A fish ‘nursery area’ is a place where eggs and young fish grow. Did you know that one of the darkest, cloudiest places in the Chesapeake Bay is a prime nursery area for striped bass (aka rockfish)? Why would a fish want to be raised in such a dirt-filled, dark place? And how could rain on the land affect how many young striped bass live or die in their nursery area? The answers to these questions and more can be found here.

The following web pages are the work of a COSEE Coastal Trends Scientist-Educator Team that conducted research on striped bass and nursery area physics at Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, MD during the summer of 2009. Browse the "Learn About," "Explore Trends," and "Investigate Current Research" pages to discover how striped bass interact with their physical environment and how scientists study these interactions. Visit the "Access Classroom Resources" page for lesson plans on fish and physics.

Credits: Dr. Elizabeth North, Dong-Yoon Lee, April Rishert, Daryl Ludy, COSEE Coastal Trends staff

Teacher reviewers: Barbara Bennett, Michael Romano, Kajsa Nicholas, Suzanne Steadham, Christopher Sikich, Jessica Somers, John Taylor-Lehman, Kathleen Gibson