Discovery Lecture Series presented by AltaSea and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
Friday, October 2, 2015
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
If We Make Their Bed, They Will Lie In It: Restoration of Native Olympia Oysters in Southern California
By Dr. Danielle Zacherl, CSU Fullerton
The Olympia oyster, Ostrea lurida, is the only oyster native to the US west coast but it has experienced significant population declines since the early 1900s due to over harvesting and habitat destruction. This once bed-forming species provides complex habitat for other organisms, but there are no remaining natural Olympia oyster beds in southern California.
Dr. Zacherl will discuss a recent study that examined the effectiveness of various restoration techniques on increasing local oyster density in Newport Bay, CA. Her study documented the colonization of constructed oyster beds by oysters and a broad community of marine organisms over a two-year period. She will also discuss other ongoing efforts to restore this habitat type to bays in Southern California, and will briefly review other ongoing research projects in her lab focused on the population ecology and taxonomy of this species.
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