Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
2015
Journal
Journal Of Shellfish Research
Volume
34
Issue
2
First Page
241
Last Page
250
Abstract
Restoration of the native eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) has been severely hindered by the dwindling supply and rising costs of fossil and new oyster shell (OS) for use in reef restoration. Consequently, emphasis has shifted to the use of alternative oyster reef materials, which need to be tested for their effectiveness as settlement substrate. Furthermore, low recruitment of wild larvae has also impeded restoration, indicating a need to assess the potential of field setting of cultured larvae. We experimentally examined oyster settlement, growth and survival on unconsolidated OS, vertically embedded oyster shell (ES) in concrete, and concrete Oyster Castles (OC) in field and mesocosm experiments. In addition, we examined settlement success of cultured larvae in the mesocosm experiment. In the field experiment, juvenile recruitment was 3 higher on castles and unconsolidated shell than on embedded shell. Castles retained 4Xthe number of oysters and hosted 5Xthe biomass than embedded shell, and retained 1.5Xthe oysters and hosted 3Xthe biomass than unconsolidated shell. The proportion of live oyster recruits on castles was 1.5Xthat on both embedded and unconsolidated shell. In the mesocosm experiment (90-d postlarval deployment), the castles recruited, retained, and hosted an oyster biomass 4Xhigher than that of unconsolidated and embedded shell. This study confirms that artificial reef materials, such as OC, are suitable alternative substrates for oyster restoration, and remote setting of larvae can be effective under controlled environmental conditions. Future restoration efforts should consider use of alternative reef substrates and field setting of larvae, where recruitment is limited, to maximize oyster recruitment, while simultaneously minimizing the cost of reef restoration.
DOI
10.2983/35.034.0205
Keywords
Oyster Restoration; Crassostrea Virginica; Remote Larval Setting; Artificial Reefs; Oyster Castles
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Sponsor
VIMS Governor's School Program for Gifted High School Students
Recommended Citation
Theuerkauf, Seth J.; Burke, Russell P.; and Lipcius, Rom, Settlement, Growth, And Survival Of Eastern Oysters On Alternative Reef Substrates (2015). Journal Of Shellfish Research, 34(2), 241-250.
10.2983/35.034.0205
