Animalscaretips
Larger creatures that thrive in the Bay include bottlenose dolphins, which are plentiful in deeper waters but can also be found near harbors. Water mammals share the watershed with their on-land neighbors such as river otters, the white-tailed and sika deer, bobcats, marsh rabbits, muskrat, and red fox.
- What kind of animals live in Chesapeake Bay?
- How many species live in the Chesapeake Bay?
- What kind of plants and animals live in bays?
- What is Chesapeake Bay known for?
- Do sharks live in the Chesapeake Bay?
- Are there whales in the Chesapeake Bay?
- Are there octopus in the Chesapeake Bay?
- What predators are in the Chesapeake Bay?
- What kind of deer live in Chesapeake Bay?
- What plants are found in and near the Chesapeake Bay?
- Are there dolphins in the Chesapeake Bay?
- What eats phytoplankton in the Chesapeake Bay?
- Can you swim in the Chesapeake Bay?
- Why is the Chesapeake Bay so dirty?
- What are some fun facts about the Chesapeake Bay?
What kind of animals live in Chesapeake Bay?
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. And hundreds of thousands of birds call Chesapeake Bay their home.
How many species live in the Chesapeake Bay?
The mixing of freshwater with saltwater from the Atlantic Ocean in the Chesapeake Bay creates the nation's largest estuary, home to more than 3,700 species of plants and animals.
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.
What is Chesapeake Bay known for?
The Chesapeake Bay has the largest land-to-water ratio (14:1) of any coastal water body in the world. More than 100,000 streams and rivers thread through the watershed and eventually flow into the Bay. Everyone within the Chesapeake Bay watershed is just minutes from one of the streams or rivers.
Do sharks live in the 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 whales in the Chesapeake Bay?
The humpback whale is a school bus-sized mammal that occasionally visits the Chesapeake Bay. It is known for its knobbed head and acrobatic breaching displays.
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.
What predators are in the Chesapeake Bay?
As important predator species in the Chesapeake Bay food web, fish like striped bass, Atlantic croaker and white perch rely on “forage”—the smaller fish, shellfish and invertebrates that underwater predators feed on. Though many aren't well known, these forage species are the unsung heroes of our waters.
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.
What plants are found in and near the Chesapeake Bay?
Five of the most common are wild celery, found in freshwater; sago pondweed, redhead grass, and widgeon grass found in more estuarine water; and eelgrass found in the lower Bay in saltier water. Salinity, water depth, and bottom sediment determine where each species can grow.
Are there dolphins in the 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.
What eats phytoplankton in the Chesapeake Bay?
Phytoplankton are then are eaten by copepods, which are members of the microscopic animal community called zooplankton. Copepods are eaten by bay anchovies, which are eaten by large fish such as bluefish and striped bass.
Can you swim in the Chesapeake Bay?
They are especially dangerous for dogs and one of the main threats to the Bay's entire ecosystem. Despite these health concerns, beaches along the tidal rivers and the Chesapeake Bay are often safe for swimming, fishing and boating.
Why is the Chesapeake Bay so dirty?
The Chesapeake Bay has been on EPA's "dirty waters" list for decades. ... This excess nitrogen and phosphorus feeds algal blooms that block sunlight to underwater grasses and contribute to the formation of dead zones, areas in the Bay and its tidal waters without sufficient levels of oxygen.
What are some fun facts about the Chesapeake Bay?
The Bay and its tidal tributaries have 11,684 miles of shoreline—more than the entire U.S. west coast. The Chesapeake Bay watershed has 150 major rivers and streams, but contains more than 100,000 smaller tributaries. The Bay is surprisingly shallow. Its average depth, including all tidal tributaries, is about 21 feet.
