Publications

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America and one of the most productive aquatic ecosystems on the planet. Its 166,000 square kilometer watershed drains farmlands, forests, marshes, and urban areas in six state, and is home to 14.2 million people. Historically, the Chesapeake Bay has supported a large commercial fisheries. The wetlands surrounding the bay provide winter habitat for many migratory waterfow. Dramatic decreases in natural habitat and water quality during the past four decades includes the virtual elimiantion of submerged aquatic vegetation and the substaantial increase in seasonal anoxia in the Bay's channel. More recent water quality strategies in the Chesapeake Bay region are based on controlling activities within the watershed and tributaries (1991) Amendments to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement).

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this study was designed to evaluate ambient toxicity in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by using a battery of water column and sediment toxicity tests in concert with both fish and benthic community assessments. A team of scientists from two Chesapeake Bay research laboratories, Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Versar Inc. worked jointly to complete this goal. Water column toxicity studies and overall project management were directed by Lenwood W. Hall, Jr. of the University of Maryland's Agricultural Experiment Station. Sediment toxicity tests and water/sediment chemical analysis were managed by Alan Messing of Old Dominion Universities Applied Marine Research Laboratory. Margaret McGinty of Maryland Department of Natural Resources was responsible for the fish community assessments and Ananda Ranasinghe of Versar Inc. conducted the benthic community assessments. Raymond Alden was responsible for the water and sediment index calculations. This report summarizes data from the seventh year of a seven-year ambient toxicity testing program. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay Program Office supported this study.

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The purpose of this literature synthesis is to determine the significance of AMD in contributing trace elements (contaminants) to the Chesapeake Bay watershed and determine the extent of the contribution from a local, regional and Baywide perspective. In addition, this literature synthesis will provide the Toxics Subcommittee of the Chesapeake Bay Program with information for revision of the Chesapeake Bay Basinwide Toxics Loading and Release Inventory and establishiing a loading baseline and reduction for acid mine drainage. The information presented in this report was obtained through literature search and exchange with research scientists, environmental engineers, and environmental managers from federal and state governmental and non-governmental agencies and private organization.

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The term "submerged aquatic vegetation" (SAV) for the purpose of this report encompasses twenty taxa from ten vascular macrophyte families and three taxa from one freshwater macrophytic algal family, the Characeae. SAV exclues all other algae, both benthic and planktonic, which occur in Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries, and the Delmarva coastal bays (Appendix A). Although these other algae do contitute a portion of the SAV biomass in Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries, and the Delmarva bays (Humm, 1979), this study did not attempt to identify, delineate, or discuss the algal component of the vegetation nor its relative importance in the flora, except for the Characeae. This is the case, for example, with the benthic marine algae, including many macrophytes, which sometimes co-occur in the same beds as vascular plants, even as epiphytes on vasscular plants.

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The term "submerged aquatic vegetation" (SAV) for the purpose of this report encompasses twenty taxa from ten vascular macrophyte families and three taxa from one freshwater macrophytic algal family, the Characeae. SAV excludes all other algae, both benthic and planktonic, which occur in Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries (Appendix A). Although these other algae do constitute a portion of the SAV biomass in Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries (Humm, 1979), this study did not attempt to identify, delineate, or discuss the algal component of the vegetation nor its relative importance in the flora, except the Characeae. This is the case for example, with the benthic marine algae, including many macrophytes, which sometimes co-occur in the same beds as vascular plants, even as epiphytes on vascular.

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The term "submerged aquaticc vegetation" for the purpose of this report encompasses 20 taxa from 10 vascular macrophyte families and 3 taxa from 1 freshwater macrophytic algal family, the Chrarcease, but excludes all other algae, both benthic and planktonic, which occur in Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The distribution of submerged aquatic vegetation, principally rooted vascular macropjytes, in the Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries, and Chincoteague Bay, was mapped from black and white aerial photographs taken during May to October 1993 at a scale of 1:24,000. SAV bed perimeter information was digitized and stored in a computerized data base. Groud truth information was obtained from US fish and Wildlife Service, USGS National Center, Harford Community Collete, Maryland; Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, Patuxent River Park; and the College of william and Mary,m School of Marine Science, Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Citizen support via the US fish and Wildlife Service and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation provided additional ground truth information.

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Preliminary statement from the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee summarizing the 2017 blue crab winter dredge survey results, stock status, and short term considerations for management.

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The Finance 101 presentation from the Chesapeake Bay Program Biennial Strategy Review System kickoff meeting can be accessed at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11Jr_w8Nr-Da2swSngwWkQ1bms/view. The presentation can also be found by using the "Electronic Version" link found below.

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A compilation of fish habitat spatial and data tools.

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