Life in the Chesapeake Bay

Alice Jane Lippson, Robert L. Lippson

JHU Press, Jun 19, 2006 - History - 324 pages

Life in the Chesapeake Bay is the most important book ever published on America's largest estuary. Since publication of the first edition in 1984, tens of thousands of naturalists, boaters, fishermen, and conservationists have relied on the book's descriptions of the Bay's plants, animals, and diverse habitats. Superbly illustrated and clearly written, this acclaimed guide describes hundreds of plants and animals and their habitats, from diamondback terrapins to blue crabs to hornshell snails.

Now in its third edition, the book has been updated with a new gallery of thirty-nine color photographs and dozens of new species descriptions and illustrations. The new edition retains the charm of an engaging classic while adding a decade of new research.

This classic guide to the plants and animals of the Chesapeake Bay will appeal to a variety of readers—year-round residents and summer vacationers, professional biologists and amateur scientists, conservationists and sportsmen.

Contents

• List of Maps: ix
• Preface: x
• Past Present and Future: xiii
• ECOLOGY OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY: 5
• Typical Habitats of the Bay and Its Tributaries: 7
• Classification of Animals and Plants: 13
• SAND BEACHES: 27
• Dwellers on the Beach: 29
• Signs of Life: 35
• Birds of the Beach: 38
• Ancient Relics of the Sea: 42
• Shell Guide: 46
• INTERTIDAL FLATS: 57
• Plant Life on the Flats: 58
• Roamers over the Flats: 59
• The World beneath the Intertidal Muds: 69
• Waders and Pickers on the Flats: 86
• PIERS ROCKS AND JETTIES: 95
• Barnacles: 96
• Bugs of the Pilings: 98
• Worms on the Pilings: 100
• Mussels: 102
• Sponges: 103
• Sea Anemones: 105
• Hydroids Feathery Animals: 107
• Whip Coral: 109
• Skeleton Shrimps: 110
• Bryozoans: 111
• Termites of the Sea: 114
• Aerial Gleaners: 116
• SHALLOW WATERS: 125
• Fishes: 126
• Plankton Soup: 144
• Insects of the Shallows: 150
• Crustaceans of the Shallows: 153
• Clams of the Shallows: 158
• Snails of Fresher Waters: 159
• Birds of the Shallows: 161
• Turtles and Snakes: 166
• SEAGRASS MEADOWS AND WEED BEDS: 173
• Seagrass Meadows: 178
• Weed Beds of the Upper Bay: 192
• WETLANDS: 199
• Tidal Freshwater Marshes: 201
• Salt Marshes: 207
• The Maritime Forest: 214
• Forested Wetlands: 215
• Insects of the Wetlands: 222
• Birds of the Wetlands: 225
• Mammals of the Marshes: 234
• OYSTER BARS: 241
• The Famous Oyster: 243
• Life in on and among the Oysters: 244
• Crabs and Other Crustaceans: 247
• Mollusks of the Oyster Community: 248
• Fishes: 249
• DEEPER OPEN WATERS: 257
• Dwellers on the Bottom: 258
• Dwellers in the Bottom: 260
• Creatures of the Open Waters: 264
• Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles of the Open Waters: 278
• Birds of the Open Waters: 279
• Glossary: 289
• Species List and Distributions by Salinity Zones: 291
• Birds Species List and Seasonal Occurrence: 305
• Selected References: 307
• Index: 311

About the author

Robert L. Lippson, prior to his retirement, was a marine scientist with the National Marine Fisheries Service and an adjunct professor of invertebrate zoology at Michigan State University. The Lippsons live and work on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Life in the Chesapeake Bay
• Authors: Alice Jane Lippson, Robert L. Lippson
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: JHU Press, 2006
• ISBN: 0801883385, 9780801883385
• Length: 324 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / State & Local / Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA); Nature / Animals / Marine Life; Nature / Ecology; Nature / Environmental Conservation & Protection; Nature / General; Nature / Plants / General; Science / General; Science / Life Sciences / Biology; Science / Life Sciences / Ecology