As you may know, a estuary, particularly is a enclosed body of water aside the coast where freshwater from rivers and streams intertwine with the salt water from the ocean. As a matter of fact, estuaries are "places of transition from land to sea and freshwater to salt water." An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water formed where freshwater from rivers and streams flows into the ocean, mixing with the salty sea water. Estuaries and the lands surrounding them are places of transition from land to sea, and from fresh to salt water. Influenced by the tides, estuaries are protected and kept safe from the "full force of ocean waves, winds, and storms by the reefs, barrier islands, or fingers of land, mud, or sand that define an estuary …show more content…
In areas where the mouth of fresh water rivers run into the estuary, the salinity can be as low as .5 ppt (parts per thousand), and in this region freshwater organisms can live. Near the mouth of the bay, the salinity level can be as high as 36 ppt, which is as salty as the ocean. Since this estuary is located in a temperate zone, the average daily temperature of the water changes with the seasons. More than 350 species of fish live in the Chesapeake bay, this bay provides rich fishing opportunities for fisherman. This Bay supports more than 3,600 species of plant and animal life altogether. Now picture, how much this number drastically increases if you include the enitre worlds plant and animal life.
Furthermore, estuaries are generally influenced by the tides, yet still remain protected from the powerful ocean waves, winds, and storms that the land forms as barrier islands or peninsulas. In fact, one of the most productive on earth are estuarian environments that create more organic matter each year than comparable areas of forest, grassland, or agricultural land. The tidal waters of estuaries also support unique communities of plants and animals especially adapted for life at the margin of the sea. A numerous of different habitat spieces are found living in estuaries, including rocky shores, sandy beachs, oyster reefs, shallow open waters, freshwater and salt marshes, swamps, mud and sand flats, seagrasses, tidal pools, mangrove forests, and even river deltas.
The Chesapeake Bay is a 200-mile-long estuary extending from Norfolk, VA to Havre de grace Maryland. On average this bay contains about 68 trillion liters of water. This bay is the largest estuary in North America. It inhabits more than 3,000 species of plants, animals, and fish. “Since the early twentieth century, the Chesapeake Bay has experienced serious environmental degradation. Problems include large reductions in sea grass, reduced amounts of finfish and shellfish (especially oysters and crab), seasonal depletions in dissolved oxygen, and increases in sedimentation.” (Atkins & Anderson, 2003) These changes are brought on by pollution (Eutrophication and Toxic Contamination), development, deforestation, and agriculture. And according
Scientists and researchers began giving a large volume of effort and look into the extremely complex problems that face the Chesapeake Bay. When research for the improving and saving of the Bay’s overall health began it seemed very simple and there were only a couple of problems. The problems included nutrients from agricultural runoff; these nutrients were phosphorus and nitrogen. The combination of the nutrients in the Bay caused a large volume of algae that choked some of the marine life. While bringing in algae the nutrients also killed grasses on the seafloor. These seafloor bed grasses that once covered more than half of the Chesapeake Bay’s floor now only covered a tenth of their original area. Though the estuary was having problems it did not receive the terrible pollution from industries that many large rivers and lakes do in other urban areas (Brown, p. 397).
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. About half of the Bay’s water volume comes from salt water from the Atlantic Ocean. The other half drains into the Bay from its enormous 64,000-square-mile watershed. Estuaries are among the most productive environments on earth, creating more organic matter each year than similarly-sized forests and agricultural areas. Estuaries also provide diverse habitats for wildlife and aquatic life, protect our communities against flooding, reduce pollution of waterways, and support local economies through commercial and recreational activities. Thousands of species
Scene in Fig. 1.1., the Chesapeake Bay is substantial in size; at roughly 64,000 miles, it contains roughly fifty rivers and thousands of streams and creeks. It encompasses parts of 6 states, including all of Washington, DC. The Chesapeake Bay is what is known as a watershed, an area that contributes to the drainage to a water body, stream, river, lake or ocean. Rainwater that falls within the 64,000 square miles that is the Chesapeake Bay will subsequently travel through many streams and rivers, eventually making its way into the largest estuary system in the United States.
The food chain of the Chesapeake Bay is very simple. It has fish, big fish depend on small fish. The small fish feed off of oysters or sometimes zooplankton. Oysters then feed off of many small zooplankton. Once, it gets down to what the zooplankton feed off of it is mostly algae or grass. Now, since there is a major decrease in the algae population, this
The word Chesapeake, although there is some scholarly dispute, likely means “Great Bay of Shells” or “Great Shellfish Bay” in the language of the Algonquian Native Americans (“Oyster History”). This translation is appropriate and accurate to anyone familiar with the Chesapeake Bay and its rich history of oysters. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States with over 150 rivers and streams flow into its basin. It measures roughly 200 miles in length, 3.4 to 35 miles in width and stretches across six states. The bay is home to over 2,700 plant and animal species, making it one of the most complex and productive estuary systems in the world (“Facts and Figures”). However, one species
Oysters filter water for the rest of the community. They can filter up to 2 gallons (8 liters) of water in an hour. They are the most effective filtration system in the Chesapeake Bay. Before Europeans/ Americans started to harvest the oysters in this region, the amount of oysters in the Bay could filter the 18 trillion gallons of water in the Chesapeake in a matter of days, while the current population takes over a year.
The word Chesapeake, although there is some scholarly dispute, likely means “Great Bay of Shells” or “Great Shellfish Bay” in the language of the Algonquian Native Americans (“Oyster History”). This translation is appropriate and accurate to anyone familiar with the Chesapeake Bay and its rich history of oysters. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States with over 150 rivers and streams flow into its basin. It measures roughly 200 miles in length, 3.4 to 35 miles in width and stretches across six states. The bay is home to over 2,700 plant and animal species, making it one of the most complex and productive estuary systems in the world (“Facts and Figures”). However, one species of animal stands out above the rest in its value and legacy to the Chesapeake region: the eastern oyster.
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It is located on the eastern seaboard, with the upper portion of the bay in Maryland and the lower portion in Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay is vital to the ecology and economy of both Virginia and Maryland. There are more than one-hundred-fifty rivers that flow into the bay. Within the Chesapeake Bay, there are around 2,700 species that live there. Needless to say, this is a very important ecosystem that needs to be protected. The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act does just that.
Spanning lengths over 300,000 meters, this it is a watershed that extends over six states, the District of Columbia, and meets the needs of over 15 million individuals. With its high rate of productivity, its economic and social importance to the surrounding areas, and its close proximity to the U.S. capital, the Chesapeake has the recipient of significant attention for quite some time(Boesch, Donald). One of the issues that threatens this important estuary is eutrophication. For the majority of the 20th century, research, guidelines, and management activity were focused on other issues like wetland loss, over harvesting of fisheries, infectious wastes, etc (Davidson et al, 1997). It took until the final quarter of the century for widespread realization to hit that eutrophication had deteriorated the Bay, with extreme consequences for the Bay’s resources(Malone et al., 1993). After awareness of the impact of eutrophication on water bodies began to increase, when it came to making policies and managing the Chesapeake Bay, eutrophication reduction took precedence over any other issues. As the Bay remains a very important body of water, the significance of understanding one of the major processes responsible for its degradation remains as well. This paper aims to understand the contributing factors of eutrophication in the Chesapeake Bay, with a special focus on the effects of air and
Although the Easter Shore of Maryland is most well known for their shellfish, the abundance of shellfish barely scratches the surface of the marine life found in the Chesapeake Bay. From the shallows of the Bay to the bottom in one hundred feet of water, the life found in the Bay varies drastically. The different conditions foster an assortment of fish such as permanent residents, migrants, and occasional visitors. It is home to mature fish and is also an important nursery ground for millions of ocean fish (Blair and Ansel 111). About two hundred and two species have been recorded as permanent residents of the Chesapeake and there are four classes of migratory fish (“Chesapeake Wildlife”). Species such as shad, alewife, and striped bass leave the marine environment to spawn in fresh water. In the summer, hardhead, spot, and menhaden reside in the Bay. Bluefish are a common migrant found in the
THE CHESAPEAKE BAY DEAD ZONES This is an article written by the Daily Press titled "The Chesapeake Bay dead zone this summer worst since 2014". The theme is how marine life can be affected by these dead zones and how we will find a way to fix this issue with the farmers. If we don't find a way to fix how many dead
estuary. An estuary abounds with plant and animal life. The Big River Lagoon is an estuary that is over 150 miles long on the Louisiana coast. It is an extremely diverse area hosting thousands of species of plants and animals. The relationships of the Big River Lagoon ecosystem are illustrated in the food web and food pyramid below
The Chesapeake Bay watershed, located in the northeastern United States contains 64,000 square miles. The watershed is home to over 17 million people, along with countless plant and animal species. It also contains 150 major rivers and streams, and covers nearly 12,000 miles along the Atlantic coast, making it the largest estuary in the United States. With the Chesapeake Bay containing such a vast amount of water located along the coast of an ocean, pollution issues continually threaten the entire watershed.
The erosion of shorelines is a natural process that can have beneficial or adverse impacts on the creation and maintenance of habitats. Sands and gravels eroded from the shores of coastal bays maintain the beach as a natural barrier between the open water and coastal wetlands. Beaches move back and forth onshore, offshore and along shore with changing wave conditions. The finer-grained silts and clays derived from the erosion of shorelines are sorted and carried as far as the waters of wetlands or tidal flats, where benefits are derived from addition of the new material. However, excessively high sediment loads can smother submerged aquatic vegetation beds, cover shellfish beds and tidal flats, fill in riffle