Researchers are reporting that underwater grasses in the Chesapeake Bay continued to struggle this past year due to the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. The data was gathered from recent aerial surveys of the aquatic flora.
The two storms were particularly damaging to the region's plant life due to the large amounts of mud and other debris that it moved into the bay. This layer of dirt buried grasses and blocked out their light sources.
Researchers are reporting a 21% drop in underwater grasses in the region, the third consecutive decrease. The preceding survey found a 20% loss over the course of the previous year.
"It has been a rough few years for bay grasses, and we were not terribly surprised," said the Virginia Institute of Marine Science's Bob Orth, the coordinating researcher of the survey.
The data was collected and released by the Chesapeake Bay Program, a federal-state partnership that aims to coordinate bay restoration efforts in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and the District of Columbia.
These underwater grasses are vital to the region's ecosystem as they provide both food and habitats for the fish, birds, and other wildlife in the area. They also soak up pollutants that could potentially cause algae blooms. The continued loss of these grasses could prove devastating for the Chesapeake Bay.
However, Nick DiPasquale, the director of the Chesapeake Bay Program, stated that despite the drop the survey results showed signs of resilience in the region.
Bob Orth declined to give any figures, but also agreed that we may see some recovery over the next year.
"If there's no major event, I would expect that there might be some recovery in some parts of the bay," Orth said. He clarified though that "This year is going to be highly dependent on our summertime temperatures."
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