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R/P-51
Quantifying the Magnitude of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal Associated with Restoration of Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay
Principal Investigator:
Roger I.E. NewellStart/End Year:
2002 - 2005Institution:
Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceCo-Principal Investigator:
Jeffrey C. Cornwell, Donald W. Merritt, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental ScienceTopic(s):
Description:
We will build on our prior Sea Grant funded laboratory-based research by testing in the field the overall hypothesis that substantial amounts of inorganic nutrients can be removed from eutrophic estuaries as a consequence of the activity of suspension feeding bivalves. We will determine the enhancement of rates of denitrification and phosphorus burial associated with restored oyster beds and use these data to parameterize a model of the influence of bivalve feeding on estuarine nutrient dynamics. This research is pertinent to both the Coastal Ecosystem Health and Aquaculture programmatic areas.
Related Publications:
Newell, RIE. 2007. A framework for developing "ecological carrying capacity" mathematical models for bivalve mollusc aquaculture. Bulletin of Fisheries Research Agency19:41 -51. UM-SG-RS-2007-18.
Newell, RIE; Kemp, WM; Hagy, JD; Cerco, CF; Testa, JM; Boynton, WR. 2007. Top-down control of phytoplankton by oysters in Chesapeake Bay, USA: Comment on Pomeroy et al. (2006). Marine Ecology Progress Series341:293 -298. doi:10.3354/meps341293. UM-SG-RS-2007-16.
Newell, RIE; Fisher, TR; Holyoke, RR; Cornwell, JC. 2005. Influence of eastern oysters on nitrogen and phosphorus regeneration in Chesapeake Bay, USA. Dame, RF; Olenin, S, eds. The Comparative Roles of Suspension-Feeders in Ecosystems. Kluwer Academic Publishers:93 -120. UM-SG-RS-2005-01.
Newell, RIE. 2004. Ecosystem influences of natural and cultivated populations of suspension-feeding bivalve molluscs: A review Journal of Shellfish Research23(1):51 -61. UM-SG-RS-2004-01.
Program Announcements
News and Blogs
Featured Fellow
Leone Yisrael is a cephalopod-loving scuba diver, cook, and loves to try new activities. She conducts genetic analysis and fieldwork at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center through the Coastal Disease Ecology Lab.
Featured Research Project
Developing a habitat model for mysids, an important link in Chesapeake Bay food webs
Mysids are important mesozooplankton prey for many species of fish in Chesapeake Bay and are an important link in transferring energy from lower to upper trophic levels. Mysids also serve as biological vectors for benthic-pelagic coupling due to their diel vertical migration and omnivorous prey-switching behavior, which makes mysids important regulators of food web architecture. Despite their central role in coastal food webs, surprisingly little is known about mysid ecology and dynamics in Chesapeake Bay.
Chesapeake Quarterly Magazine
Complicated Contaminants: Finding PFAS in the Chesapeake Bay
