Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Effects of a Simulated Suspended Sediment Plume on Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Survival, Growth, and Condition

  • Published:
Estuaries and Coasts Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Bottom sediments are resuspended into the water column during dredging operations. These resuspended sediments are an often cited concern used to justify restrictions applied to dredging schedules in many areas of the USA. One example of a temporal restriction, commonly referred to as an environmental window, involves dredging schedules in the James River, Virginia, because of potential impacts on the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica Gmelin). Yet, effects’ data are lacking to understand the effects of suspended sediments to C. virginica. To address this data gap, we performed a laboratory study mimicking sediment resuspension during annual dredging operations in the James River. Field-collected oysters were exposed for 7 days under flow-through conditions to 0, 100, 250, and 500-mg/L total suspended solids (TSS) in a unique exposure system where oyster movements could be electronically monitored. Endpoints analyzed were survival, percent of time open, total number of shell movements, weight change, and condition index. Data indicated no significant effects of suspended sediment on these endpoints after 7 days of exposure. Weight change in oysters attached vertically to monitor their movements was significantly less than in oysters not monitored in every treatment. No significant differences in condition index, an indicator of oyster growth sensitive to environmental pollutants, were observed among treatments measured 30 days postexposure. Correlations performed for each treatment among monitored oyster endpoints found significant negative associations between number of movements and percent open in the 100, 250, and 500-mg/L TSS treatments and in all treatments combined. These data will help reduce the uncertainty surrounding the effects of suspended sediments on C. virginica.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Archambault, M.C., V.M. Bricelj, J. Grant, and D.M. Anderson. 2004. Effects of suspended and sedimented clays on juvenile hard clams, Mercenaria mercenaria, within the context of harmful algal bloom mitigation. Marine Biology 144: 553–565.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bricelj, V.M., and R.E. Malouf. 1984. Influence of algal and suspended sediment concentrations on the feeding physiology of the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria. Marine Biology 84: 155–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bricelj, V.M., R.E. Malouf, and C. de Quillfeldt. 1984. Growth of juvenile Mercenaria mercenaria and the effect of resuspended bottom sediments. Marine Biology 84: 167–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardwell, R.D., C.E. Woelke, M.I. Carr, and E.W. Sanborn. 1976. Sediment and elutriate toxicity to oyster larvae. In Proceedings of the Specialty Conference on Dredging and Its Environmental Effects, ed. P.A. Krenkel, J. Harrison, and J.C. Burdick, 684–718. Mobile, AL: American Society of Civil Engineers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carriker, M.R. 1986. Influence of suspended particles on biology of oyster larvae in estuaries. American Malacology Bulletin 3: 41–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coen, L.D., M.W. Luckenbach, and D.L. Breitburg. 1999. The role of oyster reefs as essential fish habitat: a review of current knowledge and some new perspectives. American Fisheries Society Symposium 22: 438–454.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conner, W.G., and J.L. Simon. 1979. The effects of oyster shell dredging on an estuarine benthic community. Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science 9: 749–758.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, H.C. 1960. Effects of turbidity-producing materials in sea water on eggs and larvae of the clam (Venus (Mercenaria) mercenaria). Biology Bulletin 108: 48–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, H.C., and H. Hidu. 1969. Effects of turbidity-producing substances in sea water on eggs and larvae of three genera of bivalve mollusks. The Veliger 11: 316–323.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunnington, E.A. 1968. Survival time of oysters after burial at various temperatures. Proceedings of the National Shellfisheries Association 58: 101–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, J., V. Cummings, J. Hewitt, S. Thrush, and A. Norkko. 2002. Determining effects of suspended sediment on condition of a suspension feeding bivalve (Atrina zelandica): results of a survey, a laboratory experiment and a field transplant experiment. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 267: 147–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, C.W. 1990. Influence of sediment disturbance and water flow on the growth of the soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria L. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 47: 1655–1663.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, C.W., and J. Grant. 1991. The control of soft-shell clam (Mya arenaria) recruitment on intertidal sandflats by bedload sediment transport. Limnology and Oceanography 36: 1288–1300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epifanio, C.E., and R.F. Srna. 1975. Toxicity of ammonia, nitrite ion, nitrate ion, and orthophosphate to Mercenaria mercenaria and Crassostrea virginica. Marine Biology 33: 241–246.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Forns, J.M. 1976. Evaluations of biological effects of overboard disposal on clams and oysters. Monitoring of open water dredge material disposal operations at kent island disposal site and survey of associated environmental impacts. Final Report to the Chesapeake Bay Institute, Annapolis, MD, p 109-131.

  • Frank, D.M., J.F. Hamilton, J.E. Ward, and S.E. Shumway. 2007. A fiber optic sensor for high resolution measurement and continuous monitoring of valve gape in bivalve molluscs. Journal of Shellfish Research 26: 575–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedrichs, C.T. and G.M. Battisto. 2001. Monitoring of suspended sediment plume formed during oyster shell dredging in the James River, Virginia, August 2001. Final Report from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, 32 p.

  • Galtsoff, P.S. 1964. The American oyster Crassostrea virginica Gmelin. Fishery Bulletin 75: 1–480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenway, S.C., and K.B. Storey. 1999. The effect of prolonged anoxia on enzyme activities in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) at different seasons. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 242: 259–272.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harper, D., and S. Hopkins. 1976. The effects of oyster shell dredging on macrobenthic and nektonic communities in San Antonio Bay. In Shell Dredging and Its Influence on Gulf Coast Environments, ed. A.H. Bouma, 232–259. Houston: Gulf Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedge, L.H., N.A. Knott, and E.L. Johnston. 2009. Dredging related metal bioaccumulation in oysters. Marine Pollution Bulletin 58: 832–840.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Helm, M.M., N. Bourne, and A. Lovatelli. 2004. Hatchery culture of bivalves. A practical manual. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 471. Rome, FAO, 177 p.

  • Hoese, H.D., and R. Ancelet. 1987. Anoxia induced mortality of oysters, Crassostrea virginica, associated with a spoil bank bisecting a bay. Journal of Shellfish Research 6: 41–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins, S.H., and L.D. McKinney. 1976. A review of the literature pertaining to the effects of dredging on oyster reefs and their associated faunas. In Shell Dredging and Its Influence on Gulf Coast Environments, ed. A.H. Bouma, 3–12. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huntington, K.M., and D.C. Miller. 1989. Effects of suspended sediment, hypoxia, and hyperoxia on larval Mercenaria mercenaria (Linneaus, 1758). Journal of Shellfish Research 8: 37–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingle, R.M. 1952. Studies on the effect of dredging operations upon fish and shellfish. Florida State Board of Conservation Technical Series 5: 26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, V.S., R.I.E. Newell, and A.F. Eble. 1996. The eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica, 2nd ed. College Park: Maryland Sea Grant Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, S.J. 1995. Silt, turbidity and suspended-sediments in the aquatic environment: an annotated bibliography and literature review. Technical Report TR-008, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Southern Region Science and Technology Transfer Unit.

  • Lazic, S.E. 2010. The problem of pseudoreplication in neuroscientific studies: is it affecting your analysis? BMC Neuroscience 11: 5. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/11/5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinton, J.S. 1991. Variable feeding behavior in three species of Macoma (Bivalvia: Tellinacea) as a response to water flow and sediment transport. Marine Biology 110: 375–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Littell, R.C., W.W. Stroup, and R.J. Freund. 2002. SAS® for linear models, 4th ed. Cary: SAS Institute, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loosanoff, V.L. 1962. Effects of turbidity on some larval and adult bivalves. Proceedings of the Gulf Caribbean and Fisheries Institute, University of Miami, Miami, FL, p 80–95.

  • Loosanoff, V.L., and F.D. Tomers. 1948. Effect of suspended silt and other substances on rate of feeding of oysters. Science 107: 69–70.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lunz, G.R. 1938. Oyster culture with reference to dredging operations in South Carolina. U.S. Engineer Office (reprinted by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1969), Charleston, SC, 84 p.

  • Lutz, C.H., D.G. Clarke, and B.C. Suedel. 2012. A fish larvae and egg exposure system (FLEES) for evaluating the effects of suspended sediments on aquatic life. DOER Technical Notes Collection ERDC TN-DOER-E32. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/. Accessed 17 Dec 2013.

  • Mackin, J.G. 1962. Canal dredging and siltation in Louisiana bays. Publication of the Institute of Marine Sciences University of Texas 7: 262–314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackin, J.G., and S.H. Hopkins. 1961. Studies on oyster mortality in relation to natural environments and to oil fields in Louisiana. Publication of the Institute of Marine Sciences University of Texas 7: 1–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maire, O., J.M. Amouroux, J.C. Duchêne, and A. Grémare. 2007. Relationship between filtration activity and food availability in the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. Marine Biology 152: 1293–1307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • May, E.B. 1973. Environmental effects of hydraulic dredging in estuaries. Alabama Marine Resources Bulletin 9: 1–85.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McFarland, V.A., and R.K. Peddicord. 1980. Lethality of a suspended clay to a diverse selection of marine and estuarine macrofauna. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 9: 733–741.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McKinney, L.D., C.A. Bedinger, and S.H. Hopkins. 1976. The effects of shell dredging and siltation from dredging on organisms associated with oyster reefs. In Shell Dredging and Its Influence on Gulf Coast Environments, ed. A.H. Bouma, 280–303. Houston: Gulf Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mercado-Silva, N. 2005. Condition index of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791) in Sapelo Island Georgia—effects of site, position on bed and pea crab parasitism. Journal of Shellfisheries Research 24: 121–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, D.L., E.C. Townsend, and G.W. Thayer. 1997. Stabilization and erosion control value of oyster cultch for intertidal marsh. Restoration Ecology 5: 93–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagai, K., T. Honjo, J. Go, H. Yamashita, and S.J. Oh. 2006. Detecting the shellfish killer Heterocapsa circularisquama (Dinophyceae) by measuring bivalve valve activity with a Hall element sensor. Aquaculture 255: 395–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newell, C.R., D.J. Wildish, and B.A. MacDonald. 2001. The effects of velocity and seston concentration on the exhalant siphon area, valve gape and filtration rate of the mussel Mytilus edulis. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 262: 91–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piazza, B.P., P.D. Banks, and M.K. La Peyre. 2005. The potential for created oyster shell reefs as a sustainable shoreline protection strategy in Louisiana. Restoration Ecology 13: 499–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Posey, M.H., T.D. Alphin, and C.M. Powell. 1999. Use of oyster reefs as habitat for epibenthic fish and decapods. In Oyster reef habitat restoration: a synopsis and synthesis of approaches, ed. M.W. Luckenbach, R. Mann, and J.A. Wesson, 229–237. Gloucester Point: Virginia Institute of Marine Science Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Priest, W.I. 1981. The effects of dredging impacts on water quality and estuarine organisms: a literature review. Virginia Institute of Marine Science Special Report in Applied Marine Science and Ocean Engineering 247: 240–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rainer, J.S., and R. Mann. 1992. A comparison of methods for calculating condition index in Eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791). Journal of Shellfisheries Research 11: 55–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reine, K.J., D.D. Dickerson, and D.G. Clarke. 1998. Environmental windows associated with dredging operations. DOER Technical Notes Collection (TN DOER-E2), U. S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/dots/doer/pdf/doere2.pdf. Accessed 17 Dec 2013.

  • Ringwood, A.H., D.E. Conners, and J. Hoguet. 1998. Effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors on lysosomal destabilization in oysters Crassostrea virginica. Marine Ecology Progress Series 166: 163–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robson, A., R. Wilson, and C. Garcia De Leaniz. 2007. Mussels flexing their muscles: a new method for quantifying bivalve behavior. Marine Biology 151: 1195–1204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robson, A.A., G.R. Thomas, C. Garcia De Leaniz, and R.P. Wilson. 2009. Valve gape and exhalant pumping in bivalves: optimization of measurement. Aquatic Biology 6: 191–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robson, A.A., C. Garcia de Leaniz, R.P. Wilson, and L.G. Halsey. 2010. Behavioural adaptations of mussels to varying levels of food availability and predation risk. Journal of Molluscan Studies 76: 348–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, C.D. 1973. Mortality of market-sized oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in the vicinity of a dredging operation. Chesapeake Science 14(2): 135–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothschild, B.J., J.S. Ault, P. Goulletquer, and M. Heral. 1994. Decline of the Chesapeake Bay oyster population: a century of habitat destruction and overfishing. Marine Ecology Progress Series 111: 29–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rovero, F., R.N. Hughes, and G. Chelazzi. 1999. Cardiac and behavioural responses of mussels to risk of predation by dogwhelks. Animal Behavior 58: 707–714.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saurel, C., J.C. Gascoigne, M.R. Palmer, and M.J. Kaiser. 2007. In situ mussel feeding behavior in relation to multiple environmental factors: regulation through food concentration and tidal conditions. Limnology and Oceanography 52: 1919–1929.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schulte, D.M., R.P. Burke, and R.N. Lipcius. 2009. Unprecedented restoration of a native oyster metapopulation. Science 325: 1124–1128.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, J.L. and J.P. Dyer. 1972. An evaluation of siltation created by Bay Dredging and Construction Company during oyster-shell dredging operations in Tampa Bay, Florida. Research Report, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 60 p.

  • Singh, A., R. Maichle, N. Armbya, A.K. Singh, and S.E. Lee. 2010. ProUCL Version 4.00.05 user guide (draft). EPA/600/R-07/038. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development, Washington, DC.

  • Stanley, J.G., and M.A. Sellers. 1986. Species profiles: life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (mid-Atlantic): American oyster. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report 82(11.65). 25 pp.

  • Statistical Analysis System (SAS). 2003. SAS Version 9.1. Cary: SAS Institute, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilber, D.H., and D.G. Clarke. 2001. Biological effects of suspended sediments: a review of suspended sediment impacts on fish and shellfish with relation to dredging activities in estuaries. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 21: 855–875.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilber, D.H. and D.G. Clarke. 2010. Dredging activities and the potential impacts of sediment resuspension and sedimentation on oyster reefs. Proceedings of the Western Dredging Association Thirtieth Technical Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, p 61–69.

  • Wilber, D.H., W. Brostoff, D.G. Clarke, and G.L. Ray. 2005. Sedimentation: potential biological effects from dredging operations in estuarine and marine environments. DOER Technical Notes Collection (ERDC TN-DOER-E20), U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS. http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/dots/doer/doer.html. Accessed 17 Dec 2013.

  • Wilber, D.H., N.H. Hadley, and D.G. Clarke. 2012. Resident crab associations with sedimentation on restored intertidal oyster reefs in South Carolina and the implications for secondary consumers. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 32: 838–847.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, W.B. 1950. The effects of dredging on oysters in Copano Bay, Texas. Annual report of the Marine Laboratory of the Texas Game, Fish and Oyster Commission for Fiscal Year 1948-1949 (Rockport, Texas), p 1–50.

  • Wilson, R., P. Reuter, and M. Wahl. 2005. Muscling in on mussels: new insights into bivalve behavior using vertebrate remote-sensing technology. Marine Biology 147: 1165–1172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Tom Kellum of W.E. Kellum, Inc. for the field collection of the oysters. We thank Roger Mann of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS) for reviewing an earlier version of the paper. We thank Sarah O’Haire of the Norfolk District Corps of Engineers for coordinating sediment collection and Melissa Southworth of the VIMS for providing holding facilities and for performing condition index measurements. This research was funded by the Dredging Operations and Environmental Research Program, Todd Bridges, Program Manager. Permission was granted by the Chief of Engineers to publish this material.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Environmental Laboratory, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, USA

    Burton C. Suedel, Joan U. Clarke, Justin Wilkens, Charles H. Lutz & Douglas G. Clarke

Authors
  1. Burton C. Suedel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joan U. Clarke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Justin Wilkens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Charles H. Lutz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Douglas G. Clarke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Burton C. Suedel.

Additional information

Communicated by Richard W. Osman

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Suedel, B.C., Clarke, J.U., Wilkens, J. et al. The Effects of a Simulated Suspended Sediment Plume on Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Survival, Growth, and Condition. Estuaries and Coasts 38, 578–589 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-014-9835-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-014-9835-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation