Monitoring of Fish and Blue Crab Populations in the Chesapeake Bay

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Monitoring of Fish and Blue Crab Populations in the Chesapeake Bay

Located on the upper western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) has been monitoring fish and blue crab populations in the Rhode River for nearly 30 years. One of the Fish and Invertebrates Lab's primary research interests is to investigate the long-term, annual and seasonal changes in community structure of fish and blue crabs in the Rhode River. Also of interest is the response of the population, as well as individual species, to environmental variables (e.g. temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen), migration patterns and habitat utilization. Data collected in this trawling survey, in conjunction with short-term experimental analysis, provide insight regarding predator/prey interactions within the system, reproductive strategies and molting behavior of blue crabs, and habitat partitioning of fish and crabs.

5 min 3 sec

Environment Science Marine Biology Forestry Chemistry Wetlands Estuaries Ecosystems Watersheds