Ecosystem services related to oyster restoration

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 341:303-307 (2007) - doi:10.3354/meps341303 Ecosystem services related to oyster restoration Loren D. Coen1,*, Robert D. Brumbaugh2,**, David Bushek3, Ray Grizzle4, Mark W. Luckenbach5, Martin H. Posey6, Sean P. Powers7, S. Gregory Tolley8 1South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Marine Resources Research Institute, 217 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, South Carolina 29412, USA 2The Nature Conservancy, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett Bay Campus, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882-1197, USA 3Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, Rutgers University, 6959 Miller Avenue, Port Norris, New Jersey 08349, USA 4Jackson Estuarine Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, 85 Adams Point Road, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA 5Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, College of William and Mary, PO Box 350, Wachapreague, Virginia 23480, USA 6Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, USA 7Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, and Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Blvd, Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528, USA 8Florida Gulf Coast University, Coastal Watershed Institute, 10501 FGCU Blvd South, Fort Myers, Florida 33965, USA *Email: coenl@dnr.sc.gov**Authors after Coen in alphabetical order ABSTRACT: The importance of restoring filter-feeders, such as the Eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica, to mitigate the effects of eutrophication (e.g. in Chesapeake Bay) is currently under debate. The argument that bivalve molluscs alone cannot control phytoplankton blooms and reduce hypoxia oversimplifies a more complex issue, namely that ecosystem engineering species make manifold contributions to ecosystem services. Although further discussion and research leading to a more complete understanding is required, oysters and other molluscs (e.g. mussels) in estuarine ecosystems provide services far beyond the mere top-down control of phytoplankton blooms, such as (1) seston filtration, (2) benthic–pelagic coupling, (3) creation of refugia from predation, (4) creation of feeding habitat for juveniles and adults of mobile species, and for sessile stages of species that attach to molluscan shells, and (5) provision of nesting habitat. KEY WORDS: Crassostrea virginica · Restoration · Chesapeake Bay · Filter-feeders · Water quality · Ecosystem services Full text in pdf format PreviousExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 341. Online publication date: July 04, 2007 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2007 Inter-Research.