shellfish aquaculture
{ shellfish aquaculture }
SHELLFISH AQUACULTURE Gauging the effects of oysters in natural marine ecosystems by Caitlin Taylor ’18M
North Carolina’s coast is long, winding and complex, a thriving seascape of diverse ecosystems ripe for research in countless fields of study. No one knows this better than Elizabeth Darrow.
17 uncw re:search
{ shellfish aquaculture }
Aquaculture is becoming a big business in North Carolina as the state begins to realize its market potential.
A postdoctoral research associate in biology and marine biology, Darrow and her team recently received a $673,000 grant from the National Estuarine Research Reserve Science Collaborative. Their project, “Evaluation of Ecosystem Services Associated with Shellfish Culture Operations in Coastal Regions Served by the National Estuarine Research Reserve,” will focus on the impact man-made oyster aquaculture systems have on natural marine ecosystems. Aquaculture is becoming a big business in North Carolina as the state begins to realize its market potential. “The oysters act like little vacuums,” said Darrow. “They suck up the food, and then they deposit what’s left over, and that kind of rains down to the bottom of the ocean floor. This can be a good thing because that’s a food source for other animals, but it could potentially be a bad thing because then you could have problems of over-fertilization in that area.” It could also lead to disease and parasites brought in from non-regional oysters or hypoxia from over-eutrophication, which would result in less oxygen in the water column.
Potential positive impacts, on the other hand, include increased filtration for problematic algal blooms and increased nitrogen emissions, a natural process which can be enhanced by the oysters. The cages that house the oysters can also act like an artificial reef, attracting fish and other species to the area. The NERRS grant will fund the project on Masonboro Island – just off Wrightsville Beach – for the next three years, as monitoring the oyster aquaculture systems in every season is vital. Much of the research will be done within the next two and a half years, while the last six months of the project will be spent analyzing data and writing the team’s findings. The grant will also fund three master’s projects yet to be determined as well as several hourly undergraduate research jobs. “I am so excited for the students who will be working on this project,” said Darrow. “There will be a lot of people involved, and it will be all hands on deck. There is much work to be done, but it’s going to be a whole lot of fun.”
uncw re:search 18
SHELLFISH AQUACULTURE Gauging the effects of oysters in natural marine ecosystems by Caitlin Taylor ’18M
North Carolina’s coast is long, winding and complex, a thriving seascape of diverse ecosystems ripe for research in countless fields of study. No one knows this better than Elizabeth Darrow.
17 uncw re:search
{ shellfish aquaculture }
Aquaculture is becoming a big business in North Carolina as the state begins to realize its market potential.
A postdoctoral research associate in biology and marine biology, Darrow and her team recently received a $673,000 grant from the National Estuarine Research Reserve Science Collaborative. Their project, “Evaluation of Ecosystem Services Associated with Shellfish Culture Operations in Coastal Regions Served by the National Estuarine Research Reserve,” will focus on the impact man-made oyster aquaculture systems have on natural marine ecosystems. Aquaculture is becoming a big business in North Carolina as the state begins to realize its market potential. “The oysters act like little vacuums,” said Darrow. “They suck up the food, and then they deposit what’s left over, and that kind of rains down to the bottom of the ocean floor. This can be a good thing because that’s a food source for other animals, but it could potentially be a bad thing because then you could have problems of over-fertilization in that area.” It could also lead to disease and parasites brought in from non-regional oysters or hypoxia from over-eutrophication, which would result in less oxygen in the water column.
Potential positive impacts, on the other hand, include increased filtration for problematic algal blooms and increased nitrogen emissions, a natural process which can be enhanced by the oysters. The cages that house the oysters can also act like an artificial reef, attracting fish and other species to the area. The NERRS grant will fund the project on Masonboro Island – just off Wrightsville Beach – for the next three years, as monitoring the oyster aquaculture systems in every season is vital. Much of the research will be done within the next two and a half years, while the last six months of the project will be spent analyzing data and writing the team’s findings. The grant will also fund three master’s projects yet to be determined as well as several hourly undergraduate research jobs. “I am so excited for the students who will be working on this project,” said Darrow. “There will be a lot of people involved, and it will be all hands on deck. There is much work to be done, but it’s going to be a whole lot of fun.”
uncw re:search 18
