Without these plants, the Bay ecosystem would not exist. Plants produce their own food through a process called photosynthesis. Using energy from the sun, carbon dioxide and water are combined to form high-energy organic compounds. Plants are the ecosystem's primary food producers. All other organisms in the system must feed, directly or indirectly, on the organic material produced by plants.
Many plants also serve as habitat.
For example, underwater Bay grasses function as protection for young finfish and blue crabs . It's difficult to estimate exactly how many species of animals are in the Bay watershed at any given time. Because animals use different parts of the watershed for different purposes, the number fluctuates constantly. Hundreds of thousands of waterfowl and other birds that migrate along the Atlantic Flyway will stop in the Bay region to find food and shelter in marshes each winter. Several types of sharks will enter and inhabit the Bay, depending on water temperatures and their success in searching for food.