Ecosystem Health and Function

The Chesapeake has experienced a functional shift from a benthic (bottom-dwelling) system, with clear waters and abundant underwater grasses, to a pelagic (open water) driven system, dominated by nutrient inputs from algal blooms. Excess nutrient and sediment input continues to impair ecosystem function. Despite regional goals for reducing these inputs, it is unlikely that the Bay, its watershed, and adjacent coastal areas will return to a system reminiscent of a time prior to widespread human settlement in the watershed.

Recognizing that human habitation and resource use are an indelible part of the Chesapeake watershed, projects funded under this area consider questions about the function of the Bay's ecosystem as a whole and how it might change in the future as nutrient reduction efforts are met.

Projects in this Area