Friday, January 7, 2011

Predation and Food Webs in an Estuary (Chesapeake Bay)

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/monitoring/mon_mngmt_actions/page_10.jpg






http://www.chesapeakebay.net/images/foodweb.gifMany symbiotic and predatory relationships are relevant to the estuary biome. Here is an example of a common food chain in an estuary:
Phytoplankton(producer)-Zooplankton(primary consumer)-Crab (Secondary consumer)-Fish(Tertiary consumer)-Human (Quaternary consumer). In the Chesapeake Bay estuary discussed before this chain is prevalent. On the left is a Chesapeake Bay food chain illustrating this. Above is a Chesapeake Bay food web.


These food webs and food chains illustrate common predator-prey relationships in estuaries. Several of these include:
The Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) and the infaunal clam prey (Mya arenaria).

http://www.aphotomarine.com/images/marine_bivalves/bivalve_mya_arenaria_sand_gaper_soft_shell_clam_23-10-10_1.jpg
 
http://flyingfishshop.com/GMPicts/CrabBlue.jpg
Also, the pennate freshwater diatom(Asterionella formosa) and the estuarine copepod zooplanktonn (Acartia hudsonica).

http://www.foundation.uconn.edu/cmsimages/legacy-2007-02-zooplankton.jpg http://wyrdscience.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/phytoplankton_070305.jpg

And finally, Rockfish (Morone saxatilis) larvae feed on various types of nauplii, including krill (Euphausia pacifica).

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/11/05/krill_wideweb__470x298,0.jpg http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/8620/371916-goldeye_rockfish_super.jpg



 38°32'25.18"N

 76°26'21.51"W




1 comment:

  1. Just FYI, your picture of a "rockfish" or Atlantic striped bass (Morone saxatilis) actually depicts a copper rockfish (Sebastes caurinus), which are found exclusively in the Pacific Ocean. There are a few species of Sebastes rockfishes in the Atlantic, but they are exclusively deepwater forms, and are bright red.
    -MLJ

    ReplyDelete