Chesapeake Bay #2 Oysters








The salinity of Chesapeake Bay is ideal for oysters and some time ago it was thought that oyster fishery was the bay's most commercially viable industry. However, in the past half century, the number of oyster reefs decreased from 220,000 acres to only 40,000 acres today. The primary reason was commercial overfishing. However, diseases such as MSX and Dermo, as well as the increasing pollution into the bay completed the oysters' demise. Some efforts were made to recover the oyster population, but they had mixed results.



In the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, oysters are filter feeder keystone species, and they provide habitats for other organisms.

38°34'26.04"N
76°23'54.85"W

Chesapeake Bay #1 Introduction and What is an Estuary?




Chesapeake Bay

What is an estuary?

An estuary is a coastal area partially enclosed by land but still connected to the open sea. Estuaries contain a mixture of fresh, salt, and brackish water (Brackish water has a salinity somewhere between fresh and salt water). Because of the high influx of nutrients from both fresh and salt water, estuaries are among the most productive biomes in the world. Estuaries are also some of the most populated areas in the world (almost 60%) and thus they quickly become polluted.

Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It is approximately 200 miles long and is a drainage basin for more than 100 rivers and streams. The fishing industry is very big in the bay but pollution keeps it in check.


 

38°33'7.95"N
76°22'31.10"W