Editing Danube Delta (section)

==== Ecosystem of marshy and flooding areas ====
[[File:Pelicani din Delta Dunarii.PNG|thumb|Pelicans in Danube Delta]]
[[File:RO004MS-04.jpg|thumb|The Danube Delta birds: [[grey heron]] (''Ardea cinerea''), [[mallard]] or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos''), [[great white pelican]] (''Ardea cinerea''), [[great crested grebe]] (''Podiceps cristatus''). Stamp of Romania, 2004]]

Reed plants and floating reed islands (called '''plaur''' in [[Romania]]) are the most common and well-known components of the Danube Delta. Vegetation of this ecosystem consists of the common reed (''[[Phragmites communis]]'') and, on near river banks, mace reed/cattail (''[[Typha latifolia]]'', ''[[Typha angustifolia]]''), sedge (''[[Carex dioica]]'', ''[[Carex stricta]]''), Dutch rush (''[[Scirpus radicans]]'', ''[[Schoenoplectus lacustris]]''), and brook mint (''[[Mentha aquatica]]''). They provide ideal spawning and nesting grounds. The '''plaur''' are a mixture of reed roots, grass and soil, usually floating or anchored to the riverbed. As a rule, the reed surrounds the lakes and ponds, and slowly invades the water surface.

This type of ecosystem is noted for its variety and large population of birds, some of them are very rare. The most important are the [[tufted duck]] (''Aythya fuligula''), [[red-crested pochard]] (''Netta rufina''), [[mallard]] (''Anas platyrhynchos''), [[greylag goose]] (''Anser anser''), [[pygmy cormorant]] (''Microcarbo pygmeus''), [[purple heron]] (''Ardea purpurea''), [[great egret|great white egret]] (''Egretta alba''), [[little egret]] (''Egretta garzetta''), [[Eurasian spoonbill]](''Platalea leucorodia''), [[great white pelican]] (''Pelecanus onocrotalus''), [[Dalmatian pelican]] (''Pelecanus crispus''), [[mute swan]] (''Cygnus olor''), and [[glossy ibis]] (''Plegadis falcinellus''). A recent and welcomed newcomer is the [[common pheasant|pheasant]] (''Phasianus colchicus'').

Among the mammals, there is the [[Eurasian otter]] (''Lutra lutra''), [[European mink]] (''Mustela lutreola''), [[stoat|little ermine]] (''Mustela erminea aestiva''), [[wild boar]] (''Sus scrofa''), and [[wildcat|wild cat]] (''Felis silvestris''), in winter the [[European hare]] (''Lepus europaeus'') and, on the brink of disappearing from the delta, the wolf and the fox. During the Middle Ages, the [[Caspian tiger]] (''Panthera tigris tigris'') was a resident across the steppes of Ukraine, including Danube Delta, and once, they were hunted to extinction and they're extirpated. The [[raccoon dog|East Asian raccoon dog]] (''Nyctereutes procyonoides''), bizam/introduced [[muskrat]] (''Ondatra zibethica''), and to some extent South American [[nutria]] (''Myocastor coypus''), are recent species that have successfully adapted.