Success of concrete and crab traps in facilitating Eastern oyster recruitment and reef development.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Abundance of the commercially and ecologically important Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, has declined across the US Eastern and Gulf coasts in recent decades, spurring substantial efforts to restore oyster reefs. These efforts are widely constrained by the availability, cost, and suitability of substrates to support oyster settlement and reef establishment. In particular, oyster shell is often the preferred substrate but is relatively scarce and increasingly expensive. Thus, there is a need for alternative oyster restoration materials that are cost-effective, abundant, and durable.

Methods

We tested the viability of two low-cost substrates-concrete and recycled blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) traps-in facilitating oyster recovery in a replicat

SUBMITTER: Johnson EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6394346 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature