Shifting baselines in Chesapeake Bay, the immense protein factory
Why was Chesapeake Bay so productive and how has that productivity changed?
The spring fishery for shad and river herring was a hectic scramble
The world's greatest oyster fishery expanded, then crashed
Diamond-backed terrapins were once pig food, then a gourmet delight, and now a protected species
Uncontrolled market hunting of waterfowl led to mass slaughter
Sturgeon, a prehistoric high jumper, fell from memory
Blue crabs hung on tenaciously
Have diminished animal abundances remodeled the bay's food webs?