Olympia Oyster (Ostrea Lurida) Larval Abundance from Two Bays in Puget Sound

Presentation Abstract

The Olympia oyster (Ostrea Lurida) is a native oyster along the west coast of the U.S. that has been commercially extinct in Puget Sound since the 1940s. Recently they have been the subject of restoration efforts in Washington State. They are a beneficial part of the ecosystem by providing filtration and oyster beds that offer habitat, food, and increased speciation in estuaries. It has been documented that bivalves can travel vast distances of coastline as larvae in their planktonic life stage. This is a valuable stage in the O. luridia lifecycle as it is the only time that the oyster is mobile and can contribute to other populations. It is therefore important to track the oyster in its larval planktonic stage to help aid in restoration of the species. Plankton samples were collected from two bays in western Washington. Fidalgo bay to the north, and Dyes inlet in central Puget Sound. Plankton samples were collected at the ebb tide and the flood tide from both locations, as well as from two different heights in the water column, 1m from the surface and 0.5 meter from the bottom of the bay. Samples were collected weekly for 5 weeks. The plankton samples were then hand counted visually using microscopy, and quantified with quantitative, real time PCR for comparison. The results will indicate what the larval oysters are doing at different tides. If higher densities of oysters are found in an ebb tide versus the flood tide, it is predicted that larval oysters are being exported. If the flood tide contains significantly higher densities then at ebb tide, then it is possible that larval oysters are being imported from other estuaries, or are being retained in their natal bay.

Session Title

General protection, remediation and restoration topics

Keywords

Key Words: Ostrea Lurida, abundance, Olympia oyster, plankton, ebb tide, flood tide, Larvae, population, restoration

Conference Track

Protection, Remediation, & Restoration

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)

Document Type

Event

Start Date

2016 12:00 AM

End Date

2016 12:00 AM

Location

2016SSEC

Type of Presentation

Poster

Genre/Form

conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Olympia oysters--Larvae--Behavior--Washington (State)--Puget Sound; Olympia oysters--Larvae--Dispersal--Washington (State)--Puget Sound

Geographic Coverage

Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Puget Sound (Wash.)

Comments

Key Words: Ostrea Lurida, abundance, Olympia oyster, plankton, ebb tide, flood tide, Larvae, population, restoration

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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Olympia Oyster (Ostrea Lurida) Larval Abundance from Two Bays in Puget Sound

2016SSEC

The Olympia oyster (Ostrea Lurida) is a native oyster along the west coast of the U.S. that has been commercially extinct in Puget Sound since the 1940s. Recently they have been the subject of restoration efforts in Washington State. They are a beneficial part of the ecosystem by providing filtration and oyster beds that offer habitat, food, and increased speciation in estuaries. It has been documented that bivalves can travel vast distances of coastline as larvae in their planktonic life stage. This is a valuable stage in the O. luridia lifecycle as it is the only time that the oyster is mobile and can contribute to other populations. It is therefore important to track the oyster in its larval planktonic stage to help aid in restoration of the species. Plankton samples were collected from two bays in western Washington. Fidalgo bay to the north, and Dyes inlet in central Puget Sound. Plankton samples were collected at the ebb tide and the flood tide from both locations, as well as from two different heights in the water column, 1m from the surface and 0.5 meter from the bottom of the bay. Samples were collected weekly for 5 weeks. The plankton samples were then hand counted visually using microscopy, and quantified with quantitative, real time PCR for comparison. The results will indicate what the larval oysters are doing at different tides. If higher densities of oysters are found in an ebb tide versus the flood tide, it is predicted that larval oysters are being exported. If the flood tide contains significantly higher densities then at ebb tide, then it is possible that larval oysters are being imported from other estuaries, or are being retained in their natal bay.