Ecosystem Services of Restored Hudson River Oyster Reefs

Restoring oyster populations is not just beneficial for oyster fisheries, but can also enhance several ecosystem services.  These services have started to be used to quantify and evaluate the success of restored oyster reefs.  In 2010, the Hudson River Foundation constructed five preliminary oyster reefs with the goal of creating sustainable oyster populations.  One ecosystem service, species colonization was used to evaluate the five oyster reefs during the summer and fall of 2011.  At six-week intervals, four trays filled with surf clam shells were inserted and retrieved from each reef.  Species richness, abundance and biomass were measured.  Two of the five sites, Hastings and Soundview, were examined to determine spatial and temporal patterns, as well as whether the benthic communities were responding to the reef structure.  Using a multivariate analysis, communities were distinctive between sites (72% dissimilar; SIMPER) and retrieval time points (global R = 0.853, p < 0.001; ANOSIM).  Site differences were mainly attributed to the different mud crab species found at the two sites (contributes 35.5% to dissimilarity; SIMPER).  While results suggested developing oyster reef communities in the Hudson, future monitoring needs to be performed before restoration success can be determined.