Medium-term monitoring reveals effects of El Nino Southern Oscillation climate variability on local salinity and faunal dynamics on a restored oyster reef.

ABSTRACT: Human activities and regional-scale climate variability drive changes in the ecology of coastal and marine ecosystems. Ecological restoration has emerged as a best-management practice to combat habitat degradation and restore lost ecological functions. However, relatively short project monitoring timeframes have limited our understanding of the effects of interannual climate cycles on water quality and restoration dynamics. We collected measurements on a 23-ha oyster reef constructed in the Gulf of Mexico to determine the relationship between El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-driven climate variability and local salinity patterns, and to evaluate the effects of this climate variability and salinity on oyster population dynamics and faunal community composition over a medium-term (five-ye

SUBMITTER: Beseres Pollack J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8366962 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature