U.S. flag An official website of the United States government.
Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

i

Experiments in conservation aquaculture to optimize restoration for Olympia oysters Ostrea lurida in Elkhorn Slough, CA, USA



Select the Download button to view the document
Please click the download button to view the document.

Details

  • Journal Title:
    Marine Ecology Progress Series
  • Personal Author:
  • NOAA Program & Office:
    Sea Grant
  • Description:
    Foundation species are emerging as a focus in restoration to enhance long-term ecosystem recovery. Conservation aquaculture can support population recovery for depleted and low-density coastal foundation species, including oysters. Long-term restoration success may be constrained by conditions that reduce oyster survival and growth rates during the first months after transferring from the hatchery to the natural habitat. We conducted a series of experiments with aquaculture-raised, juvenile Olympia oysters Ostrea lurida in central California (USA) to inform adaptive management and develop best restoration practices. Oysters were outplanted to 2 tidal elevations. Low-elevation oysters initially had higher growth and survival, but after 1 yr, there was no difference in size or survival between elevations. The effect of age on survival in the estuary was tested by delaying outplanting for groups of oysters from the same cohort. Oysters that spent more time in the hatchery survived better than those outplanted earlier. In a separate experiment comparing 3 age groups outplanted at the same time, older juveniles had markedly higher survival rates than younger groups. Oysters settled on various substrate types had different survival rates. Juveniles on shell substrates generated cluster structures that are more typical in natural habitats. Cages did not inhibit growth and supported higher survival rates than uncaged substrates. This study demonstrates how conservation aquaculture provides an opportunity to conduct restoration experimentally for recovering foundation species.
  • Source:
    Marine Ecology Progress Series, 734, 45-64
  • DOI:
  • ISSN:
    0171-8630 ; 1616-1599
  • Format:
    pdf
  • Publisher:
    Inter-Research Science Center
  • Document Type:
    Journal Article
  • Rights Information:
    Other
  • Compliance:
    Library
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:fe8300add68a6cf5f8e5984f8d64498d1597cc8596adc4a31a5a45cb1c22390ccc43ce124747c495dbef57d6feb36d99c1d4681d645aeeb51b744f3e516c8b02
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 17.44 MB ]
PREVIOUS
ON THIS PAGE
Details
The NOAA IR serves as an archival repository of NOAA-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other information authored or co-authored by NOAA or funded partners. As a repository, the NOAA IR retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.
BACK TO TOP