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19 results for “Oyster restoration”
Oyster and associated fauna counts and lengths from restored and reference reefs in the coastal bays of Virginia, 2005-2019
This dataset has been superceded by Lusk, B., R. Smith, and M.C.N. Castorani. 2024. Oyster fauna lengths, counts, and biomass from restored and reference reefs in Virginia coastal bays, 2005-2023 ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/d68de69f29cee5f737313a07f813f245 (Accessed 2024-02-22). which includes additional years and parameters. Oyster and associated reef fauna counts and lengths were sampled at 16 natural reference reefs and 61 restored shell plant reefs located at 18 sites in the Virginia Coast Reserve. Overfishing and disease decimated oyster reefs in the Virginia Coast Reserve in the 1900s. Reference reefs were defined as remnant reefs that naturally recovered in the early 2000s to develop the pronounced vertical structure and multiple oyster size classes that represent the desired endpoint of restoration efforts. Nearly every year since 2003, The Nature Conservancy and Virginia Marine Resource Commission have constructed oyster reefs in intertidal areas in the VCR. To construct the restored reefs, practitioners applied dredged, fossilized oyster shell to intertidal locations chosen for their bottom stability and accessibility (locations lacked oysters prior to construction). Whelk shell supplemented the oyster shell at 9 of the restored reefs.
Biological and Physical Monitoring Data of Restored Oyster Reef in Savannah River, Savannah, GA from May 2023 - February 2025
For the purposes of this study, we constructed two oyster reefs in Savannah, GA, USA using standard spat-on-shell restoration methodology. Reefs were constructed 1-2 meters from the marsh edge to reduce wave energy as it approached the shoreline, similar to a breakwater. We then conducted monitoring on the biological function of the reef, including live juvenile oyster coverage, size, and abundance for approximately 18 months. We also quantified the energy flux of waves offshore and onshore of the reef using water pressure measurements to determine the capability of these reefs at reducing wave energy. The oyster reefs in this study decreased wave energy by up to 40% compared to paired, non-reef control sites. Constructed oyster reefs also experienced healthy oyster population growth throughout the study, with live juvenile coverage of 17-40% almost 18 months post-deployment. This study took place in an erosion-prone area due to recreational and commercial boating traffic at the nearby Port of Savannah. Our results indicate that using restored oyster reefs as living shorelines is a technique with high potential for preventing shoreline loss in coastal areas vulnerable to anthropogenically-caused erosion. Restored Reef Site 1: 32.067957°, -80.985005° Control Site 1: 32.0675194°, -80.986369° Restored Reef Site 2: 32.062663°, -80.965147° Control Site 2: 32.063261°, -80.965889°
Survival Data of Strengthened and Non-Strengthened Oysters on Two Restored Reefs in Georgia, USA
The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, is known to respond to chemical cues from their predators by strengthening their shell in defense. The chemical cues homarine and trigonelline, found in the urine of blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, are two metabolic waste products known to cause this inducible defense in juvenile oysters. We tested whether this shell strengthening defense is beneficial for juvenile oysters in a restored reef setting by inducing oyster spat with chemical cues, placing them onto a restored reef and measuring their survival for 50-100 days. The first reef location is a previously restored reef (approximately 10 years old) with limited physical exposure to wind waves and boat wake. Juvenile oysters were placed at this site in September of 2021 and survival was measured for 49 days. The second reef location is a newly restored oyster reef (less than 1 year old) that acts as a living shoreline, with significant exposure to boat wake and wind waves. Juvenile oysters were protected from predation using mesh wrapping with an opening of 1 square cm and placed at the reef site in April 2023, where survival was monitored for 103 days. Site locations: Reef 1 (dock site) - 31.988948°, -81.024001° Reef 2 (living shoreline reef) - 32.067957°,-80.985005°
Data from Bieri Thesis: Evaluating Coastal Protection Benefits of Restored Oyster Reef Designs - 2022
This dataset consists of spreadsheets used in the creation of: "Elizabeth Bieri, Evaluating Coastal Protection Benefits of Restored Oyster Reef Designs. MS Thesis, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Advisors: Matthew Reidenbach & Patricia Wiberg, 2022" (https://doi.org/10.18130/2b04-wz72). Documentation on methods and types of data are given in the thesis and are not repeated here. There are two .zip files. One contains the original Excel workbooks. The other contains the data from individual sheets within the workbooks as comma-separated-value (.csv) text files. The file listing for the CSV files are: Archive: Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files.zip Length Date Time Name --------- ---------- ----- ---- 0 2025-12-15 12:47 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/ 1787 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/elevation_crests.csv 239 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/elevation_S4.csv 273 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/elevation_S7.csv 652 2025-12-15 12:45 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/erosionpins_exposed.csv 476 2025-12-15 12:45 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/erosionpins_exposed_no_reef.csv 102 2025-12-15 12:46 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/erosionpins_S4.csv 97 2025-12-15 12:46 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/erosionpins_S7.csv 297 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/grainsize_july.csv 290 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/grainsize_oct.csv 399 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/infauna_om_All.csv 509 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/infauna_om_July2021.csv 507 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/infauna_om_Oct2021.csv 1242 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/infauna_om_Sed_OM.csv 516 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/infauna_om_Sept2020.csv 913981 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/jul2021waveS4.csv 715881 2025-12-15 12:41 Bieri_Comma_separated_Value_Files/jul2021waveS7.csv 5251
Meta-analysis of ecosystem services associated with oyster restoration on the Eastern and Gulf coasts of the US
We conducted a meta-analysis to systematically quantify the success and uncertainty of oyster reef restoration for a suite of biological, biogeochemical, and physical ecosystem services relative to both degraded and natural reference habitats. We focused on the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. To evaluate whether restored eastern oyster reefs enhance ecosystem services relative to unaltered, degraded habitats and whether restored reefs provide ecosystem services equivalent to reference reefs, we synthesized data and calculated log response ratios for 245 restored-degraded reef pairs and 136 restored-reference reef pairs from 106 publications collected along 3500 km of U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coastlines.
Oyster fauna lengths, counts, and biomass from restored and reference reefs in Virginia coastal bays, 2005-2023
Oyster reef fauna counts and lengths were sampled at natural "reference" reefs and restored shell plant reefs located in the Virginia Coast Reserve. Overfishing and disease decimated oyster reefs in the Virginia Coast Reserve in the 1900s. Reference reefs were defined as remnant reefs that naturally recovered in the early 2000s to develop the pronounced vertical structure and multiple oyster size classes that represent the desired endpoint of restoration efforts. Nearly every year since 2003, The Nature Conservancy and Virginia Marine Resource Commission have constructed oyster reefs in intertidal areas in the VCR. To construct the restored reefs, practitioners launched dredged, fossilized oyster shell from barges to intertidal locations chosen for their bottom stability and accessibility (locations lacked oysters prior to construction). Whelk shell supplemented the oyster shell at some of the restored reefs. TNC practitioners monitor select restored and reference reefs annually for adult and spat live oysters, adult and spat box oysters, mud crabs, mud snails, oyster drills, live clams, and mussels.
Port Stephens Oyster Reef Restoration comparison of rock and shell
<p>Raw data of oysters, gastropods and fishes sampled over 1-2 years in Port Stephens as part of the NSW Marine Estate Oyster Reef Restoration project.</p>
Genetic parentage reconstruction as a practical tool applied to aquaculture and restoration programs for the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis
<p>Preserving and maximizing genetic diversity in conservation programs, including for restocking, are of high importance. The threatened European flat oyster (<em>Ostrea edulis</em>) is currently the subject of several applied conservation and restocking programs, but concerns have been raised over potential negative side effects of these programs, for example due to our limited knowledge about the genetic effects in natural populations of releasing offspring of hatchery origin. Here, we developed a cost-effective, easily applicable and highly reliable method to assess the genetic diversity and parental contributions in flat oyster hatchery production based on analyses of 17 microsatellite loci. We analyzed broodstock and hatchery-produced spat (total n = 289) and compared diversity to that in wild samples of adults and spat from the broodstock source in the Limfjorden (total n = 190). Based on four hatchery tank experiments, we found that five swarming events (larval releases) were characterized by a single maternal and multiple paternal contributions, and that the number of contributing parents varied greatly both among individual tanks, and between swarming events within tank. On average, the effective number of breeders was only one third of the actual broodstock size. Although the broodstock exhibited high genetic variation, the high reproductive skew resulted in produced seed representing only a relatively small subset of this variation. The work demonstrates potential impact of hatchery reared offspring on decreasing genetic diversity in wild populations, but also that genetic monitoring can be integrated in conservation programs to minimize negative effects on restoration and supplementary restocking programs that utilize hatchery reared spats to support natural populations.</p>
Data from: Multi-species restoration accelerates recovery of extinguished oyster reefs
<p>1. A multi-species approach to habitat restoration may boost the key processes (e.g. recruitment) that enable foundation species to overcome barriers to recovery. Natural systems tend to be formed by co-occurring foundation species whose synergy drives ecological productivity and resilience beyond that of single foundation species. Yet, restoration remains primarily a single-species focus enterprise where positive interactions are seldom incorporated into planning. A multi-species approach that prioritises species combinations to create emergent properties for their persistence may accelerate habitat recovery and the success of restoration programs.</p> <p>2. On the largest oyster reef restoration project in the Southern Hemisphere, we experimentally established canopy-forming kelp to test whether they could accelerate the natural recruitment of oysters to substrata monopolised by turf-forming algae. To understand whether facilitation of oysters was a function of the kelp themselves (biological facilitation) or the physical environment they create (physical facilitation), we compared recruitment to the understorey of living kelp and synthetic kelp mimics.</p> <p>3. Despite observing high density oyster recruitment to the turf-free underside of reef boulders (8,300 oysters/m2), turf algae appeared to inhibit oyster recruitment to the exposed surfaces of the reef, limiting their capacity to grow and form complex, three-dimensional habitat.</p> <p>4. Transplanted kelp, whether living or synthetic kelp mimics, effectively reduced the biomass of turf and enhanced oyster recruitment, creating turf-free substrata on the upper reef surfaces with up to 26 times the oyster recruitment than turf-covered substrata.</p> <p>5. Synthesis and applications. Our results provide proof-of-concept that incorporating the transplant of canopy-forming kelp to reefs constructed to restore oysters is not only achievable, but may be imperative to successfully restore oyster reefs in turf-dominated systems. Kelp transplants supressed the turf algae that otherwise excluded oysters from the reef surface, effectively shifting the competitive advantage toward oyster recovery by maintaining bare substrata for oyster recruitment. In demonstrating that co-restoring foundation species facilitates interactions that overcome barriers to recovery, we emphasise the need for restoration programs to incorporate the functional synergy of overlapping foundation species into planning, so to establish emergent properties that can accelerate the recovery of restored habitat.</p>
Genome-wide analysis of natural and restored eastern oyster populations reveals local adaptation and positive impacts of planting frequency and broodstock number
<p>The release of captive-bred plants and animals has increased worldwide to augment declining species. However, insufficient attention has been given to understanding how neutral and adaptive genetic variation are partitioned within and among proximal natural populations, and the patterns and drivers of gene flow over small spatial scales, which can be important for restoration success. A seascape genomics approach was used to investigate population structure, local adaptation, and the extent to which environmental gradients influence genetic variation among natural and restored populations of Chesapeake Bay eastern oysters <i>Crassostrea virginica</i>. We also investigated the impact of hatchery practices on neutral genetic diversity of restored reefs and quantified the broader genetic impacts of large-scale hatchery-based bivalve restoration. Restored reefs showed similar levels of diversity as natural reefs, and striking relationships were found between planting frequency and broodstock numbers and genetic diversity metrics (effective population size and relatedness), suggesting that hatchery practices can have a major impact on diversity. Despite long-term restoration activities, haphazard historical translocations, and high dispersal potential of larvae that could homogenize allele frequencies among populations, moderate neutral population genetic structure was uncovered. Moreover, environmental factors, namely salinity, pH, and temperature, play a major role in the distribution of neutral and adaptive genetic variation. For marine invertebrates in heterogeneous seascapes, collecting broodstock from large populations experiencing similar environments to candidate sites may provide the most appropriate sources for restoration and ensure population resilience in the face of rapid environmental change. This is one of a few studies to demonstrate empirically that hatchery practices have a major impact on the retention of genetic diversity. Overall, these results contribute to the growing body of evidence for fine-scale genetic structure and local adaptation in broadcast-spawning marine species and provide novel information for the management of an important fisheries resource.</p>
Data from: Spatial variation in the biotic and abiotic filters of oyster recruitment: Implications for restoration
<p>Attempts to restore marine ecosystems are increasing, but the success of projects remains variable. For marine invertebrates, the establishment of self-sustaining populations requires a larval supply as well as conditions that permit recruitment.</p> <p>Abiotic and biotic conditions that determine recruitment can vary across environmental gradients and have opposing or reinforcing effects. We assessed how predation and tidal inundation influence recruitment of the reef-forming oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, at 15 sites, 5 estuaries and 8 degrees of latitude in eastern Australia.</p> <p>Oysters recruited to all 15 sites, but their density displayed spatially variable effects of tidal inundation and caging. Effects of tidal inundation and caging were weakest at the two lower-latitude estuaries where recruitment was low overall, average temperature and turbidity were high and dissolved oxygen low.</p> <p>At higher-latitude estuaries, where abiotic conditions were more favourable for recruitment, recruit density displayed tidal elevation gradients that were dependent on caging and time. Initially, recruit density decreased with tidal inundation (and exposure to finfish predators), in the uncaged but not the caged treatment. However, over time the elevation gradient disappeared, and recruitment and survival of oysters was greater in caged than uncaged treatments irrespective of elevation.</p> <p>Synthesis and applications: Our results suggest that both abiotic (i.e. temperature, turbidity and dissolved oxygen) and biotic (i.e. predation) factors can negatively influence oyster recruitment and, hence, restoration success. Consequently, oyster reef restoration projects should be planned to prioritise sites with low turbidity, high dissolved oxygen and low predation unless these stressors can be mitigated. Restoration projects that are designed with knowledge of local stressors are more likely to be successful.</p>
Soundscape enrichment enhances recruitment and habitat building on new oyster reef restorations
<p>Biogenic marine soundscapes provide important navigational cues to dispersing larvae in search of suitable habitat. Yet, widespread habitat loss has degraded marine soundscapes and their functional role in recruitment. Habitat restorations can provide suitable substrate for habitat regeneration, such as reefs constructed to facilitate recruitment and habitat growth by oysters, but typically occur where soundscapes are degraded and recruitment limited. Enhancing marine soundscapes on newly constructed reefs using speaker technology may ensure sufficient recruitment to establish a trajectory of recovery for the desired habitat.</p> <p>Across two of the largest oyster reef restorations in Australia, we deployed speakers at four sites and at three times throughout the recruitment season to test whether soundscape enhancement could boost recruitment and habitat building by oysters. In the presence and absence of soundscape playback, we compared oyster recruitment rates to settlement panels across space and time, and oyster habitat formation on newly constructed boulder reefs.</p> <p>On the settlement panels deployed across the two reef restorations, soundscape playback significantly increased oyster recruitment at 8 of the 10 sites by an average (±1SE) 5.1 ± 1.9 times (5,281 ± 1,384 more larvae per m2), and by as much as 18 times.</p> <p>On boulders atop newly constructed reefs, where the restoration goal is for oysters to form three-dimensional habitat, the surface area covered by oysters after 5 months did not differ between speaker and control treatments. However, soundscape playback appeared to influence the earlier recruitment of oysters, resulting in significantly more large oysters per boulder that formed significantly more three-dimensional habitat building by an average 4.3 ± 1.2 times relative to non-speaker controls.</p> <p>Synthesis and applications. Our results show that using speakers to enhance marine soundscapes boosts the number of oyster recruits, resulting in more larger oysters that form more three-dimensional habitat atop reef restorations. In accelerating the formation of these vertical growth forms, which provide the ecological functions that motivate restoration efforts, the early application of speaker technology on new reef restorations may help steer ecological succession on a trajectory of desired habitat recovery, potentially reducing the substantial cost of ongoing intervention.</p>
Data from: Spatial variation in the biotic and abiotic filters of oyster recruitment: Implications for restoration
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Genome-wide analysis of natural and restored eastern oyster populations reveals local adaptation and positive impacts of planting frequency and broodstock number
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Community-based marine restoration to generate social license and ecological knowledge for upscaling oyster reef restoration
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Data from: Tracking genetic diversity in a large-scale oyster restoration program: effects of hatchery propagation and initial characterization of diversity on restored vs. wild reefs
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Data from: Multi-species restoration accelerates recovery of extinguished oyster reefs
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Soundscape enrichment enhances recruitment and habitat building on new oyster reef restorations
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Data from: Habitat context influences nitrogen removal by restored oyster reefs
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