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FICTIONAL NEWS BRIEF — for this worksheet only A coastal monitoring team near a small Atlantic lighthouse has noticed more plastic wrappers and fishing line collecting in a nearby salt marsh after storms. The marsh is a habitat: a place where organisms live and find what they need. Cordgrass shelters young fish and crabs, while shorebirds feed in the mud. Plastic can injure or trap wildlife, and larger pieces can break into tiny fragments called microplastics. Researchers are checking several parts of the marsh over time to learn where litter gathers and whether clean-up efforts help. They say the brief observations do not yet prove that wildlife numbers have changed. Residents are being asked to reduce single-use plastic and report litter safely. The monitoring team plans to share its methods and results so others can check the findings.