Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Location And Topography Of Oyster Reefs In The Rappahannock River Estuary, Virginia., James P. Whitcomb, Dexter S. Haven Jan 1989

The Location And Topography Of Oyster Reefs In The Rappahannock River Estuary, Virginia., James P. Whitcomb, Dexter S. Haven

VIMS Articles

Public oyster grounds in the Rappahannock River, Virginia were charted in 1976 and 1977 using an electronic positioning system to locate oysters, shell, sand, or mud. Hydraulically operated patent tongs were used to sample the bottoms to validate the charts. During this study 17277.6 ha of public bottoms were surveyed; of this total, 3845.3 ha was oyster reef, sand-shell or mud-shell bottoms; the remainder, 13432.3 ha (78%) was sand, mud or buried shell. The location, extent, topography and environment of the oyster producing areas are discussed. Setting of oysters, physiography and productivity were analyzed.


Are Artificial "Witham" Surface Collectors Adequate Indicators Of Caribbean Spiny Lobster, Panulirus Argus, Recruitment?, Mark J. Butler Iv, William F. Herrnkind Jan 1989

Are Artificial "Witham" Surface Collectors Adequate Indicators Of Caribbean Spiny Lobster, Panulirus Argus, Recruitment?, Mark J. Butler Iv, William F. Herrnkind

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Understanding the local dynamics of Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) postlarval influx, settlement, and recruitment may be essential for the responsible management of this important and heavily exploited resource. Most lobster recruitment research programs in the Caribbean employ derivations of the "Witham"-type surface collector to monitor postlarval (puerulus) lobster influx. However, the relevance of data obtained from surface collectors with respect to the estimation of actual puerulus influx, settlement, or recruitment to subsequent benthic juvenile stages remains untested. We investigated that relevance on regional (i.e., tens of kilometers) and local (i.e., tens of meters) scales by examining the …