Benthic Resources Of The Chesapeake Bay Estuarine System

Authors

Robert J. Diaz, Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceFollow

Files

Document Type

Book Chapter

Department/Program

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Editors

S.K. Majumdar, L.W. Hall , Jr. and H.M. Austin

Publication Date

1987

Book Title

Contaminant Problems and Management of Living Chesapeake Bay Resources

Publisher

Pennsylvania Academy of Science

City

Easton, PA

Abstract

The term benthic is derived from the Greek root " benth" which means the depths of the sea. Benthic has then come to mean that which is associated with the bottom of any body of water from lakes to oceans, and encompasses a broad range of organisms from algae to fish. In the Chesapeake Bay there is a wide variety and combination of benthic environments ranging from intertidal flats of sand or mud, shallow seagrass meadows, subtidal bottoms, and deeper channels. These environment take on a unique biological and chemical character, depending upon where they occur along the gradient of Bay salinities and sediment type.

ISBN

0960667075

Keywords

Estuarine ecology, water pollution, environmental policy

Recommended Citation

Diaz, Robert J., "Benthic Resources Of The Chesapeake Bay Estuarine System" (1987). VIMS Books and Book Chapters. 54.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsbooks/54