Chesapeake Bay Reasearch

1. Chesapeake BayReasearch By: Brooke Miller

2. Why is it important to have a variety of animals in the Bay? • Sea Roaches help keep the Bay clean by eating dead plants and animals. Widgeon Grass help the Bay by anchoring down particles. Blue Crabs are an important food source to local harbors. My research will show that Sea Roaches, Widgeon Grasses, and Blue Crabs are important to theBay.

3. Sea Roaches • Sea Roaches help to keep the Bay clean by eating dead plants and animals. A Sea Roach is a cock roach that lives in the sea. They clean up the bottom of the Bay and keep the ecosystem clean. These are to reasons they are helpful. They are very active at night. Scientists are trying to find out why they are so big compared to their cousins.

4. Widgeon Grasses • Widgeon grasses help the Bay by releasing anchoring chemicals. It grows in salinities, slightly brackish, and salt water. It has thread – like leaves that have a waxy outside. This allows gasses and nutrients to easily pass. Widgeon grass has air filled spaces inside, making stems and leaves float.

5. Blue Crabs • Blue crabs are important because they are harvested as a food source. Males are called Jimmies and females are called Sooks. The Blue crab is an important Cray species to some local fisheries near the Bay. They release larvae near the mouth of the Bay. They also defend themselves with their front claws.

6. In Conclusion………. • In conclusion, I learned that without a variety of animals in the Bay, it would be dirty , and most of the other animals would die because of the water. Sea Roaches, Widgeon Grasses, and Blue Crabs all help clean the Bay, and we don’t know what we would do without them!

7. Bibliography • Chesapeake Baywww.chesapeakebay.net/discover/bay101 • Bayville Bayquestbayville.thinkport.org • Bay Trippers baytrippers.thinkport.org • Kid Rex www.kidrex.org