Effects Of Time And Harvest On Genetic Diversity Of Natural And Restored Oyster Reefs

Keywords

allelic richness; Crassostrea virginica; Indian River Lagoon; microsatellites; mosquito lagoon; oyster reef restoration

Abstract

Oysters serve as keystone species and ecosystem engineers in estuaries due to their fundamental role of providing services to the surrounding environment and to humans. Globally, however, oysters have precipitously declined in numbers over the last century. To remedy this drastic decrease, many coastal areas have initiated oyster restoration projects. In the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) of Florida, where oyster loss was primarily the result of recreational boat wake dislodgment, researchers have put in place a unique method to supplement natural recruitment of oysters. This method consists of deploying stabilized shell attached to mesh mats. Larval oysters thus have substrate on which to settle and three-dimensional reef habitats have been reestablished in historical footprints. This restoration project has proven to be successful, shown by 9 years of data collection on growth, recruitment, and survivability. In this study, we sought to determine the length of time required for newly restored oyster reefs to reach equivalent levels of genetic diversity as undisturbed, natural (reference) oyster reefs. Additionally, we determined if recreational harvesting impacted the genetic diversity of these reference reefs. Using nine microsatellite loci, we found that restored oyster reefs accumulated as much genetic diversity as natural reefs as quickly as 1 month after stabilized shells were deployed. We likewise found that harvesting did not impact genetic diversity in oyster reefs in the IRL. These results are encouraging, and are a valuable addition to understanding the importance of oyster reef restoration on the ecosystem.

Publication Date

9-1-2018

Publication Title

Restoration Ecology

Volume

26

Issue

5

Number of Pages

943-951

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12672

Socpus ID

85040737252 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85040737252

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