3/11/2023 0 Comments Grant for oyster spat![]() ![]() Once suitable intervention locations are chosen, there’s the weather: changes in precipitation and warming water temperatures. Credit: Sarah Crestol.įor oyster restoration efforts to be successful, scientists need to know how to prioritize-where to concentrate their efforts for maximum restoration efficacy. Matt Hare and Harmony Borchardt-Wier anchoring a cage of experimental oysters at the Soundview site, East River, NYC in 2012. Doing so meaningfully, and sustainably, in an urban estuary is like using our experience gained from going to the moon to plan a trip to Mars,” said Hare. “Yet restoring ecological function to degraded habitats is extremely challenging. Specifically, Hare says, the three-dimensional reef structure of oyster beds can dissipate energy in a storm surge, the rise of water driven toward shore by storm winds, over and above predicted tide levels. These creatures not only clarify the water by filtering out microalgae for food, they protect shorelines, making them more resilient. These ecosystems are fragile to begin with, yet humans continue to “harden” the shorelines with human-made structures in order to control the river.Įnter the oyster, a creature that can play an outsized role in shoreline restoration. Some scientists are now saying we have a responsibility to restore and protect these coastal estuaries because of the significant impact large human cities are having on them. “Restoration of the oyster-this keystone species-is motivated by a desire to bring ecological functionality back to degraded habitats,” said Hare.Įstuaries provide essential habitat to hundreds of species, and it’s likely that humans choose to settle in these places-think coastal cities-because of their rich natural resources. Furthermore, the discovery of the Tappan Zee–Haverstraw Bay (TZ-HB) population, which they believe might be capable of reseeding other parts of the estuary, is motivating further studies. Knowledge of heterogeneity in the HRE would be important for restoration planning. Scientists knew that the HRE might have sites with a range of suitability for oyster growth and survival and wanted to understand this diversity better. Credit: Katherine McFarland, NOAA Federal. You can see just how close the team is to the southern tip of Manhattan, with a view of the World Trade Center in the background ( At right) A map of the study’s sample site areas (including around Governor's Island) within the Hudson/Raritan Estuary. ( At left) Matt Hare counts spat at the Governor's Island field site. Cuomo Bridge (near the former Tappan Zee Bridge). ![]() Their study sites included locations in Jamaica Bay, New York City Harbor, the East River northeast of Manhattan, and further north in the vicinity of the Governor Mario M. Over two years McFarland monitored the growth, survival, and body condition of the oysters, and compared them across diverse environments. In the investigation, Hare and his colleagues produced oysters in a hatchery from wild broodstock-adult oysters, 2-3 years old, used to make baby oysters-then placed them in experimental cages in multiple parts of the estuary. The study cited in the journal article was funded in part by New York Sea Grant (NYSG) and led by article co-author Matthew Hare, an ecological geneticist at Cornell University. Thus this bivalve plays a key role in the ecology of coastal waters. The reefs of the eastern oyster provide habitat for many other species and its filter feeding clarifies the water. Their findings about the robustness of this population have big implications for ecological restoration efforts. In a November 2018 PLoS ONE journal article 1, Katherine McFarland and coauthors investigated an extensive surviving population of the oyster that was recently found in the Hudson/Raritan Estuary (HRE)-a system of bays and waterways where coastal rivers meet the ocean-near Tarrytown, NY. Our native eastern oysters ( Crassostrea virginica) were once so abundant they were dredged, canned, and shipped by steamboat around the world. New York, NY, DecemNew York City coastal waters once were the center of a booming oyster fishery. ![]() By Chris Gonzales, Freelance Science Writer, New York Sea Grant
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