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Sediment Suspension and Deposition Across Restored Oyster Reefs of Varying Orientation to Flow: Implications for Restoration

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Abstract

The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, is a prominent ecosystem engineer, whose reefs exhibit strikingly consistent morphologies at multiple spatial scales throughout its North American range. These distinct morphologies are thought to form by interactions of nascent reef structures with hydrodynamics. We carried out two field studies to determine if historical reef configurations applied in a restoration context would improve reef persistence and restoration outcomes. We collected seabed and water column observations across constructed reefs of three orientations representative of those found historically throughout the oyster’s range: parallel or perpendicular to tidal currents or circular. Areas adjacent to reefs were sites of fine sediment trapping, with lower flow velocities, evidence of particle settling, and more fine sediments on the seabed relative to off-reef reference sites. The water column above the reef crest exhibited higher acoustic backscatter, higher flow velocities, and larger particles in suspension, consistent with local erosion of flocculated fine sediment from the reef crest. Perpendicular reefs produced conditions that were more conducive to reef persistence and improved oyster performance, including high flow velocities and enhanced resuspension of sediments from the reef, compared to parallel or circular reefs. Particle trapping in areas between reefs has the potential to inhibit reef growth between existing reef structures, providing support for hypotheses of landscape-scale reef pattern formation. Oyster reef restoration efforts can benefit from this improved understanding of biophysical interactions arising from reef orientation that contribute to sediment dynamics on constructed oyster reefs.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this project was provided by the National Shellfisheries Association Castagna Award for Applied Research to AMC and by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. AMC also received support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) GK-12 Program (DGE-0840804). KAF, GMC, and CTF received support from the NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE-1061781). The authors gratefully acknowledge D. McCulloch for assistance in the field, W. Reisner for assistance in constructing the platform and calibrating instruments, and the comments of two anonymous reviewers and the ESCO Associate Editor that helped improve earlier versions of this manuscript. This paper is Contribution No. 3544 of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary.

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  1. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, P.O. Box 1346, Gloucester Point, VA, 23062, USA

    Allison M. Colden, Kelsey A. Fall, Grace M. Cartwright & Carl T. Friedrichs

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  1. Allison M. Colden
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Correspondence to Allison M. Colden.

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Communicated by Stephen G. Monismith

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Colden, A.M., Fall, K.A., Cartwright, G.M. et al. Sediment Suspension and Deposition Across Restored Oyster Reefs of Varying Orientation to Flow: Implications for Restoration. Estuaries and Coasts 39, 1435–1448 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-016-0096-y

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