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Oyster growth across a salinity gradient in a shallow, subtropical Gulf of Mexico estuary

Authors :
Paul A. Montagna
Benoit Lebreton
Jennifer Beseres Pollack
Terence A. Palmer
Brittany N. Blomberg
LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés - UMRi 7266 (LIENSs)
Université de La Rochelle (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
Texas A&M University [Corpus Christi]
Source :
Experimental Results, Experimental Results, 2021, 2, ⟨10.1017/exp.2020.72⟩
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
HAL CCSD, 2021.

Abstract

An increase in oyster aquaculture as a sustainable method of shellfish production is one response to overharvest and degradation of natural oyster reefs over the past century. Successful aquaculture production requires determining the environmental conditions optimal for oyster growth. In this study, the salinity, temperature, chlorophyll a concentration and the growth of Crassostrea virginica were monitored at four locations within the Mission-Aransas Estuary, Texas (USA), a shallow subtropical estuary influenced by relatively low freshwater inflow. Mean growth of the oyster shell (0.205 mm d–1 and 0.203 g d–1) and soft tissues (3.447 mg d–1) was highest when salinity was low (mean = 15.5) and chlorophyll a concentration was high (8.4 μg l–1). Oyster growth also varied temporally with periods of spawning. In low-inflow estuaries such as the Mission-Aransas Estuary, oyster farms should be sited close to river mouths so that oysters can benefit from freshwater inflows and lower salinities.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2516712X
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Experimental Results, Experimental Results, 2021, 2, ⟨10.1017/exp.2020.72⟩
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....c2fe536a3d70844421de85fe9062963b
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1017/exp.2020.72⟩