The Chesapeake Bay is a marine aquatic life zone biome. This estuary is a mixture of salt water and fresh water. This is a sub biome of the Aquatic. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and third largest in the world. An estuary is a body of water where the salt water of the ocean mixes with the fresh water of rivers and streams. The Bay is 200 miles long and flows through the states of Virginia and Maryland. More than 150 rivers, creeks, and streams flow into the Bay, not only from Virginia and Maryland, but also from tributary, rivers located in Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. To simplify, estuaries are areas where freshwater streams or rivers merge with the ocean. This mixing of waters with different salt concentrations creates a unique ecosystem.
Location: See below a map showing the …show more content…
Why are estuaries important?
“Estuaries are among the most productive environments on earth, creating more organic matter each year than similarly-sized forests and agriculture areas. Estuaries also provide diverse habitats for wildlife and aquatic life, protect our communities against flooding, reduce pollution to waterways, and support local economies through commercial and recreational activities.
“The average depth of the Bay, including tributaries, is about 21 feet, although the main channel of the Bay is deep enough to accommodate large cargo ships on their way to the port of Baltimore (Wings World Quest, 2014).”
Habitats: The habitats found in estuaries consist of the following : salt marshes, eel grass beds, fish runs, mudflats, and mangroves, sandy beaches, and oyster reefs. These estuary habitats are the places where plants and wildlife live and create the web of life, which makes estuaries extraordinary. Thousands of species of wildlife and aquatic life, including fish, crabs, birds and mammals, depend on estuarine habitats for their
Location: See below a map showing the …show more content…
Why are estuaries important?
“Estuaries are among the most productive environments on earth, creating more organic matter each year than similarly-sized forests and agriculture areas. Estuaries also provide diverse habitats for wildlife and aquatic life, protect our communities against flooding, reduce pollution to waterways, and support local economies through commercial and recreational activities.
“The average depth of the Bay, including tributaries, is about 21 feet, although the main channel of the Bay is deep enough to accommodate large cargo ships on their way to the port of Baltimore (Wings World Quest, 2014).”
Habitats: The habitats found in estuaries consist of the following : salt marshes, eel grass beds, fish runs, mudflats, and mangroves, sandy beaches, and oyster reefs. These estuary habitats are the places where plants and wildlife live and create the web of life, which makes estuaries extraordinary. Thousands of species of wildlife and aquatic life, including fish, crabs, birds and mammals, depend on estuarine habitats for their