Can Increasing Stocks of Oysters in Chesapeake Bay
Serve to Improve Water Quality?
Once the site of the nation's richest oyster grounds, the Chesapeake Bay has seen its oyster populations decline sharply in the first quarter of this century, largely the result of overharvesting. In more recent years, those populations have been further decimated as parasitic disease has swept throughout most regions of the Bay. While the oyster industry has been a major casualty of this near elimination of oysters, the health of the Bay ecosystem may be suffering as well. Since adult oysters can filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day during the summer, they remove large amounts of phytoplankton – curbing the overabundance of these algae through nutrient reduction and other strategies is a major goal of the Chesapeake Bay Program.
While there has been considerable speculation about whether restored oyster populations in the Bay could play a major role in reducing algal density, the evidence has been more circumstantial than demonstrable. Using a sophisticated experimental design, this project will test the hypothesis that eutrophied waters can be substantially improved as a consequence of the feeding activity of oysters. The researchers hope to demonstrate that by removing large quantities of phytoplankton, oysters also reduce the amount of biodegradable organic material that settles to bottom waters, where it contributes to oxygen depletion. If successful, this project should provide valuable insight into the significance of restoring a key species based on its ecological importance.
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Roger I. E. Newell and Jeffrey C. Cornwell
Horn Point Laboratory
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Jon H. Tuttle
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies
University System of Maryland
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