The Chesapeake Bay is an extraordinarily complex ecosystem\u00a0and\u00a0the Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. Numerous rivers, streams, plants, and wildlife–along with human encroachments–encompass the rich ecosystem of theChesapeake.\u00a0Within any eco\u00a0systems, there are divisions and distinctions between varying levels of living things. For example, the base of the Chesapeake\u2019s ecosystem consists of organisms called benthos, which is a word of Greek origin meaning, \u201cdepths of the sea\u201d (The Bay Ecosystem). These organisms include clams, oysters, sponges, and barnacles, among many others. Larger organisms such as blue crabs and striped bass then consume these organisms and contribute to the overall health of the Bay.<\/p>\n
The Chesapeake has become widely associated with the Blue Crab. Not only are these crustaceans crucial to the ecosystem, serving as both consumer and consumed, they also play a large role in the economic wellbeing\u00a0of many local fisheries (Blue Crabs). The results of a survey taken in 2015 estimate that over 400 million Blue Crabs live in the Chesapeake Bay; of them, about 100 million are adult females (Blue Crabs). The number of adult female crabs has increased by over 30 million since 2013. Several factors including limited bay grass to feed on and increased pollution have proven very detrimental to the Blue Crab population. Like\u00a0Blue Crabs, Chesapeake Bay oysters are\u00a0crucial to the Bay\u2019s ecosystem and have supported local businesses for centuries. Oysters are filter feeders by nature: they take in water, trap particles such as chemicals and their own food, and then\u00a0release the cleaner water back into the Bay. By doing this, oysters keep the water around them much cleaner–and clearer–than it would otherwise be. In fact, one oyster can filter over 40 gallons of water in a single day (Oysters).\u00a0 Oysters, however, have been historically over-harvested. In addition, the deterioration of their environment and parasitic diseases have both led to a dramatic\u00a0decline in the oyster population (Oysters).\u00a0<\/strong>Today, commercial oyster fishing has declined so far as to be almost negligible.<\/p>\n
![\"StripedBass\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/urbanaturalroosting\/files\/2015\/05\/StripedBass.jpg\")
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