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Scaling Ecosystem Services to Reef Development : Effects of oyster density on nitrogen removal and reef community structure
Kellogg, M. Lisa Cornwell, Jeffrey C. Owens, Michael S. Luckenbach, Mark Ross, Paige G. Leggett, Thomas A. Dreyer, Jennifer C. Dreyer C. Lusk, Bowdoin Birch, Alan Smith, Edward
Kellogg, M. Lisa
Cornwell, Jeffrey C.
Owens, Michael S.
Luckenbach, Mark
Ross, Paige G.
Leggett, Thomas A.
Dreyer, Jennifer C. Dreyer C.
Lusk, Bowdoin
Birch, Alan
Smith, Edward
Abstract
Eighteen native oyster experimental reefs (16-m2 each) were restored using six oyster densities (0, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 250 adult oysters m-2) with three replicates of each density at each of two sites: one subtidal site in Onancock Creek, Virginia and one intertidal site in Hillcrest Oyster Sanctuary within The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia Coast Reserve. A science-based monitoring program explored quantitative relationships between structural and functional characteristics of these restored reefs. Structural parameters examined included oyster abundance, oyster size/biomass, surface shell volume, reef topographic complexity and sediment characteristics. Functional parameters included denitrification rates and macrofaunal abundance and biomass. Data were collected from the intertidal site during six sampling periods between April 2012 and July 2013 and from the subtidal site in April and June 2012. Relationships between reef structural parameters and functional parameters were complex and variable. As of July 2014, the intertidal reefs continue to serve as a platform for continued studies of the relationships between reef structural and functional characteristics.
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2014-11-26
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Research and Technical Reports
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Virginia Institute of Marine Science