Maryland's Natural Heritage Program, which monitors rare and endangered species regionally, recognizes 1,232 vertebrates as native to the state, including 635 fish and 21 salamanders. The Chesapeake Bay Program, a coalition of state and federal agencies, estimates that more than 2,700 species of animals and plants live throughout the Bay. The region's plants and animals are part of the area's biodiversity fill unique roles in their environments.
more . . . about The Colorful (and Disappearing) World of Bay Biodiversity
The water's crisp and clear today, so you can make out the clumps of eelgrass (Zostera marina) poking up from the sandy bottom, around three feet below the surface. It's the start of what by summer will be a thick and green Chesapeake Bay grass bed. And this is where Duffy, a marine scientist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), will be looking for a kind of biodiversity that few people have the patience or wherewithal to see.
more . . . about Small Wonders
The scientists left Cumberland, Maryland on their bikes on a steamy summer morning. Their destination was Washington, D.C., nearly 185 miles away and down a looping trail, the C&O Canal, that follows the Potomac River. The ride wasn't a pleasure jaunt: along the way, the five researchers would stop about every six miles to wade into the river to collect aquatic grasses.
more . . . about The Diversity Within
In the summer of 1919, a brand new graduate student carried a borrowed microscope to a creek north of Solomons Island, Maryland, a knob of land near the meeting point of the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay. In a cramped fisherman's shack, he set up a makeshift laboratory, installed his microscope, and began studying oyster biology.
more . . . about The Man Who Loved Lacrosse
The scientists left Cumberland, Maryland on their bikes on a steamy summer morning. Their destination was Washington, D.C., nearly 185 miles away and down a looping trail, the C&O Canal, that follows the Potomac River. The ride wasn't a pleasure jaunt: along the way, the five researchers would stop about every six miles to wade into the river to collect aquatic grasses.
more . . . about Biodiversity Buds in Maryland
Douglas Lipton, director of Maryland Sea Grant's Extension team, has stepped down from his position to pursue a new opportunity. He joins the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the senior research economist at the agency's National Marine Fisheries Service.
more . . . about MDSG Extension Leader Steps Down
