BY: Jade Louis

It is important to have a variety of animals in the bay. Blue crabs help by creating a lively hood for the fishermen of the bay. Zooplankton are important because shellfish eat them. Eastern oysters are important because lots of different animals depend on their food. My research will show that blue crabs, zooplankton, and eastern oysters are important to the bay.

Blue crabs help because they create a lively hood for the fishermen of the bay. Eel, Atlantic croaker, striped bass, and catfish all eat crabs to stay alive. Blue crabs live in grass beds. Adult crabs eat plants and meat. They eat shrimp, fish, marine worms, and lots more. Sharks sometimes eat them if they need to.

Zooplayton helps because shellfish like oysters eat them. Fish larva feed on them when they are still growing up. The heath of the zooplankton is like the heath of the bay because they are so critical to the food chain. Zooplankton eat phytoplankton. Oysters are important to the bay but without zooplaykton the would die.

Eastern oysters are important because lots of different animals depend on their food source. Starfish, sea neatles, oyster drills, wheks, birds, and crabs eat them. Oyster larva eat zooplankton. They eat bacteria decaying plants, and zooplankton.

In conclusion I learned that it is very important to have a variety of animals in the bay.

Bay Bayquest.thinkport.org