What are some aquatic animals in the Chesapeake Bay?

The Bay is home to many fish, from the Bay anchovy to the sandbar shark. It supports blue crabs, horshoe crabs and American oysters. In fact, humans get over 500 million pounds of seafood from the Bay each year! Sea turtles, eels, dolphins, rays, seahorses, and jellyfish also fill the Bay waters.

1. What are the most common fish in the Chesapeake Bay?
2. What are the four main species types that are found on the Chesapeake Bay?
3. What kind of plants and animals live in bays?
4. Do sharks live in Chesapeake Bay?
5. Are there seahorses in the Chesapeake Bay?
6. Are there dolphins in Chesapeake Bay?
7. Are there octopus in the Chesapeake Bay?
8. How many species of fish are in the Chesapeake Bay?
9. How many animals live in the Chesapeake Bay?
10. What makes Chesapeake Bay a dead zone *?
11. Where does the water in the Chesapeake Bay come from?
12. What kind of deer live in Chesapeake Bay?

What are the most common fish in the Chesapeake Bay?

The bay anchovy is a small, translucent fish that lives in schools throughout the Chesapeake Bay. It is the most abundant fish in the Bay.

What are the four main species types that are found on the Chesapeake Bay?

During the warmer months, numerous marine species, including bluefish, weakfish, croaker, Atlantic menhaden, flounder, and spot, and larger cartilaginous fishes such as sandbar sharks and cownose rays, enter the Bay to feed on its rich food supply.

What kind of plants and animals live in bays?

There are oyster reefs where oysters, mud crabs, and small fish may be found. Also in the Bay, there is submerged aquatic vegetation where seahorses, blue crabs, and other fish live. Finally, there is open water where sea turtles or rays can be found.

Do sharks live in Chesapeake Bay?

According to the Chesapeake Bay Program, there are at least 12 species of sharks found in the Bay. ... The five most common sharks in the Bay include the sandbar shark, bull shark, sand tiger shark, smooth dogfish, and spiney dogfish.

Are there seahorses in the Chesapeake Bay?

Lined seahorses are the only seahorse that lives in the Chesapeake Bay. They are poor swimmers that rely on their camouflage ability to hide from predators and conceal themselves from prey.

Are there dolphins in Chesapeake Bay?

Hundreds of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins are spending their summers in Chesapeake Bay waters. ... The bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) that travel to the Chesapeake are a migratory species that spend the rest of the year at other locations along the Atlantic Coast.

Are there octopus in the Chesapeake Bay?

The brief squid is the only cephalopod in the Chesapeake Bay, a group that includes squids, octopuses and cuttlefish. They prefer salty waters normally found only in the lower Bay, but when the saltier water moves farther north, the squids move with it.

How many species of fish are in the Chesapeake Bay?

The Chesapeake Bay watershed encompasses approximately 168,000 square kilometers, supporting nearly 350 species of fish and important commercial and recreational fisheries.

How many animals live in the Chesapeake Bay?

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It runs north-south from the mouth of the Susquehanna River to the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the most productive estuaries in the world, with over 3,600 species of animals and plants.

What makes Chesapeake Bay a dead zone *?

Dead zones are caused by excessive nitrogen and phosphorous pollution from human activities, including: Agricultural runoff from farmland that carries nutrients from fertilizers and animal manure into rivers and streams, eventually flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

Where does the water in the Chesapeake Bay come from?

Only about half of the water in the Bay comes from the ocean. The rest comes from the 64,000 square mile watershed, which extends approximately 524 miles from Cooperstown, New York to Norfolk, Virginia. Roughly 51 billion gallons of water enter the Bay each day from the 100,000 streams, creeks, and rivers that feed it.

What kind of deer live in Chesapeake Bay?

Sika deer are native to Japan, Taiwan and eastern Asia, and were introduced into the Chesapeake Bay watershed in 1916. While they reside in the Bay watershed year round, the sika deer's summer range is generally larger than its winter range.