Chesapeake Bay Terms
Adaptation - any change in a species,
which allows the species to survive and reproduce in its particular environment.
Anadromous - a fish born in fresh water that lives its adult life in salt
water and returns to fresh water to spawn annually (striped bass, shad, and herring).
Benthos - the bottom of a body of water and the associated organisms that
live there.
Brackish - a mixture of fresh and salt water.
Catadromous - a fish born in salt water that lives its adult life in fresh
water and returns to salt water to spawn annually. (American eel)
Commerce - the buying and selling of goods involving transportation from
place to place.
Containerization - the method of shipping large amounts of material in
one big container.
Dissolved Oxygen - (D.O.) - oxygen dissolved into the water by turbulence,
photosynthesis, diffusion, etc. This is then available to organisms for respiration.
D.O. is measured in parts per million (ppm).
Ecology - the study of the relationship between organisms and their environment.
The environment of an organism includes not only non-living things such as air
and water, but also other organisms.
Economics - the business of dealing with the production, distribution and
consumption of goods and services.
Ecosystem - an environment of living and non-living things that interact
and connect. An ecosystem may be as small as a drop of water or as large as the
earth.
Erosion - action by which water, wind, or gravity carry away soil and earth
particles.
Estuary - a semi-enclosed coastal body of water where fresh and salt water
mix.
Euryhaline - an organism that tolerates a wide range of salinity.
Eutrophication - over-enrichment of the Bay due to excessive nutrients
(i.e. nitrates and phosphates) entering the water. This leads to algae blooms
that suffocate submerged aquatic vegetation.
Fall line - the dividing line between the Piedmont (uplands/plateau) and
Coastal Plain. The fall line is usually where a river flows very fast, dropping
elevation quickly. Up river navigation ends at this point.
Food Chain - the transfer of energy in an ecosystem where organisms survive
by feeding on other organisms. A progression beginning with photosynthesis (sunlight)
in plants - which are then consumed by animals that are in turn consumed by other
living things.
Habitat - environment, place where a plant or animal usually lives.
Non Point Source Pollution - the non-specific, unidentifiable source of
wastes and pollutants. Watershed runoff and storm drains are two examples for
the Bay.
Nutrients - chemicals required for growth such as nitrogen, phosphorous,
and potassium.
pH - the measure of hydrogen ion activity present in a water sample. pH
is measured on a scale of 1-14 with 7 as neutral, 1-6 being acidic and 8-14 progressively
basic (alkaline).
Plankton - small organisms both plant (phytoplankton) and animal (zooplankton)
that move with the currents.
Point Source of Pollution - a specific, identifiable place of discharge.
Pollutant - a substance which has adverse effects on the environment, including
chemicals, oil, and other contaminants.
Port - a city with a harbor usually associated with imports and exports.
(Also refers to the left side of a boat when facing the bow.)
Rural - relating to the country or farmland.
SAV (Submerged Aquatic Vegetation) - plants that grow underwater.
Salinity - the measure of the amount of dissolved salt in water. Salinity
is measured in "parts per thousand".
Salt marsh - flat marshy land that is subject to occasional flooding of
salty water; contains water that is brackish to strongly saline; supports a wide
variety of plants and animals.
Sediment - matter deposited by water or wind - i.e. sand, silt, and mud.
Susquehanna River Valley - During the ice age the Susquehanna River flowed
to the Atlantic Ocean slowly forming a large valley due to erosion. When the glaciers
melted, the sea level rose (410 feet in 6,000 years) to fill this lower valley
with the Chesapeake Bay.
Tide the periodic rise and fall of water resulting from the gravitational
attraction of the moon and sun. In a 24-hour period, there are two high tides
and two low tides in this region.
Toxic Waste - a poisonous by-product of industrial, agricultural, or domestic
wastes.
Tributary - a stream or river feeding into a larger body of water.
Turbidity - cloudiness of the water due to runoff, sewage, rough seas,
etc.
Urban - relating to a city.
Variable - something that can change.
Watershed - all of the land that drains into a specific body of water.
Weathering - break down of earth's surface by natural force (water, wind,
and temperature).