What is S.A.V.?
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation is an important component of the Chesapeake Bay Eco-system. These plants provide an important source of food for wildlife, serve as habitat for a variety of aquatic creatures, help to provide oxygen in the water and act as a natural filtering system, trapping sediment and removing nutrients from the water. SAV itself is threatened by increasing cloudiness in the water resulting in a decrease in the amount of sunlight that reaches the plants. This increase in cloudiness is a result of excessive soil erosion and increased nutrient levels which cause algae blooms that decrease the clarity of the water.
How to collect S.A.V.?
Each team of students will collect S.A.V. samples on Cocktown Creek. Cocktown creek that meanders throughout Huntingtown. Students are taught how to collect S.A.V. Students take the bamboo rack and scrape the bottom of the creek. Then you will pull up the rake and search for S.A.V. in the clump of sediment on the head of the rake. Students will collect one type of each S.A.V. specimen to identify back on shore.
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