Completed Research: Oyster Reef Communities

The goal of the oyster reef community research project was to understand oyster reef function from an ecological perspective. This project:

Established a baseline description of the oyster reef community by intensively sampling representatives of different trophic levels on Palace Bar Reef
Characterized faunal abundance and distribution patterns in relation to seasonal, tidal, and diurnal scales
Compared community structure on Palace Bar Reef with two non-reef habitats within the Piankatank River
Continued long-term oyster monitoring efforts in the Piankatank River to enable the data from current studies to be placed in proper perspective

Specific research projects completed:

Comparison of reef oyster population post-restoration with local natural non-reef oyster populations
Description of reef associated zooplankton community
Examination of seasonal dynamics and larval production estimates for oysters and benthic reef fishes
Evaluation of feeding selectivity by larval reef fishes
Comparison of blue crab abundance on the reef in relation to two local non-reef sites
Evaluation of reef habitat use by pelagic finfishes in the context of essential fish habitat parameters. Fish species of interest included: bluefish, striped bass, weakfish, Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic menhaden, and spotted seatrout among others.

Related oyster monitoring programs

Related oyster restoration tools

Research partners and co-sponsors