A Blue View is a weekly perspective on the life aquatic, hosted by National Aquarium CEO John Racanelli.

From the smallest plants and animals invisible to the human eye to entire ecosystems, every living thing depends on and is intricately linked by water.

Tune in to 88.1 WYPR every Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. as John brings to the surface important issues and fascinating discoveries making waves in the world today.

April 2, 2013: Bayscaping

For many of us, spring means we can get our hands dirty. We bring out the mowers and the yard tools, head to the nurseries to buy seeds or plants for the garden, and enjoy spending our weekends outdoors working in the yard.

Increasingly in our region, a conservation-minded landscaping trend is taking hold. Sometimes called “bayscaping” here in the Mid-Atlantic, conservation landscaping incorporates sustainable strategies. The goal is to create an outdoor environment that reduces pollution and helps combat the contaminants that run into the Chesapeake Bay every day. These practices require less mowing, weeding, and watering, significantly reduce or eliminate the need for fertilizers, and attract wildlife.

When we look at our expansive green spaces, it’s hard to believe that we aren’t already making healthy environmental choices. The fact is, those very same things that keep our yards in pristine condition can do serious damage, and our waterways in particular are at risk.

According to Blue Water Baltimore, Americans use 5 million tons of fertilizer and more than 70 million pounds of pesticides every year. Many times, these treatments are over-applied or applied at the wrong time, and they run off into our waterways.

To minimize the use of these types of garden treatments, one of the first things you can do is eliminate invasive plant species and instead incorporate native plants into your yard. Native plants are those that are naturally present in your region, while non-native species have been brought to the region at some point in history. Because native plants are uniquely adapted to a particular region, they don’t require as much water, fertilizer, or pesticides to be healthy. If you do find it necessary to use pesticides in your yard, first try alternatives, such as horticultural soaps. Pesticides not only kill the pests, but they harm other inhabitants of your yard as well.

Healthy soil is critical to a vigorous, sustainable yard. Let grass clippings and leaves naturally decompose, and conduct a soil test every three or four years, which can inform your decision on lawn treatment. It’s better for the environment if you work with what you have and only take action when absolutely necessary.

Another key goal of bayscaping is the establishment of your green space as a dynamic wildlife habitat. According to the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council, minimizing the amount of lawn and replacing it with layers of plants—including trees, shrubs, and perennials—make yards wildlife friendly by providing a variety of shelter. Less lawn also means less mowing, which is another environmental plus. It’s also important to provide year-round water and food sources for your yard inhabitants.

Use natural water resources effectively by directing downspouts and drains away from paved driveways and sidewalks and into green spaces. Natural ground cover, as opposed to paved surfaces and compacted soil, can reduce the amount of runoff and help contribute to groundwater recharge.

Incorporating bayscaping strategies may mean that your yard doesn’t look like your neighbor’s, but that’s not a bad thing. Take the opportunity to educate them about sustainable landscaping practices. You may start a neighborhood trend that the Chesapeake Bay will thank you for.

Once your yard is bayscaped, there are several certification programs that will validate your conservation efforts. To achieve Bay-Wise certification, a Master Gardener will assess your property and give your yard a score. You can also create a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat by providing appropriate shelter, food, and water for the animals in your yard.

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March 26, 2013: The Sounds of the Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers

Through the winter, woodlands and meadows are mostly quiet at night. But with the arrival of spring rains and warming temperatures, that silence is broken by loud choruses of wood frogs and spring peepers. These are the first frog species to come out of hibernation and begin the year’s amphibian breeding season.

Spring peepers are small, just one inch in length, but you wouldn’t know it from their sound. Each peeper can produce a call as loud as 90 decibels. Multiply that by the number of frogs in a wetland habitat, and you have a sound that can rival that of a rock concert.

Why so noisy? That’s how the male spring peepers attract females from the surrounding woodlands. As the females come out of hibernation, they are carrying between 200 and 1,000 eggs, and the females are outnumbered by the males at about 9 to 1. Competition is intense, and females choose males based on the quality of his song.

Because of this competition, males wrestle for the best spots at the chorusing site. Interestingly, Dr. Don Forester and David Lykens of Towson University discovered that some spring peeper males were successful in breeding with females through a very deceptive strategy. Because calling requires a huge amount of energy, some spring peeper males, known as satellite males, don’t call at all. Instead, these satellite males save energy by positioning themselves near the top singers. They then intercept females moving toward the calling males. Satellite males are smaller than calling males and would probably be at a disadvantage in trying to attract females with a less impressive voice.

Once the female spring peeper makes her choice, she releases eggs, which are fertilized externally by the male’s sperm. She can lay more than 1,000 eggs, which are attached individually or in small clusters to underwater vegetation, sticks, and fallen leaves.

Though the spring peeper is often considered the first frog to emerge from hibernation and therefore an early sign that winter is indeed over, the wood frog is usually ahead of the peeper. In fact, in mild winters, wood frogs have been observed arriving in woodland pools as early as February. In Maryland, they are the earliest frog species to mate and reproduce.

Wood frogs are often referred to as “explosive breeders” because they arrive in large numbers and have a short breeding season, usually only lasting the first few weeks of late winter or early spring. Wood frogs almost exclusively lay their eggs in vernal pools, which are small temporary bodies of water that form in depressions. Because these pools dry over the summer, wood frogs must lay their eggs, the eggs must hatch, and tadpoles must fully develop and metamorphose before the pools dry. The wood frog’s strategy is to arrive first and maximize the time needed to make it the entire way through the process. Wood frog tadpoles often dine on the newly laid eggs of later arriving frog species.

Another survival strategy of the wood frog is the practice of literally putting all its eggs in one basket. They lay their eggs in a communal mass in the vernal pool.

Even as these frogs perpetuate their life cycle, they do face challenges. Their well-being is intricately linked to the survival of their woodland home and their vernal pools. Be considerate of these habitats in your neighborhood by preventing trash and other pollution from traveling through your waterways. Slow down while driving on warm spring nights, allowing amphibians to migrate safely across roadways. And when you pay these amazing creatures a visit in their natural habitat, observe but don’t disturb.

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March 19, 2013: The Streams of Maryland

Held annually on March 22, the United Nation’s World Water Day brings attention to the importance of freshwater and advocates for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Globally, freshwater accessibility is critical for the survival of all living things, yet it is a significantly threatened resource. In Maryland, our own freshwater streams and rivers need our help as they run to the largest estuary in the United States, the Chesapeake Bay.

Even if you don’t live on the water, the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which encompasses more than 64,000 square miles to six states and the District of Columbia, affects each of us every day. More than 100,000 streams, creeks, and rivers weave through the Chesapeake’s vast watershed. In fact, according to DNR, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, we all live within 15 minutes of a stream, making freshwater health not just a Maryland issue, but a backyard issue as well.

Healthy streams are organically balanced, with enough oxygen to support life. Decaying plants and animal waste provide a balanced amount of nutrients, and the water is not too acid or too alkaline. In these healthy streams, runoff is kept to a minimum, and chemicals from farms, factories, and residential areas do not make their way into the stream. Countless species rely on healthy freshwater ecosystems to thrive. Fish, snakes, turtles, frogs, invertebrates…DNR states that Maryland is home to more than 100 species of fish, 20 species of salamander, and 10 species of turtle, just to name a few stream-dwellers.

In a recent assessment by the EPA, just 45 percent of sampled streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed were rated fair, good, or excellent. As outlined in the EPA’s Strategy for Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the goal is to improve the health of the watershed so that 70 percent of sampled streams measure fair or better by 2025.

To help increase our understanding of stream health, DNR coordinates a team of volunteers who collect important stream quality data across the state. This program, called Stream Waders, is the volunteer component of the Maryland Biological Stream Survey. The use of these volunteers allows more streams to be sampled, giving a big-picture view of Maryland’s waterways. Volunteers participate in a one-day training session, then spend a couple days in March or April collecting aquatic invertebrate samples from stream beds.

The study of aquatic invertebrates, such as mayflies, caddisflies, and dragonflies, is instrumental in the analysis of streams. Because invertebrates vary in their sensitivity to pollutants, a healthy stream has both sensitive and tolerant invertebrate species while an unhealthy one would have only pollution-tolerant species. Ultimately, the Stream Waders data is used in DNR reports and is available for review on their website. For a link to the site, visit aqua.org/ablueview.

In our daily lives, each of us can take steps to help keep our community streams healthy. Take a walk along a nearby stream and properly dispose of trash you find along its banks. Limit pesticide use in your yard so that it doesn’t make its way into freshwater supplies. Many local organizations host stream cleanups or wetland restoration events, so volunteer your time. Even just one day a year can make a real difference to a stream in your community.

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March 12, 2013: Lionfish Invade Our Seas

Since 1992, when Pacific lionfish were first sighted in South Florida waters, this fish has become widely established all along the southeast United States and the Caribbean Sea, even being spotted as far north as New York. These distinctive looking fish—red and white striped with long pectoral fins and needle-like dorsal fins, have profoundly impacted the health of the ecosystems where they now reside. National Aquarium aquarist Ashleigh Clews talks about the invasive species in this week’s radio show.

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March 5, 2013: The Truth About Invasive Species

This week is National Invasive Species Awareness Week, a week dedicated to raising consciousness about invasive plants and animals and their effects on our environment and our economy. This week, National Aquarium aquarist Ashleigh Clews talks about the very real costs of invasive species in our waterways.

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February 26, 2013: Every Drop Counts

A lot of us take water for granted. We simply turn on a faucet, and there it is, in seemingly endless supply.

Freshwater, however, is not as plentiful as you might think. Yes, the world is 70 percent water, a staggering amount. Of that water, 97.5% is salt water. The rest, just 2.5%, is freshwater. And of that, less than 1 percent of the world’s freshwater is available for use by people.

According to the United Nations, water use has grown at more than twice the rate of population in the last century. Around the world, many people don’t have enough water. Even in the United States, water shortages as a result of drought or environmental issues are on the rise. In 2010, the Natural Resources Defense Council found that more than 1,100 U.S. counties—one-third of all the counties in the lower 48—now face higher risks of water shortages by 2050.

According to the National Geographic Society’s website Water Currents, the average person in America uses nearly 2,000 gallons of water per day. Only 5 percent of that, however, is traveling through your faucets or watering your lawn. In fact, the water consumption is hidden in the food, products, and services you use every day. Our diets in particular are responsible for the majority of our water consumption. Take milk, for example. 880 gallons of water are required to generate that one gallon of milk sitting in your fridge. And getting beef on the dinner table is one of the biggest diet-related water consumers: every pound of beef requires 1,800 gallons of water. Even a cup of coffee takes 55 gallons of water, due primarily to the water used to grow coffee beans.

Beneath all these statistics, there are ways that you can effect real change. Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator so you don’t have to wait for the tap to run cold when grabbing a cup of water. Consider going meatless and dairy-free once a week to reduce the tremendous water cost of meat and dairy products. And of course buy local whenever possible.

Around your home, fix leaky faucets and running toilets. One estimate indicates that each of us loses 10 gallons per day due to leaks. Aim for quick showers instead of baths, and turn off the faucet while washing dishes and brushing your teeth. In fact, instead of hand-washing your dishes, run your dishwasher, but only when it’s full. Water your lawn in the early morning or late evening, and if you have a pool, cover it when it’s not in use to prevent evaporation.

To help consumers make more water-friendly choices, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established a program called WaterSense. This program certifies products and services that meet a set of water-conservation standards so that consumers can look for the WaterSense label on products like faucets, showerheads, and toilets, and know it meets performance standards and is also 20 percent more water efficient than average fixtures. The EPA estimates that if one in every 10 homes in the United States were to install WaterSense-labeled faucets, we could save 6 billion gallons of water per year.

Of course, people need water to support the many activities in their daily lives, but if each of us just takes a few small steps to reduce our water consumption, we can make a big difference, not only in gallons but in the health of our planet’s finite supply of freshwater.

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February 19, 2013: Snakes In Our Backyards

As spring approaches, the stray warm, sunny day is going to start waking up our natural world from its winter sleep. Grass will grow, buds will burst from trees and shrubs, birds will migrate, and yes, snakes will come out of hibernation.

For many, the thought of a snake basking in the sunshine on their driveway is enough to send them running for the moving boxes. There’s no doubt about it, snakes—often thought of as creepy, crawly, slimy, and scaly—have an undeservedly bad reputation. Yet these creatures fill a critical role in our environment, and they’re pretty amazing animals, too.

Did you know that some snakes, despite their lack of legs, can climb trees and cave walls in search of food? Or that all snakes can swim, with some, like the water snake, able to dive beneath the surface to feed on fish and frogs? Some species even have infrared heat receptors, allowing them to find prey in the dark.

Snakes are uniquely designed to locate their prey. Though they don’t hear very well, they pick up vibrations from the ground. When snakes stick out their forked tongues, they actually smell the air, using the two-prong shape to establish a direction. “Odor” molecules caught on a snake’s tongue are translated by something called a Jacobson’s Organ in the roof of its mouth, so snakes literally taste the scent. This forked tongue is also used to avoid predators and to help male snakes locate female snakes during the breeding season.

Like other reptiles, snakes are ectotherms, meaning they control their internal body temperature from heat derived from an external source. When cold, they move into the sun; when hot, they move into the shade. Extreme heat or cold can kill them. In winter, snakes hibernate in areas below the frostline, and their dens can be found in narrow crevices in rocks, under trees and wood piles, and occasionally in basements. When snakes bask in the sun—like on those early days of spring—people are often faced with an animal they aren’t comfortable seeing up close.

It’s when snakes seem to encroach on our human space—like our yards or roadways—that many people get distressed, and they often take drastic action to get rid of snakes without thinking about the consequences. After all, snake populations are vital to maintaining balance in our ecosystems, helping to effectively control the population of small mammals, like mice and rats, and also serving as a valuable food source for hawks and other predators.

Here in Maryland, we have 27 species and subspecies of snakes. Of these, only two are venomous, the timber rattlesnake and the northern copperhead. Neither is aggressive unless provoked, preferring instead to remain motionless and blend into their environment. Two species are endangered, but all native snakes in Maryland are protected under the state’s Endangered Species Conservation Act. This means that native snakes cannot be killed, possessed, bred, or sold without acquiring the proper permit from the Department of Natural Resources.

This spring, if you see a snake, don’t run in the opposite direction. Instead, reach for your camera. DNR’s Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas Project, also known as MARA, is conducting a five-year program, using data collected by people to create a current distribution map of Maryland reptiles and amphibians. If you see a snake or amphibian, simply take a photograph of it, record the location, and e-mail it to the DNR. This information helps the DNR to develop conservation strategies for native species so snakes and humans can live peacefully together.

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February 12, 2013: Seal Season

Seal sightings are rare for even the most frequent beach-goers to the Mid-Atlantic shore. In a typical year, about 20 are spotted in Ocean City, Maryland. Because seals prefer a cold-water environment, they tend to visit our area as they travel south from subarctic regions in the winter months and return north during summer months. Healthy seals regularly rest on land in a behavior called "hauling out."

If you're lucky, harp, gray, hooded, and harbor seals can be spotted on our beaches from late winter through spring. These four seal species are semi-aquatic, meaning they can survive for lengths of time both in water and on land. When seals are spotted on land, they are usually resting after long swims or warming up in the sunlight. Seals will also haul out on stormy days to wait out the rough seas.

Because seal sightings are rare, people often assume that a seal on land is injured or sick. Fortunately, there is a fairly easy way to determine if an animal is healthy. The key is to observe the animal's posture. When a seal is lying in a "banana-shaped" position with its head and body curved and facing upright, the animal is simply resting and will more than likely return to the water when it’s ready. Enjoy the sight from a distance, though, as seals are federally protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and it is illegal to disturb them.

If a seal is lying in a "bear rug" position, however, with its stomach and head on the ground, the animal is in need of further monitoring and, potentially, rehabilitation. In those cases, contact local authorities or animal control. It's important to remember never to approach a seal that looks like it may be in distress. Even though your intentions may be good, the animal will be under an enormous amount of stress. The animal may flee, even if injured, decreasing the chances that a rescue team will be able to help it.

If you see a seal on the beach, give the animal lots of space, at least 150 feet, and avoid loud or sudden noises. Stay downwind from the seal if possible. Keep pets on leashes, and if you have to walk around a seal, walk on the land side to avoid blocking its path to the water. And never offer food to a seal—it's not only bad for the seal, but it's illegal and could result in a large fine. Disturbing the seal by making it change locations or flee back into the water is against the law.

The National Aquarium's Marine Animal Rescue works with local authorities and a network of animal rescue and response organizations along the East Coast to respond to reports of seals on beaches and animals that appear to be in trouble.

Our team of first responders is specially trained to evaluate an animal's health and behaviors. They are looking for any signs of injury such as entanglement, sores or abrasions, open wounds, bleeding, cataracts, dehydration, or emaciation. The team will determine the appropriate intervention for the animal, and may bring the seal back to our Animal Care Center for rehabilitation and later release.

If you see a seal that may be in need of medical attention, please call the National Aquarium's Stranding Hotline or Maryland's Natural Resources Police. In a real emergency, you can simply call the local police or beach patrol, and they'll contact the proper authorities.

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February 5, 2013: Sea Turtles and the Challenges They Face: An Interview with Dr. Kat Hadfield, Associate Veterinarian at National Aquarium

The 33rd Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation is happening in Baltimore, Maryland, this week. To talk about sea turtles and the challenges they face in our world, we’re talking to Dr. Kat Hadfield, associate veterinarian at the National Aquarium.

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January 29, 2013: Turtle Rescues: An Interview with Dr. Kat Hadfield, Associate Veterinarian at National Aquarium

In a normal year, the New England Aquarium takes in between 25 and 60 sea turtles. In 2012, that number was more than 200, with an extraordinarily high number of loggerheads—10 times the usual number seen in a year. With the strain on staff and resources with the influx of rescues, New England Aquarium reached out for help from other stranding partners. Dr. Kat Hadfield, associate veterinarian at the National Aquarium, was among those who headed to Quincy, Massachusetts, to help.

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January 22, 2013: Menhaden Makes a Splash

At first glance, the menhaden is not a glamorous fish, and not one that you would find on a restaurant menu. Also known as bunker, pogy, or bugmouth, the bony, oily fish, which is silver with black spots on its sides, is a humble fish. But there's more than meets the eye when it comes to the menhaden. For countless creatures under the sea, the menhaden has several critical roles, leading some to refer to it as "the most important fish in the sea."

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January 15, 2013: The Environment Up Close at the 2013 Maryland General Assembly

The 433rd legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly opened on January 9, and with it, several environmental issues that will shape the future of life in Maryland are being debated. Issues like shark finning, plastic consumption, hydraulic fracturing, and wind energy affect the people of Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed every day, and the quality of life in our state going forward.

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January 8, 2013: Not-So-Silent Sounds of the Sea

In our oceans, where distances can be long and visibility can be short, many animal species rely on sound to communicate, navigate, and monitor their surroundings. Today, the industrialization of our marine environment is having a profound impact on life in the sea as underwater noise affects feeding, mating, and migratory routes. But for the first time in history, NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will document human-made noises in the ocean and use the results to create the world’s first undersea sound map, aiding in understanding sound pollution and its affect on marine life.

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January 1, 2013: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Ever noticed a piece of trash or a plastic bottle carelessly discarded in the gutter? Someone may come along and pick it up. Or perhaps it will make its way through the streams and waterways and end up in our ocean. Once there, it will follow the prevailing currents and either wash up on a beach or end up in one of the gyres that exist in each of our oceans. Gyres are large areas of calm water that are encircled by ocean currents formed by the earth’s wind patterns and rotation of the planet. Debris that drifts into these gyres stays there for years—pushed gently in a slow, spiral toward the center. Approximately twice the size of Texas, the North Pacific Gyre, one of the more infamous, is commonly referred to as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

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December 25, 2012: 40th Birthday of NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

For 40 years, the National Marine Sanctuary system has preserved some of the most treasured and endangered resources in our oceans. This underwater network of national parks was first established by NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 1972—exactly 100 years after America’s first national park was created. Today, it protects more than 150,000 square miles of ocean waters and habitats.

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December 18, 2012: "Global Weirding": Climate Change and the Rise of Mega Storms

Until recently, scientists and meteorologists have been hesitant to make a direct connection between climate change and rapidly changing weather patterns. Coined "global weirding," distinct trends and records for nearly every type of extreme weather are occurring: high temperatures get higher, rainfalls set new records, droughts get deeper, wildfires burn more acres. But with the increasing frequency of these events, and particularly with the devastation brought to the East Coast by Hurricane Sandy, climate change is becoming far less taboo in discussions about the causes of these mega storms.

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December 11, 2012: Oysters

The Eastern oyster, one of our region’s favorite delicacies, can be enjoyed raw, grilled, fried, or as the main ingredients in stews andstuffings. Historically, the popularity of the Chesapeake Bay oysters fed athriving fishery, and by the end of the 19th century, more than 60 million pounds of oysters were being harvested annually in Maryland’s portion of the bay alone. These days, oyster harvests are weighing in at less than 1% of historical levels. There are now measures in place to help restore oyster populations, and everyone can help.

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December 4, 2012: Dolphin Underwater Keyboard Study

Dr. Diana Reiss, a cognitive psychologist, professor of psychology at Hunter College in New York, and research scientist, joins John Racanelli to discuss her one of her studies on the cognition of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. Dr. Reiss took an innovative approach to working with these highly intelligent mammals: she gave the dolphins the ability to choose by teaching them to use an underwater keyboard to ask for things.

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November 27, 2012: Man, Eating Shark

Shark populations in all of the world’s oceans are in danger of collapse, mainly due to overfishing. Commercial and recreational fishing kills up to 73 million sharks every year—including tens of millions just for their fins. That’s roughly 200,000 sharks every day. Why have these predators become prey?

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November 20, 2012: Sustainable Seafood

Sustainable seafood: hopefully, it's a term you're hearing more and more lately. Similar to "buy local" and "farm to table," it's a term centered on a rising consciousness of what we put on our plates. After decades of extravagant eating habits and a dependence on fast food, Americans are becoming reconnected with food. We go to farmers markets. We buy local and organic. We are paying attention.

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November 13th, 2012: The Dolphin in the Mirror

Dr. Diana Reiss, a cognitive psychologist, professor of psychology at Hunter College in New York, and research scientist, joins John Racanelli to discuss her studies on the intelligence of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. Dr. Reiss made a remarkable discovery: that dolphins, like humans, can recognize themselves in a mirror.

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November 6, 2012: The Importance of Sand Dunes

If you regularly visit the beach in the summer, than you have surely noticed the sand dunes that line the Maryland and Delaware shore. We all know what a dune is, but how are they formed, and why are they so important not only to the health of our coastal habitats, but for the safety and protection of our beachfront communities? Dunes provide a natural barrier for the ocean and can slow or prevent coastal flooding, provide protection from high winds and damaging storms, and prevent saltwater from reaching inland, threatening farming and ground water supplies.

For these reasons, many coastal communities in the United States have made dune preservation and restoration a priority. The paths and fencing to keep tourists off the dunes are part of these initiatives. Other, more aggressive restoration projects are underway at shores around the country, and the National Aquarium has been particularly involved in dune restoration in Virginia Beach for several years.

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October 30, 2012: True Blue Crabs

A true Marylander knows a crabcake, but did you know that the crabmeat you are eating could have been imported from as far away as Asia? Maryland Department of Natural Resources has launched a new program to make it easier to tell where your crabmeat came from, and to identify it as "true blue" Maryland crab meat. This is important for local industry, but it is also an important part of a larger discussion on sustainable seafood. Knowing where food comes from can help us all make better decisions about what we eat, for our health and the health of our planet.

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October 23, 2012: WIDECAST

The National Aquarium has had a long partnership with WIDECAST, particularly in Costa Rica, where the leatherback sea turtle, one of the primary species of concern, comes ashore to nest. This species has been listed as endangered since 1970. Very little is known about the turtles’ migratory behavior, population genetics or dynamics, inherent diseases, or mortality rates.

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October 16, 2012: Clean Water Act

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, or Clean Water Act, the nation's law for protecting our most irreplaceable resource. The Act set a new national goal "to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters," with interim goals that all waters be fishable and swimmable where possible.

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October 9, 2012: Dolphin Underwater Keyboard Study

Dr. Diana Reiss, a cognitive psychologist, professor of psychology at Hunter College in New York, and research scientist, joins John Racanelli to discuss her one of her studies on the cognition of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. Dr. Reiss took an innovative approach to working with these highly intelligent mammals: she gave the dolphins the ability to choose by teaching them to use an underwater keyboard to ask for things.

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October 4, 2012: Oysters

The Eastern oyster, one of our region’s favorite delicacies, can be enjoyed raw, grilled, fried, or as the main ingredients in stews andstuffings. Historically, the popularity of the Chesapeake Bay oysters fed athriving fishery, and by the end of the 19th century, more than 60 million pounds of oysters were being harvested annually in Maryland’s portion of the bay alone. These days, oyster harvests are weighing in at less than 1% of historical levels. There are now measures in place to help restore oyster populations, and everyone can help.

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September 25, 2012: Dolphin Bubble Ring Play

Dr. Diana Reiss has conducted research on dolphin cognition all over the world, including at the National Aquarium. One of the studies Dr. Reiss has conducted examines something she calls “bubble ring play.” The National Aquarium’s youngest dolphin, Bayley, when she was just 2 years old, was already doing some pretty sophisticated behaviors with bubble rings.

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National Public Lands Day

This September 29 across the country we will celebrate National Public Lands Day. This annual event is designed to highlight the cultural, economic, and environmental value of our public lands—places like National Parks and Wildlife Refuges.

September 18, 2012: Fall Bird Migration

Summer is on its way out, and the fall bird migration has already begun. Some species begin to move through Maryland as early as July, heading south where resources are more plentiful in the upcoming months; many more will hang on until November or December. For others, the Chesapeake Bay is their final winter destination. Whether you are a serious birder or simply enjoy watching the parade of visitors pass by, this is an important time to do your part to support migrating birds.

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September 11, 2012: Sustainable Seafood

Sustainable seafood: hopefully, it's a term you're hearing more and more lately. Similar to "buy local" and "farm to table," it's a term centered on a rising consciousness of what we put on our plates. After decades of extravagant eating habits and a dependence on fast food, Americans are becoming reconnected with food. We go to farmers markets. We buy local and organic. We are paying attention.

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August 28, 2012: International Coastal Cleanup

September 15 is International Coastal Cleanup Day. An annual event started 27 years ago by the Ocean Conservancy, the International Coastal Cleanup has become the world’s largest volunteer effort for ocean health. Every year, countless marine animals, seabirds, and other animals are sickened, injured, or killed because of trash that is made by and falls from human hands. We caused this problem, and it's up to us to fix it.

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August 21, 2012: The Dolphin in the Mirror

Dr. Diana Reiss, a cognitive psychologist, professor of psychology at Hunter College in New York, and research scientist, joins John Racanelli to discuss her studies on the intelligence of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. Dr. Reiss made a remarkable discovery: that dolphins, like humans, can recognize themselves in a mirror.

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August 14, 2012: The Research Vessel Falkor

The R/V Falkor, which just paid a visit to the National Aquarium on her maiden voyage, is an example of an entirely new generation of ocean research vessels. Outfitted with some of the world's most advanced deep ocean sensing technologies and onboard systems, the research facilitated by the Falkor will surely contribute to our understanding of the ocean, so much of which still remains a mystery.

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August 7, 2012: The Truth (About) Stings

For summertime beachgoers in the Mid-Atlantic region, the appearance of stinging jellyfish is dreaded—particularly when it’s in the form of a swarm. There have been news reports lately that we’re expecting a large number of these hard-to-see stingers in the Chesapeake Bay this summer. You may be surprised to learn that, from an environmental perspective, this is actually not scary news.

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July 31, 2012: Man, Eating Shark

Shark populations in all of the world’s oceans are in danger of collapse, mainly due to overfishing. Commercial and recreational fishing kills up to 73 million sharks every year—including tens of millions just for their fins. That’s roughly 200,000 sharks every day. Why have these predators become prey?

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July 24, 2012: Catch Crabs, Not Terrapins

With the recreational crabbing season underway, we need to remember another of our favorite animals: the diamondback terrapin, Maryland's state reptile.

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July 17, 2012: Mahogany Tide

If you walked around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor this spring, you may have noticed the water had taken on a murky, reddish-brown appearance. That’s if your nose hadn’t already alerted you that something’s fishy. A dense bloom of algae invaded our local waters. And it was causing fish in the area to go belly up. So what is this water-fouling, fish-killing bay monster, exactly?

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