Chesapeake Bay #6: Bay vegetation



Phyllospadix scouleri (surf grass)



Bay underwater grasses provide food and habitat for many species of fish, shellfish, and waterbirds. Many shellfish species use the grasses as nurseries for their young, including the blue crab. Grasses are often used to hide from predators, particularly by mollusks and small fish. Female blue crabs hide in the grasses after molting, when they are particularly soft and vulnerable.

Tiny crustaceons such as barnacles, sponges, and sea squirts all dine on underwater grass, as do zooplankton. Waterfowl also occasionally feed on the grasses.

Underwater grasses also keep the bay itself clean and healthy. They add oxygen to the water and trap sediments that would otherwise pollute the water and harm the organisms in it. The grasses also help to anchor soil that might be eroded.

Grasses themselves are fed by the excess of nutrients that come into estuaries.

 38°39'49.45"N
76°26'23.91"W