Ecology Of Chesapeake Bay Oyesters

The Detailed Ecology of Oysters

In the diverse Chesapeake Bay ecosystem the subjective oyster, k directlyn as Crassostrea virginica, is a truly heaven-sent example of a keystone species. This oyster not merely is a part of a bay food chain, provided it also affects the quality of the bay urine ergo anything and everything in the bays waters is in some way affected by this oyster. These relationships the oyster has with its environment can be divided into cardinal categories the living things it do and the nonliving. The Chesapeake oyster is an amazing organism that force plays all parts of its environment.
The activity an oyster does that has the greatest effect on the environment is probably one of the simplest activities to the oyster. This activity of movement is the manner in which an oyster feeds itself. Although oysters are called “filter feeders” they genuinely use a method called suspension feeding from which to consume nutrients. Suspension feeders, unlike filter feeders actually sift threw the water only consuming the food that they desire. The interesting thing active this suspension feeding, however, is the fact of what the oysters do with everything else that they chose not to eat (red algae, teal algae, sediment, etc..).



The oyster actually mixes all the unwanted material with a mucus, called pseudo-feces, and expels it into the water. Then these pseudo-feces sink to the bottom of the bay vector suming the water proper clear because all the sediment and unwanted algae is now at the bottom of the bay. This “clearing of the waters” has a terrific effect on the bay ecosystem. As a result of the clearer waters, to a greater extent plants perish sunlight so more plants sour. Because of this step-up in plant life, the amount and diversity of animals that rely on plants for food increases as well. In addition, the next level of consumers has more food available so their population will grow as well (sharks, birds of prey, etc...). All this life is...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



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