Eastern Oysters are ecological engineers and provide critical estuarine habitats across the northern Gulf of Mexico. They also support a valuable fishery; however, recent population declines in oysters along the northern Gulf due to anthropogenic activities and extreme events have led to efforts to restore wild, self-sustaining broodstock reefs and to develop off-bottom aquaculture. In collaboration with researchers in the School of Renewable and Natural Resources at Louisiana State University, the U.S. Geological Survey, Texas A&M University, and SCIPP, this work explored the survival and growth (and other metrics such as reproductive output) of Eastern Oysters under current (2014-2020) and potential future (2041-2050) conditions. In general, estuaries studied in Louisiana showed higher growth rates and reproduction than those in Texas, but due to greater variability and more frequent extremes in salinity and temperature, Louisiana estuaries were more likely to experience mortal conditions in any given year than Texas estuaries. Additionally, results showed that oyster aquaculture and restoration potential in presently occupied areas might decrease in the future; however, the spatial resolution of currently available climate model outputs within coastal and estuarine areas limits planning information. There is an urgent need for higher-resolution simulations of potential future climates that include data relevant to critical species such as Eastern Oysters.
A final report for this project can be found here.