.<ref>{{cite news | title=Vi gider ikke spise unikke danske østers | url=https://politiken.dk/mad/madnyt/art5470509/Vi-gider-ikke-spise-unikke-danske-østers | publisher=[[Politiken]] | date=23 October 2012 | access-date=15 December 2019 }}</ref> Especially the southwestern part of the Wadden Sea has been greatly reduced. Historically, the [[Rhine]] was by far the most important river flowing into this section, but it has been greatly reduced due to dams. As a result, about 90% of all the species that historically inhabited that part of the Wadden Sea are at risk.<ref>MacKinnon B.J., 2013. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1RyqAAAAQBAJ&dq=wadden+sea+right+whale&pg=PA99 The Nature of Nature]. The Once and Future World: Nature as It Was, as It Is, as It Could Be. pp.100. accessed on 29 July 2014</ref>

The Wadden Sea is an important habitat for both [[harbour seals|harbour]] and [[grey seal]]s. [[Harbour porpoise]]s and [[white-beaked dolphin]]s are the sea's only resident [[cetacean]]s. They were once extinct in the southern part of the sea but have also re-colonized that area again.<ref name=NZGDateBase>{{cite web |author=Kees (C.J.) Camphuysen |title=NZG Marine Mammal Database - Sightings of cetaceans in The Netherlands and the Southern North sea |url=https://home.kpn.nl/~camphuys/Cetacea.html |access-date=28 January 2015 |archive-date=24 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024093506/https://home.kpn.nl/~camphuys/Cetacea.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Many other cetaceans only visit seasonally, or occasionally.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zeeinzicht.nl/vleet/index.php?id=4185&template=template-vleeteng&language=2&item=Cetaceans |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140405080841/http://www.zeeinzicht.nl/vleet/index.php?id=4185&template=template-vleeteng&language=2&item=Cetaceans |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-04-05 |title=Cetaceans |author=metatags generator}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Lotze K.H.|year=2005|title=Radical changes in the Wadden Sea fauna and flora over the last 2,000 years|journal=Helgoland Marine Research |volume=59 |issue=1 |page=71 |doi=10.1007/s10152-004-0208-0 |bibcode=2005HMR....59...71L |doi-access=free}}</ref> In early history, [[North Atlantic right whale]]s and [[gray whale]]s (now extinct in the North Atlantic)<ref>{{Cite book |vauthors=Mead JG, Mitchell ED |veditors=Jones ML, Swartz SL, Leatherwood S |title=The Gray Whale |year=1984 |publisher=Academic Press |location=London |pages=33–53 |chapter=Atlantic gray whales}}</ref> were present in the region, perhaps using the shallow, calm waters for feeding and breeding. It has been theorized that they were hunted to extinction in this region by shore-based whalers in medieval times.<ref>Szaro C.R., Johnston W.D., Wolff. J.W. et al. 1996. [https://books.google.com/books?id=mQ5W4ycPBjUC&dq=wadden+sea+right+whale&pg=PA539 Biodiversity of the Wadden Sea]. Biodiversity in Managed Landscapes: Theory and Practice. pp.539. [[Oxford University Press]]. accessed on 29 July 2014</ref><ref>Wolff W. J., 2000. The south-east North Sea: losses of vertebrate fauna during the past 2000 years. Biological Conservation 95: 209-21. accessed on 29 July 2014</ref> They are generally considered long-extinct in the region, but in the Netherlands, a possible right whale was observed close to beaches on [[Texel]] in the [[West Frisian Islands]] and off Steenbanken, [[Schouwen-Duiveland]] in July 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://home.kpn.nl/~camphuys/flukes.html |title=WHO HAS AN IDEA WHAT ANIMAL WE ARE LOOKING AT HERE? |author=Kees (C.J.) Camphuysen |access-date=2013-06-01 |archive-date=22 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022024547/https://home.kpn.nl/~camphuys/flukes.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Recent increases in the number of North Atlantic [[humpback whale]]s and [[minke whale]]s might have resulted in more visits and possible re-colonization by the species to the areas especially around [[Marsdiep]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://zoogdierwinkel.nl/sites/default/files/imce/nieuwesite/Publicatie%20fotos/Lutra/downloads/50-1_Camphuys_ea.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809052046/http://zoogdierwinkel.nl/sites/default/files/imce/nieuwesite/Publicatie%20fotos/Lutra/downloads/50-1_Camphuys_ea.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=9 August 2014 |title=Foraging humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)in the Marsdiep area (Wadden Sea), May 2007 and a review of sightings and strandings in the southern North Sea, 2003-2007 |author=Kees (C.J.) Camphuysen |year=2007 |edition=Lutra 2007 50 (1): 31-42 |access-date=29 July 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=www.zeezoogdieren.org |year=2008 |title=Springende walvis gezien bij Texel |trans-title=Jumping whale seen at Texel |url=https://zeezoogdieren.org/wordpress/2008/10/21/springende-walvis-gezien-bij-texel |access-date=28 January 2015}}</ref> Future recovery of once-extinct local [[bottlenose dolphin]]s is also expected.<ref name=NZGDateBase />