Food source: It is a filter feeder, it swims rapidly to capture water in its open mouth, then filters it out
Habitat: They are born over the mid Atlantic shelf and drift to the Chesapeake bay.
Migration: Menhaden of all sizes and ages migrate during the Fall and Winter.
Niche: The Menhaden filters plankton out of the water, making the water cleaner.
Cooperation/competition:
The Menhaden do not compete for food, but are a food source for many other animals
Challenges: Predators --
 Blue fish, Weakfish, Stripped Bass, Sharks, Mackerel, and Heron
Symbiotic Relationships: Sometimes there is a large crustacean parasite inside the Menhaden's mouth.
Importance: The third level consumers would lose a valuable food source. This could kill off the consumers.
Interesting Facts: The Menhaden is sometimes used for bait but are mainly used for fish oil.

Description: Tall, lean, skinny, Big wing span and is about 90 lbs

Food source: the great blue heron eats mostly fish but will also eat insects, amphibians, crustaceans,  and other small mammals.

habitat: the great blue heron lives mostly in wetlands like swamps and marshes also in both fresh and salt water.

Migration: The great blue heron does migrates from southern Canada to North South America.

Niche: The great blue heron niche in the ecosystems to make sure the the fish, small mammals, and other crustacean  don't over populate.

Organism in the community:  The great blue heron eats almost anything smaller than him. So its the biggest consumer.

Competition: The biggest competition  is the great horned owl witch even eats there baby's it eat all the small animals that the great blue heron eats.

Challenges: The great blue heron isn't endangered but is getting there, there so close that there a protected species.

Symbiotic relationship: The beaver shares a relationship with the Heron when the beaver builds a damn which is holds food for the heron. 
Importance: It makes sure that other smaller animals don't over populate. Also there eggs provides food for many predators 

interesting facts: The great blue heron is the biggest heron in all of North America

Niche: They are food for other fish and animals as well as keeping other populations of animals from overpopulation.

Competition/ Cooperation: The blue crab competes with humans and sea gulls to get oysters.
Challenges: Predators- Croakers, Red Drum, Great Blue Heron, and Sea Turtles. Habitat loss and over-fishing.
Symbiotic relationships: Has a symbiotic relationship with aquatic plants. The blue crab eats mollusks that feed on the plants, and the plant hide the crabs from predators.
Importance: Food for us, keeps prey/food from overpopulation, and food for other animals.
Interesting Facts: The blue crab can live up to 3 years, its a native species, its scientific name comes from the Greek words "beautiful" and "swimmer"
  

Critter's Common Name: Phytoplankton
Scientific Name: hyperia marocephala
Description: small, glowing, and insect like.
Food Source: They use the sun for photosynthesis and energy, just like plants.
Habitat: Bodies of water like, lakes, seas, & oceans in the zone called the Euphoric Zone.
Niche: Both a producer of oxygen through photosynthesis, and a good source of food for othere animals.
Competition/Cooperation: Phytoplankton compete with plants and other phytoplankton  species for sunlight.
Challenges: Other plankton they compete with for algea.
Symbiotic relationships: Phytoplankton have a symbiotic relationship with sea birds. When phytoplankton are eaten by krill, the toxin krill release at death attracts sea birds.
Importance: For a good food source, for others animals, as well as a feeder of a 1 level consumers.
Interesting Facts: Phytoplankton play a big role in the global carbon-cycle. During photosynthesis, they remove carbon dioxide in the sea and release oxygen as a by-product, and store carbon as organic matter.  

Critter's Common Name: Perch Fish
Scientific Name: Morone Americana
Description: 18-25 cm, silvery greenish-gray body with a  white-ish belly, mildly forked tail, slightly projected tail, 3 spines in anal fin, deep notch in dorsal fin
Food Source: Fish eggs, insects, zooplankton, detritus, other fish, and mollusks 
Habitat: Flat, shallow,
Migration: Juveniles migrate to brackish waters
Niche: Carnivore
Competition/Cooperation: Cooperate with other white perch.
Challenges: The main challenges the Perch fish faces are predators and over fishing. Predators include bluefish, weakfish and, striped bass.
Symbiotic relationships: None
Importance: Food source for humans, commercial and sport fishing, balances ecosystem as a predator and prey
Interesting Facts: They are a common food source across the U.S

Critter's Common Name: Striped Bass
Scientific Name:
Morone Saxatilis
Description:
Can grow up to be 70 lbs, about 7 horizontal lines across body, and 6 fins.
Food Source:
Striped Bass eat other fish and organisms such as crabs, lobsters, sea worms, squid, and soft clams.
Habitat:

Found mostly along Northern American Atlantic Coast.
Does you critter Migrate? Yes, there are two types of migration. Coastal migration which is where they move up North. Spawning migration is where they move to fresh water to spawn.

What is the role of your organism in the community:
The Striped Bass controls the population by being a top predator.
Competition/Cooperation:
Seals, Sharks, etc. eat Striped Bass
Challenges:
The striped bass population is declining because of over harvesting.
Symbiotic relationships:
 Commensalism- Angler are warned by Striped Bass when predators are near.
Importance:
They are a key predator in the bay's food web. They also support the bay's commercial and recreational fisheries
Interesting Facts:
Striped Bass are attracted to Herring, Mackerel, Eel, etc. So that is good bait to catch them.

Role of Organism: Reproduces from seeds and goes through fragmentation. It feeds ducks and wading birds, but is not known as important.

Cooperate/Compete:
*Cooperates with sun
*Competes with ducks and wading birds

Challenges our organism faces:
*Predators - such as wading birds and ducks

Symbiotic Relationships: Water Stargrass depends on the sun so it can perform photosynthesis.  Without the sun, the plant would have no source of food.

Importance of critter to the Bay's ecosystem: There would be less food for birds and ducks, and they give off oxygen for other organisms to breathe.

Other Interesting Information: Native to North and Central America.  Water Stargrasses widespread goes from Canada to Guatemala.  It lives submerged in freshwater such as river or lakes.