Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

An Experimental Evaluation Of The Effects Of Scale On Oyster Reef Restoration, Mark W. Luckenbach, Paige G. Ross

Reports

We investigated the effects of spatial scale, ranging from 10’s of meters to several km’s, on the development of oyster populations and other reef-associated organisms during the early stage of reef restoration. Employing a block design, experimental reefs were constructed at four sites in the lower Rappahannock River, VA. We tested the effects of sites (scale ≈ 1 – 10 km), reef sizes (scale ≈ 100 m) and locations within reef (scale ≈ 10 m) on the settlement, survival and growth of oysters and on the abundance, biomass, species richness and diversity of developing communities utilizing the reefs.

The project …