Description

Beginning in summer 2019, we are surveying summer flounder populations in Maryland tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay to identify relationships between abundance and environmental data, determine which parts of Maryland are the most valuable juvenile habitats, and to identify important flounder prey species or “forage.” Using an integrated approach that combines field surveys, analyses of historical data, and innovative genetic approaches to identifying prey items, we can better understand the lives and habitats of these commercially and recreationally valuable fish. We are collaborating on the diet studies with SERC’s Coastal Disease Ecology Lab.