Evan Merk, Washington College

Class Year:

2024

Mentor:

Matt Gray Ph.D. Monica Fabra, Ph.D.

Abstract:

Crassostrea virginica, commonly known as eastern oysters, are integral to the environment and economy surrounding the Chesapeake Bay, North America’s largest estuary. Many restoration efforts are underway to protect this critically endangered species. However, there’s a significant challenge associated with these restoration efforts: finding a place for the oyster larvae to settle. They prefer to settle on oyster shell, but there is a serious shortage when it comes to this material. Therefore, restoration efforts seek out alternate substrates, which are other materials besides oyster shell that larvae can settle on. There are many studies underway to test the effectiveness of a variety of alternate substrates but a huge challenge is associated with this is how to equally compare these different types. Throughout this study, we looked at three different methods of measuring the surface area of alternate substrates, as well as comparing the measurement of surface area to volume. This is part of a larger study to determine the effectiveness of nine alternate substrates in comparison to the standard oyster shell. We found that the most effective method of measuring surface area involved tin foil, ensuring the maximum surface area was captured for each substrate. We found that if other methods in this study are used, there will be an inaccurate surface area, which will cause an artificial inflation of larvae settlement preferences. 

Location:

Horn Point Laboratory