What’s in a Wrack Line?

By: Brian Chan and JulieAnn Prentice, Birds Canada
The wrack line is an essential microhabitat on beaches, sustaining a wide diversity of invertebrates and shorebirds, including the endangered Great Lakes Piping Plover. Despite this importance, most people are unaware of what wrack is or where to find it. So, what exactly is a wrack line? Wrack lines consist of organic materials like driftwood, plant matter, and algae that wash up with the waves, forming a long strip of debris along the water's edge. As wrack breaks down, it creates an ideal habitat for invertebrates to feed and reproduce, attracting larger predatory insects and forming a hidden ecosystem.

Read More