|
|
- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI15061960/00001
Notes
- Abstract:
- The Chesapeake Bay region is blessed with an amazing diversity of coastal habitats, from
sandy beaches and barrier islands along the Atlantic Coast to coastal marshes, swamps, seagrass beds,and estuarine beaches in the bay itself. Together, these habitats support thousands of species of fishand wildlife, and they are a linchpin for the regional economy, culture, and quality of life (STAC,2003).
The Chesapeake Bay provides critical stopover and wintering habitat for more than one
million migratory waterfowl, including canvasback, mallard, redhead, American black duck,
tundra swan, and Canada goose (Perry and Deller, 1995). They bay’s coastal marshes are home to
great blue heron, snowy egret, and other familiar waterbirds, and they provide important food
sources and nesting sites for numerous songbirds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. The region’s beaches support some of the largest populations of shorebirds such as red knot and piping plover in the western hemisphere and are a critical nest site for sea turtles (Najjar, et al., 2000). Coastal habitats also sustain regional recreational and commercial fisheries worth billions of dollars annually, including popular blue crab, rockfish, menhaden, and eastern oyster. Moreover, they play a critical role in protecting regional water quality and buffering communities from storms surges and waves.
Unfortunately, the region’s coastal habitats and the ecological systems they support face
serious problems due to human activities, including wetland destruction from agricultural and
urban and suburban development, excess nutrient input to the bay, deforestation, and overfishing(STAC, 2003). Numerous efforts are currently underway to try to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay. While there have been some conservation successes, such as the return of populations of rockfish and Canada goose to healthy numbers, the bay still faces many problems. Today the daunting task before us is growing, as we also face the extraordinary challenges brought on by human-caused global warming. ( English )
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- Please contact the owning institution for licensing and permissions. It is the user's responsibility to ensure use does not violate any third party rights.
|
|
