Article

 

Ecosystem effects of shell aggregations and cycling in coastal waters: an example of Chesapeake Bay oyster reefs Público Deposited

Contenido Descargable

Descargar PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/articles/41687p26d

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • Disease, overharvesting, and pollution have impaired the role of bivalves on coastal ecosystems, some to the point of functional extinction. An underappreciated function of many bivalves in these systems is shell formation. The ecological significance of bivalve shell has been recognized; geochemical effects are now more clearly being understood. A positive feedback exists between shell aggregations and healthy bivalve populations in temperate estuaries, thus linking population dynamics to shell budgets and alkalinity cycling. On oyster reefs a balanced shell budget requires healthy long‐lived bivalves to maximize shell input per mortality event thereby countering shell loss. Active and dense populations of filter‐feeding bivalves couple production of organic‐rich waste with precipitation of calcium carbonate minerals, creating conditions favorable for alkalinity regeneration. Although the dynamics of these processes are not well described, the balance between shell burial and metabolic acid production seems the key to the extent of alkalinity production vs. carbon burial as shell. We present an estimated alkalinity budget that highlights the significant role oyster reefs once played in the Chesapeake Bay inorganic‐carbon cycle. Sustainable coastal and estuarine bivalve populations require a comprehensive understanding of shell budgets and feedbacks among population dynamics, agents of shell destruction, and anthropogenic impacts on coastal carbonate chemistry.
  • KEYWORDS: Oyster reef, Chesapeake Bay, Shell budget, Alkalinity budget, Calcium carbonate cycling
Resource Type
DOI
Fecha Disponible
Fecha de Emisión
Citation
  • Waldbusser, G. G., Powell, E. N., & Mann, R. (2013). Ecosystem effects of shell aggregations and cycling in coastal waters: An example of chesapeake bay oyster reefs. Ecology, 94(4), 895-903. doi:10.1890/12-1179.1
Journal Title
Journal Volume
  • 94
Journal Issue/Number
  • 4
Academic Affiliation
Declaración de derechos
Funding Statement (additional comments about funding)
  • This work was supported in part by NSF OCE number 0622999 to G. G. Waldbusser.
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Language
Replaces

Relaciones

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Elementos