New Insights for Reducing Nutrient and Sediment Loads
In Agricultural Watersheds Prioritized for Management Activities
In Agricultural Watersheds Prioritized for Management Activities
Wastewater reuse may be detrimental to smallmouth bass abundance in the Shenandoah River Watershed
Chesapeake Publication Receives National Award for Outstanding Technology Paper
Geospatial Analyses and Applications Core Technology Team
Newsletter: October 2023-March 2024
Publications
Discover Chesapeake related science in reports and journal articles authored by USGS scientists
Discover Chesapeake related science in reports and journal articles authored by USGS scientists
Chesapeake Bay Activities
The Chesapeake Bay is our Nation’s largest estuary and provides over $100 billion in annual economic value. The USGS works with Federal, State, local, and academic partners to provide research and monitoring and to communicate results to inform management for the Chesapeake and other important landscapes across the Nation.
Impact of Current and Historic Land Use on Stream Incision in Maryland Piedmont Headwaters
Impact of Current and Historic Land Use on Stream Incision in Maryland Piedmont Headwaters
A new method was developed to remotely identify small, eroding streams and measure change over time.
Agricultural and Urban Management Practices have Hidden Costs and Benefits to Stream Health
Agricultural and Urban Management Practices have Hidden Costs and Benefits to Stream Health
The findings of the study highlight that management practices can have both hidden costs and benefits to fish and macroinvertebrates depending on regional and local factors like how many and what type of management practices are implemented.
Quick Links
Quick Links
Learn more about USGS science activities in the Bay from our Science Strategy. Additional summaries of the USGS Chesapeake Bay Activities are available in the science topics section.
News
Experts forecast Chesapeake Bay dead zone to be near average in summer 2024
Experts forecast Chesapeake Bay dead zone to be near average in summer 2024
Aligning Salt Marsh Science with Management Needs
Aligning Salt Marsh Science with Management Needs
EPA sets limits on 'forever chemicals' in drinking water
EPA sets limits on 'forever chemicals' in drinking water
Publications
Identifying the forage base and critical forage taxa for Chesapeake waterbirds
To effectively maximize the conservation value of management plans intended to capture ecosystem-wide health, it is essential to obtain an understanding of emergent patterns in dietary dynamics spanning many species. Chesapeake Bay, USA, is a critical ecosystem used annually by a diverse assortment of waterbird species, including several of conservation concern. However, the ecosystem is threatene
Causal inference approaches reveal both positive and negative unintended effects of agricultural and urban management practices on instream biological condition
Agricultural and urban management practices (MPs) are primarily designed and implemented to reduce nutrient and sediment concentrations in streams. However, there is growing interest in determining if MPs produce any unintended positive effects, or co-benefits, to instream biological and habitat conditions. Identifying co-benefits is challenging though because of confounding variables (i.e., those
Evaluating the effectiveness of joint species distribution modeling for fresh water fish communities within large watersheds
Accurately predicting species’ distributions is critical for the management and conservation of fish and wildlife populations. Joint Species Distribution Models (JSDMs) account for dependencies between species often ignored by traditional species distribution models. We evaluated how a JSDM approach could improve predictive strength for stream fish communities within large watersheds (the Chesapea
Science
Water Quality Monitoring to Inform Conservation Management, Fishing Creek, Clinton County, Pennsylvania
USGS conducted synoptic sampling of major-ion chemistry and the nitrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of nitrate in Fishing Creek during base flow to evaluate the occurrence and distribution of nutrients and to characterize biogeochemical processes.
New studies reveal ecological importance of fine-scale groundwater connectivity for streams during drought
Stream ecosystems support vital resources that may be jeopardized by climate change and climate stressors such as drought.
Agricultural and Urban Management Practices have Hidden Costs and Benefits to Stream Health
The findings of the study highlight that management practices can have both hidden costs and benefits to fish and macroinvertebrates depending on regional and local factors like how many and what type of management practices are implemented.