Wild oysters, Crassostrea virginica, in the Hudson River Estuary: Growth, health and population structure
Item
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Title
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Wild oysters, Crassostrea virginica, in the Hudson River Estuary: Growth, health and population structure
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:6165a85d9a1c:10636
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identifier
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10896
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Creator
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Medley, Tiffany Loren,
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Contributor
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John R. Waldman
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Date
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2010
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Ecology | Genetics | Crassostrea virginica | Eastern oyster | Hudson River | oyster reefs
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Abstract
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It has been estimated that the Hudson River Estuary (HRE) once had 350 square miles of oyster beds. Overharvesting and pollution during the Industrial Age ultimately led to the near eradication of the species from the estuary. Oysters are known for their filtering effects in minimizing eutrophication and oyster reefs provide habitat to many species of fish, invertebrates and algae. Today, there are no known functional oyster reefs in the HRE, but individual oysters can be found attached to rock and other hard substrate along shorelines. Their distribution, abundance, growth, and health were unknown.;This study identifies locations of where wild oysters, Crassostrea virginica, can be found living in the HRE. They were found to exist in geographically separate areas of the estuary identified as Hudson River (HDS), East River, Queens (ERQ), East River, Bronx (ERB), Hackensack River (HKS) and western Long Island Sound (LIS). Two known oyster diseases, MSX and Dermo, were found to be present in the HRE oysters, with the highest prevalence at the HKS location where 100% of oysters sampled tested positive for MSX. Annual shell growth did not differ among the HRE populations and oysters were found to have the highest condition index at the LIS location. It was discovered that HRE oysters have significantly lighter shells than that of oysters sampled from Delaware Bay. An analysis of metals resulted in highest overall metal concentrations at HKS and significantly different chromium and nickel concentrations at the LIS location between two sampling years. A genetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers indicated that HRE oysters show some genetic differentiation from one another, in addition to Delaware Bay and Rhode Island oysters, and that the populations do not exhibit low genetic diversity. Though there is a long history of pollution in the HRE, existing wild oysters in the East River and western Long Island Sound appear to be tolerating their environmental conditions and provide assurance that oyster restoration efforts in these areas of the estuary could be successful.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Biology
