Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Vignette 04: Olympia Oysters, Jodie Toft, Betsy Peabody
Vignette 04: Olympia Oysters, Jodie Toft, Betsy Peabody
Institute Publications
Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida) are our only native oyster species here in the Salish Sea. Olympia oysters once covered an estimated 13-26% of the intertidal area in Puget Sound, mostly near the heads of inlets. A combination of overharvest, pollution, and habitat loss reduced the current population to less than 4% of historic numbers, though sparse numbers of Olympia oysters can still be found throughout most of their historic distribution. Looking to the future, as our region’s marine waters experience effects of climate change and ocean acidification (OA), native species such as the Olympia oyster may prove to …
Oysters And Eelgrass: Potential Partners In A High Pco2 Ocean, Maya L. Groner, Colleen A. Burge, Ruth Cox, Natalie D. Rivlin, Mo Turner, Kathryn L. Van Alstyne Dr., Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria, John Bucci, Philip Staudigel, Carolyn S. Friedman
Oysters And Eelgrass: Potential Partners In A High Pco2 Ocean, Maya L. Groner, Colleen A. Burge, Ruth Cox, Natalie D. Rivlin, Mo Turner, Kathryn L. Van Alstyne Dr., Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria, John Bucci, Philip Staudigel, Carolyn S. Friedman
Shannon Point Marine Center Faculty Publications
Ocean acidification (OA) threatens calcifying organisms such as the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. In contrast, eelgrass, Zostera marina, can benefit from the increase in available carbon for photosynthesis found at a lower seawater pH. Seagrasses can remove dissolved inorganic carbon from OA environments, creating local daytime pH refugia. Pacific oysters may improve the health of eelgrass by filtering out pathogens such as Labyrinthula zosterae, which causes eelgrass wasting disease (EWD). Using a laboratory experiment, we found that co-culture of eelgrass with oysters reduced the severity of EWD. EWD was also reduced in more acidic waters, which negatively …