Multi‐species restoration accelerates recovery of extinguished oyster reefs

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic McAfee ◽  
Catherine Larkin ◽  
Sean D. Connell
Keyword(s):  
Oyster Reefs ◽  
Species Restoration

scholarly journals Understanding drivers of wild oyster population persistence

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mickael Teixeira Alves ◽  
Nick G. H. Taylor ◽  
Hannah J. Tidbury
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Carrying Capacity ◽  
Pacific Oyster ◽  
Wild Population ◽  
Population Persistence ◽  
Oyster Reefs ◽  
Oyster Population ◽  
Northern European ◽  
Age Structured ◽  
The Impact

AbstractPersistence of wild Pacific oyster, Magallana gigas, also known as Crassostrea gigas, has been increasingly reported across Northern European waters in recent years. While reproduction is inhibited by cold waters, recent warm summer temperature has increased the frequency of spawning events. Although correlation between the increasing abundance of Pacific oyster reefs in Northern European waters and climate change is documented, persistence of wild populations may also be influenced by external recruitment from farmed populations and other wild oyster populations, as well as on competition for resources with aquaculture sites. Our understanding of the combined impact of the spawning frequency, external recruitment, and competition on wild population persistence is limited. This study applied an age-structured model, based on ordinary differential equations, to describe an oyster population under discrete temperature-related dynamics. The impact of more frequent spawning events, external recruitment, and changes in carrying capacity on Pacific oyster density were simulated and compared under theoretical scenarios and two case studies in Southern England. Results indicate that long term persistence of wild oyster populations towards carrying capacity requires a high frequency of spawning events but that in the absence of spawning, external recruitment from farmed populations and other wild oyster populations may act to prevent extinction and increase population density. However, external recruitment sources may be in competition with the wild population so that external recruitment is associated with a reduction in wild population density. The implications of model results are discussed in the context of wild oyster population management.

scholarly journals Oyster Reefs as Natural Breakwaters Mitigate Shoreline Loss and Facilitate Fisheries

PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. e22396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven B. Scyphers ◽  
Sean P. Powers ◽  
Kenneth L. Heck ◽  
Dorothy Byron
Keyword(s):  
Oyster Reefs

scholarly journals Oyster Hack

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Tickle ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Oyster Reefs ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
National Geographic ◽  
Coastal Cities ◽  
Run Off ◽  
Functionally Impaired ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Rising Sea Levels ◽  
Engineered Systems

There is a state of emergency in the USA- catastrophic coastal erosion, rising sea levels at the rate of one-eighth of an inch per year and poor water quality. Oysters can help. Oysters filter the water, removing toxins. Oyster reefs are living infra-structures that protect coastlines from storms and tidal surges. But…many of the world’s existing oyster reefs are functionally impaired. The Chesapeake Bay is dying. Untreated chemical run-off and human waste is creating ‘Dead Zones’ where there is no oxygen to support marine life. Much of Hurricane Sandy’s damage to New York City could have been prevented. In the early 1800’s the Harbor was lined with living oyster reefs. Now, these are dead or dying, fragile and vulnerable. Miami is flooded on a regular basis reports Miami Herald. Our oyster reefs must be revived or rebuilt- they will help. Walls are not the answer. 14% of US coastal cities have massive sea-walls already. National Geographic reports that by 2100 one-third of our coastal cities will be protected by walls, that cost billions of dollars and will not provide protection from the most severe storms. I believe in the power of the oyster. The oyster is an engineer- its reefs and shells work together as a “system of systems” to protect our waters and coastlines. Without them we are sunk, literally, no matter how many engineered systems we humans try to substitute and pay billions of dollars to implement.

Reversing a Rapid Decline in Oyster Reefs: Effects of Durable Substrate on Oyster Populations, Elevations, and Aquatic Bird Community Composition

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Frederick ◽  
Nick Vitale ◽  
Bill Pine ◽  
Jennifer Seavey ◽  
Leslie Sturmer
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
Aquatic Bird ◽  
Oyster Reefs

scholarly journals Occurrence of Microplastic Pollution at Oyster Reefs and Other Coastal Sites in the Mississippi Sound, USA: Impacts of Freshwater Inflows from Flooding

Toxics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin Scircle ◽  
James V. Cizdziel ◽  
Louis Tisinger ◽  
Tarun Anumol ◽  
Darren Robey
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi River ◽  
Natural Waters ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Size Fraction ◽  
Nile Red ◽  
Dilution Effect ◽  
Relative Distribution ◽  
Oyster Reefs ◽  
Mississippi Sound ◽  
Freshwater Inflows

Much of the seafood that humans consume comes from estuaries and coastal areas where microplastics (MPs) accumulate, due in part to continual input and degradation of plastic litter from rivers and runoff. As filter feeders, oysters (Crassostrea virginica) are especially vulnerable to MP pollution. In this study, we assessed MP pollution in water at oyster reefs along the Mississippi Gulf Coast when: (1) historic flooding of the Mississippi River caused the Bonnet Carré Spillway to remain open for a record period of time causing major freshwater intrusion to the area and deleterious impacts on the species and (2) the spillway was closed, and normal salinity conditions resumed. Microplastics (~25 µm–5 mm) were isolated using a single-pot method, preparing samples in the same vessel (Mason jars) used for their collection right up until the MPs were transferred onto filters for analyses. The MPs were quantified using Nile Red fluorescence detection and identified using laser direct infrared (LDIR) analysis. Concentrations ranged from ~12 to 381 particles/L and tended to decrease at sites impacted by major freshwater intrusion. With the spillway open, average MP concentrations were positively correlated with salinity (r = 0.87, p = 0.05) for sites with three or more samples examined. However, the dilution effect on MP abundances was temporary, and oyster yields suffered from the extended periods of lower salinity. There were no significant changes in the relative distribution of MPs during freshwater intrusions; most of the MPs (>50%) were in the lower size fraction (~25–90 µm) and consisted mostly of fragments (~84%), followed by fibers (~11%) and beads (~5%). The most prevalent plastic was polyester, followed by acrylates/polyurethanes, polyamide, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyacetal. Overall, this work provides much-needed empirical data on the abundances, morphologies, and types of MPs that oysters are exposed to in the Mississippi Sound, although how much of these MPs are ingested and their impacts on the organisms deserves further scrutiny. This paper is believed to be the first major application of LDIR to the analysis of MPs in natural waters.

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