Oyster reef community research

• Introduction to oyster reef community research
• Research objectives
• Specific research projects completed or currently in progress
• Research partners and co-sponsors
• Related monitoring programs
• Related publications
• Related educational programs

Introduction to oyster reef community research

Our oyster reef community research projects are closely coordinated with our oyster reef restoration, monitoring, and education projects. We examine aspects of reef biology, community development and trophic dynamics from the earliest days of reef construction forward. While we have an idea as to how oyster reef communities in the Chesapeake Bay should function, there are no surviving natural three dimensional oyster reefs in Chesapeake waters for us to examine in relation to our restored reefs. Thus, the recently restored reefs in Virginia waters are surrogates for natural structures that dominated both the physical and ecological landscape of shallow Chesapeake habitats prior to 1900. We know that we can mimic the physical shell piles of natural reefs. Our oyster reef community research examines the biological and ecological development of the reef community to see if we have successfully mirrored the historical ecological function that was so pivotal to the health of the ecosystem.

Project objectives

The long term goal of our oyster reef community research program is the understanding of oyster reef function from an ecological perspective. To that end we are:

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

Specific research projects completed or currently in progress

• 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 include: bluefish, striped bass, weakfish, Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic menhaden, and spotted seatrout among others.

Research partners and co-sponsors

• Virginia Marine Resources Commission Conservation and Replenishment Department
• U.S. E.P.A. Chesapeake Bay Program

Related publications

• Mann, R. and J.M. Harding 1997.
• Mann, R. and J.M. Harding. 1998.
• Harding, J.M. and R. Mann. 1999.
• Harding, J.M. 1999.
• Harding, J.M. and R. Mann. 2000.
• Harding, J.M. 2000.
• Mann, R. 2000.
• Harding, J.M. and R. Mann. 2001.
• Harding, J.M. 2001.
• Harding, J.M. and R. Mann. 2001.
• Harding, J.M. and R. Mann. 2003.
• Harding, J.M. and R. Mann. 2009.

Related oyster monitoring programs

• Chesapeake Bay Oyster Population Estimation Program
• Native Oyster Restoration Monitoring Program

Related oyster restoration tools

• Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Atlas