Aquatic Reefs & Pilings
Aquatic reefs are complex, diverse communities made of densely packed oysters. With their many nooks and crannies, reefs provide a safe haven for small fish and invertebrates to hide from predators.
-
Barnacles
Order: SessiliaBarnacles are small, grayish-white crustaceans that live on rocks, pilings, boat hulls and other hard surfaces throughout the Chesapeake Bay.
-
Black Drum
Pogonias cromisThe black drum is a silvery-gray, bottom-dwelling fish that visits the Chesapeake Bay from spring through autumn. It is one of the largest fish in the Bay.
-
Boring Sponge
Cliona spp.The boring sponge is a thick, bright yellow sponge that grows on oyster reefs throughout the Chesapeake Bay.
-
Brown Pelican
Pelecanus occidentalisThe brown pelican is a large, dark-colored water bird that lives along the shores of the middle and lower Chesapeake Bay during summer.
-
Eastern Oyster
Crassostrea virginicaAlso known as the American or Virginia oyster, the eastern oyster is a bivalve with two rough, whitish shells. It forms reefs in brackish and salty waters throughout the Chesapeake Bay.
-
Ghost Anemone
Diadumene leucolenaThe ghost anemone is a jelly-like invertebrate with a flat, rounded base and stinging tentacles at the top of an elongated stalk. It lives on rocks, reefs, pilings and other hard surfaces throughout the Chesapeake Bay.
-
Harbor Seal
Phoca vitulinaWith one of the largest territories of any seal, the harbor seal will visit the Chesapeake Bay region during the winter for warmer weather and access to fish.
-
Hooked Mussel
Ischadium recurvumThe hooked mussel is a bivalve whose dark, ridged shell is strongly curved, or “hooked” on one end. It is prolific in oyster reefs—often “wrapping up” oysters—and can outnumber the amount of oysters by several fold.
-
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle
Lepidochelys kempiiKemp’s ridley is a critically endangered sea turtle with creamy skin and grey or olive limbs. It feeds on blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay in the summer.
-
Lookdown
Selene vomerThe lookdown is a silvery, flat-bodied fish that visits the lower to middle Chesapeake Bay in summer and autumn.
-
Red Beard Sponge
Microciona proliferaThe red beard sponge is a brightly colored sponge with thick, intertwining branches. It lives on rocks, reefs, piers, pilings and other hard surfaces in the middle and lower Chesapeake Bay.
-
Sea Slugs
Class: GastropodaSea slugs are soft-bodied, shell-less mollusks that live throughout the Chesapeake Bay.
-
Sea Squirt
Molgula manhattensisThe sea squirt is a marine invertebrae with a rounded, leathery body and two short siphons. It lives on reefs, pilings and other hard surfaces in the shallow waters of the middle and lower Chesapeake Bay.
-
Tautog
Tautoga onitisThe tautog is a stout, mottled fish with a thick tail and strong teeth. It can be found year-round around wrecks, reefs and pilings near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.
-
Whip Coral
Leptogorgia virgulataWhip coral is an invertebrate with long, whip-like branches covered in tiny polyps. It lives on rocks, reefs and other hard surfaces throughout the lower Chesapeake Bay.