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Choose Your Own Adventure
Which fish in the Chesapeake Bay are you?

Red Drum

Summer Flounder

Spotted Seatrout

Striped Bass

White Perch

We analyzed almost 130 streams in the Chesapeake Bay over 60 years to visualize how the changes in stream temperature impact these fishes’ quality of life.
Each satellite image is of a stream that our data has recorded its changes over 60 years. They are then color-coded on how much the temperature has changed over time.
Legend
Latitude
Change in temperature
Longitude
39.879° N
-5.4432° ↓
76.853° W
-7° ↓ to -1° ↓
41.474° N
-0.486° ↓
77.231° W
-1° ↓ to 1° ↑
Statistically Insignificant
40.485° N
2.916° ↑
78.019° W
1° ↑ to 7° ↑
You chose fish-placeholder. You would have probably died.

fish-placeholder is commonly found in this area in Chesapeake Bay that exhibits a significant decrease in temperature.

fish-placeholder has temperature preference between 70° and 90° and would stop feeding altogether when it gets too cold.

41.474° N
-0.486° ↓
77.231° W
Fig 1: Satellite image of a stream using its coordinates in Chesapeake Bay, where you can find Red Drum fish and its changes in stream water temperatures from 1960–2014.
Throughout the Chesapeake Bay,

Multiple streams experience a wide range in temperature increase or decrease, with some experience up to 7.875° increase in temperature.

As rising air temperatures cause stream temperatures to rise, warmer stream water coming into the bay can stress plants and animals and worsen the effects of nutrient pollution that the bay is already facing.

Fig 2: Satellite images of selected streams using its coordinates in Chesapeake Bay, and their changes in stream water temperatures from 1960–2014.
36.939° N
2.041° ↑
80.887° W
40.018° N
1.361° ↑
79.593° W
38.335° N
0.778° ↑
79.239° W
40.463° N
-7.873° ↓
78.2° W
37.436° N
7.875° ↑
77.061° W
38.906° N
0.292° ↑
75.513° W
41.32° N
-1.652° ↓
77.874° W
41.359° N
-1.664° ↓
75.744° W
Difference in temperature(°F)
7° ↑
1° ↑
-1° ↓
-7° ↓
On a side note, in the Snake River,
Warming river and stream temperatures will threaten ecosystems and species, including salmon populations.

Snake River Salmon

Salmon play a particularly important role in the diet, culture, religion, and economy of Native Americans in this region.

Warmer water can negatively affect fish, making it more difficult for them to swim upstream. It can also make fish more susceptible to disease.

Fig 3: Average August Temperatures from each year in the Snake River from 1960–2020
Avg. August Temperature(°F)
74.4°
72.9°
72°
71.7°
71.1°
70.3°
67°
Start over?
However, there is no restart button for our planet, the Chesapeake Bay, or our friend, the Red Drum.
Learn more how you can help and educate yourself on climate change issues.↗
Designed, developed, and researched by Thuy Tran↗
Sources: Trends in Stream Temperature in the Snake River [1]
Stream Temperature in the Chesapeake Bay [2]