Guidelines for evaluating performance of oyster habitat restoration should include tidal emersion: reply to Baggett et al. Issue 1 (January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Walles, Brenda; Fodrie, F. Joel; Nieuwhof, Sil; Jewell, Oliver J. D.; Herman, Peter M. J.; Ysebaert, Tom
• Is Part Of: Restoration ecology. Volume 24:Issue 1(2016:Jan.)
• Page Start: 4
• Page End: 7
• Publication Date: 2016-01
• Subjects: Crassostrea gigas -- Crassostrea virginica -- intertidal -- reef performance -- subtidal -- tidal emersion -- vertical zonation; Restoration ecology -- Periodicals; Reclamation of land -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; 333.7153
• DOI: 10.1111/rec.12328
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1061-2971

Abstract

Abstract : Baggett et al. (2015) identified a set of three universal environmental variables to be monitored for evaluating all oyster habitat restoration projects: salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. Perhaps evidencing a bias toward subtidal reefs, this set of parameters omits another first‐order environmental factor, tidal emersion. Intertidal oyster reefs can be the dominant reef habitat in estuaries, with clear zonation in oyster performance across the intertidal exposure gradient. Therefore, we propose to include tidal emersion as a fourth universal environmental parameter when designing and evaluating oyster restoration projects to better encompass the whole environmental spectrum along which reefs occur.