Oyster reefs as natural breakwaters mitigate shoreline loss and facilitate fisheries.
Shorelines at the interface of marine, estuarine and terrestrial biomes are among the most degraded and threatened habitats in the coastal zone because of their sensitivity to sea level rise, storms and increased human utilization. Previous efforts to protect shorelines have largely involved constru...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d27e1ac1f2134241ae49ebac32a86cd7 2023-05-15T18:06:08+02:00 Oyster reefs as natural breakwaters mitigate shoreline loss and facilitate fisheries. Steven B Scyphers Sean P Powers Kenneth L Heck Dorothy Byron 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022396 https://doaj.org/article/d27e1ac1f2134241ae49ebac32a86cd7 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3151262?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022396 https://doaj.org/article/d27e1ac1f2134241ae49ebac32a86cd7 PLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 8, p e22396 (2011) Medicine R Science Q article 2011 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022396 2022-12-31T14:35:04Z Shorelines at the interface of marine, estuarine and terrestrial biomes are among the most degraded and threatened habitats in the coastal zone because of their sensitivity to sea level rise, storms and increased human utilization. Previous efforts to protect shorelines have largely involved constructing bulkheads and seawalls which can detrimentally affect nearshore habitats. Recently, efforts have shifted towards "living shoreline" approaches that include biogenic breakwater reefs. Our study experimentally tested the efficacy of breakwater reefs constructed of oyster shell for protecting eroding coastal shorelines and their effect on nearshore fish and shellfish communities. Along two different stretches of eroding shoreline, we created replicated pairs of subtidal breakwater reefs and established unaltered reference areas as controls. At both sites we measured shoreline and bathymetric change and quantified oyster recruitment, fish and mobile macro-invertebrate abundances. Breakwater reef treatments mitigated shoreline retreat by more than 40% at one site, but overall vegetation retreat and erosion rates were high across all treatments and at both sites. Oyster settlement and subsequent survival were observed at both sites, with mean adult densities reaching more than eighty oysters m(-2) at one site. We found the corridor between intertidal marsh and oyster reef breakwaters supported higher abundances and different communities of fishes than control plots without oyster reef habitat. Among the fishes and mobile invertebrates that appeared to be strongly enhanced were several economically-important species. Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) were the most clearly enhanced (+297%) by the presence of breakwater reefs, while red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) (+108%), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) (+88%) and flounder (Paralichthys sp.) (+79%) also benefited. Although the vertical relief of the breakwater reefs was reduced over the course of our study and this compromised the shoreline protection capacity, the ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Breakwater ENVELOPE(-63.233,-63.233,-64.800,-64.800) The Breakwater ENVELOPE(-36.583,-36.583,-54.200,-54.200) The Corridor ENVELOPE(78.139,78.139,-68.582,-68.582) PLoS ONE 6 8 e22396 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
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English |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Steven B Scyphers Sean P Powers Kenneth L Heck Dorothy Byron Oyster reefs as natural breakwaters mitigate shoreline loss and facilitate fisheries. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Shorelines at the interface of marine, estuarine and terrestrial biomes are among the most degraded and threatened habitats in the coastal zone because of their sensitivity to sea level rise, storms and increased human utilization. Previous efforts to protect shorelines have largely involved constructing bulkheads and seawalls which can detrimentally affect nearshore habitats. Recently, efforts have shifted towards "living shoreline" approaches that include biogenic breakwater reefs. Our study experimentally tested the efficacy of breakwater reefs constructed of oyster shell for protecting eroding coastal shorelines and their effect on nearshore fish and shellfish communities. Along two different stretches of eroding shoreline, we created replicated pairs of subtidal breakwater reefs and established unaltered reference areas as controls. At both sites we measured shoreline and bathymetric change and quantified oyster recruitment, fish and mobile macro-invertebrate abundances. Breakwater reef treatments mitigated shoreline retreat by more than 40% at one site, but overall vegetation retreat and erosion rates were high across all treatments and at both sites. Oyster settlement and subsequent survival were observed at both sites, with mean adult densities reaching more than eighty oysters m(-2) at one site. We found the corridor between intertidal marsh and oyster reef breakwaters supported higher abundances and different communities of fishes than control plots without oyster reef habitat. Among the fishes and mobile invertebrates that appeared to be strongly enhanced were several economically-important species. Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) were the most clearly enhanced (+297%) by the presence of breakwater reefs, while red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) (+108%), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) (+88%) and flounder (Paralichthys sp.) (+79%) also benefited. Although the vertical relief of the breakwater reefs was reduced over the course of our study and this compromised the shoreline protection capacity, the ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Steven B Scyphers Sean P Powers Kenneth L Heck Dorothy Byron |
author_facet |
Steven B Scyphers Sean P Powers Kenneth L Heck Dorothy Byron |
author_sort |
Steven B Scyphers |
title |
Oyster reefs as natural breakwaters mitigate shoreline loss and facilitate fisheries. |
title_short |
Oyster reefs as natural breakwaters mitigate shoreline loss and facilitate fisheries. |
title_full |
Oyster reefs as natural breakwaters mitigate shoreline loss and facilitate fisheries. |
title_fullStr |
Oyster reefs as natural breakwaters mitigate shoreline loss and facilitate fisheries. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Oyster reefs as natural breakwaters mitigate shoreline loss and facilitate fisheries. |
title_sort |
oyster reefs as natural breakwaters mitigate shoreline loss and facilitate fisheries. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022396 https://doaj.org/article/d27e1ac1f2134241ae49ebac32a86cd7 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.233,-63.233,-64.800,-64.800) ENVELOPE(-36.583,-36.583,-54.200,-54.200) ENVELOPE(78.139,78.139,-68.582,-68.582) |
geographic |
Breakwater The Breakwater The Corridor |
geographic_facet |
Breakwater The Breakwater The Corridor |
genre |
Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus |
genre_facet |
Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 8, p e22396 (2011) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3151262?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022396 https://doaj.org/article/d27e1ac1f2134241ae49ebac32a86cd7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022396 |
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PLoS ONE |
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6 |
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