Sustainability and Restoration of Oyster Reef Habitat in Mississippi Sound: A Larval Transport and Recruitment Approach

 
 

Principal Investigators: Jeremy Wiggert, Ken Barbor, Mustafa Kemal Cambazoglu, Arne Diercks, Anand Hiroji, Stephan Howden, Scott Milroy, Chet Rakocinski

Postdoctoral Scientists: Chudong Pan

Graduate Students: Leah Morgan (MS student), Ryan Harner (MS student), Agno de Assis (MS student), James Thompson (MS student), Kandice Gunning (PhD student), Laura Hode (PhD student), Tasheena Powers (MS student)

Undergraduate Students: Steven Ates

Project Participants and Collaborators: Brandy Armstrong (USM Division of Marine Sciences), Kevin Martin (USM Division of Marine Sciences), Jamie Davis (USM Division of Marine Sciences), Marvin Story (USM Division of Marine Sciences), Daneen Menke (USM-COA), Kathy VanderKooy (USM-COA)

Award Amount: $625,000

Project Description

Goal:

Obtain a comprehensive, interdisciplinary research approach that advances our knowledge of the ecological processes, environmental conditions and mechanistic interactions that are critical input to the development of management strategies capable of realizing sustained expansion of productive oyster reefs in Mississippi coastal waters.

Why it is Important:

This project addresses a variety of research areas that MBRACE identified as having scientific knowledge gaps (outlined in the MBRACE Science Plan) including identification of suitable benthic habitats for reef restoration, impact of hydrodynamic and sediment transport processes on oyster population dynamics, and impact of multiple stressors on oyster reef habitat quality, quantity and sustainability.

Objectives:

The above goal will be accomplished through four distinct projects:

  1. Oyster Recruitment Variability: Study the arrival, survival and growth of oyster spat during the oyster recruitment period in both restored and reference reefs in order to inform oyster restoration efforts and to assess recovery from catastrophic events.

  2. Benthic Mapping of Oyster Reefs: Determine how spatio-temporal variability in benthic habitat relates to success and sustainability of existing oyster reefs.

  3. Mississippi Sound Circulation over Oyster Reefs from CODAR Array: Use CODAR-observed surface currents to understand environmental variability over the western Mississippi Sound oyster reefs.

  4. Numerical Modeling of Circulation, Water Quality, and Oyster Larvae Transport/Recruitment: Investigate interactive impacts of hydrodynamic processes and environmental stressors on transport and recruitment of oyster larvae and the overall productivity of oyster beds.

Accomplishments:

  1. Characterized the surface current regime of the western Mississippi Sound through the deployment of 25 MHz CODAR arrays.

  2. Comprehensive benthic habitat mapping was performed in order to fully characterize the spatial and temporal patterns of substrate type.

    • Collected baseline conditions following the back-to-back Bonnet Carré Spillway openings of 2019 that devastated the oyster population of the western Mississippi Sound.

  3. Oyster larval supply and spat settlement were sampled at eight locations with a range of states that encompassed a restored, unrestored, inshore, and offshore in order to develop a spectrum of recruitment conditions to assess.

  4. An inter-leaved model approach combining highly resolved circulation model output that informed a comprehensive trophic simulation model (TroSim) was developed. Through estimation of Habitat Suitability Index (HSI), the likelihood of direct connectivity of spawning locations (ranging from Mobile Bay to Breton Sound) and recruitment to oyster reefs outside Bay St. Louis (e.g., Pass Christian Reef) was determined.

 
 

Project Outputs

    1. Hode, L. 2019. Establishing the role of the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands in Mississippi Sound and Bight circulation using observational data analysis and a coastal model. Ph.D. dissertation.

    2. Morgan, LM. 2019. Early recruitment of Crassostrea virginica to restored and natural oyster reefs in the western Mississippi Sound: larval supply and post-settlement success. Master’s thesis.

    1. Wiggert JD, Milroy SP, Cambazoglu MK, Bouchard, Dinniman, Fitzpatrick, Armstrong B, Hofmann, “Impact of diurnal sea breeze on the ecological and biogeochemical processes in Mississippi Sound”, Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science (GoMOSES) Conference, Virtual, February 3-6, 2021

    2. Bouchard, Cambazoglu MK, Dinniman, Fitzpatrick, Hofmann, Wiggert JD, “Influence of diurnal sea breeze on residence time and associated biogeochemical processes in the Mississippi Sound and Bight”, Ocean Sciences Meeting, San Diego, California February 16-21, 2020

    3. Wiggert JD, Bouchard, Dinniman, Cambazoglu MK, Fitzpatrick, Armstrong B, Hofmann, “Influence of river inputs and diurnal sea breeze on the tidal inlet exchanges that control the marine ecosystem and biogeochemical processes of the Mississippi Sound and Bight”, Ocean Sciences Meeting, San Diego, California February 16-21, 2020

    4. Rakocinski CF, Morgan L, “Recruitment limitation of the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in Mississippi Sound”, 46th Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Gulfport, Mississippi, February 12-14. 2020

    5. Bouchard, Cambazoglu MK, Dinniman, Fitzpatrick, Armstrong B, Hofmann, Wiggert JD, “Influence of diurnal winds on exchange through barrier islands and associated biogeochemical processes in the Mississippi Sound and Bight”, Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science (GoMOSES) Conference, Tampa, Florida, February 3-6, 2020

    6. Cambazoglu MK, O’Brien, Wiggert JD, Dinniman, Miles, “Seasonal sediment transport in estuarine waters of Mississippi Sound and shelf waters of Mississippi Bight”, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF), Mobile, Alabama, 4-6 November 2019

    7. Morgan L, Rakocinski CF, “Early recruitment of the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in Mississippi Sound”, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF), Mobile, Alabama, 4-6 November 2019

    8. Morgan L, Rakocinski CF, “Larval supply of Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) to restored and historic oyster reefs in Mississippi”, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF), Mobile, Alabama, 4-6 November 2019

    9. Wiggert JD, Bouchard, Dinniman, Cambazoglu MK, O’Brien, Fitzpatrick, Milroy SP, Hofmann, “Influence of tidal inlet exchange on the marine ecosystem and biogeochemistry of the Mississippi Bight”, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF), Mobile, Alabama, 4-6 November 2019

    10. Howden SD, “Freshwater outflow in the Gulf: algal blooms and hypoxia”, Oceans in Action/ANTX, November 5, 2019

    11. Gunning K, Hirjoi A, “Complications associated with modelling angular response curves for an interferometric bathymetric sidescan system”, US Hydro Conference & Exhibition, Biloxi, Mississippi, March 18-19, 2019

    12. Rakocinski CF, Fleer, Morgan L, “The role of early recruitment of Crassostrea virginica in relation to oyster reef restoration in Mississippi Sound”, World Aquaculture Society - National Shellfisheries Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 7-11, 2019

    13. Gunning K, Hirjoi A, “Monitoring and assessing acoustic diversity in an oyster reef in Pass Christian”, Mississippi Academy of Sciences Annual Symposium, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, February 21-22, 2019

    14. Hode L, Howden SD, Diercks A, “Tracking salinity changes in the western Mississippi Sound”, Mississippi Academy of Sciences Annual Symposium, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, February 21-22, 2019

    15. Cambazoglu MK, Wiggert JD, Milroy SP, Pan C, “Connectivity of oyster reefs along the coast of Mississippi Bight”, Mississippi Academy of Sciences Annual Symposium, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, February 21-22, 2019

    16. Rakocinski CF, Morgan L, “Early recruitment of Crassostrea virginica to restored and historic oyster reefs in the western Mississippi Sound: larval supply and post-settlement success”, Mississippi Academy of Sciences Annual Symposium, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, February 21-22, 2019

    17. Hode L, Howden SD, “Simulating pathway changes under a barrier island removal simulation”, The 2019 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science (GoMOSES) Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 4-7, 2019

    18. Wiggert JD, Pan C, Dinniman, Lau, Fitzpatrick, O'Brien, Bouchard, Cambazoglu MK, Hofmann, “Impact of diurnal sea breeze on planktonic dynamics and hypoxia onset in the Mississippi Bight”, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington DC, December 10-14, 2018

    19. Cambazoglu MK, Wiggert JD, Milroy SP, Pan C, “Sustainability of oyster reef habitat in Mississippi Sound a larval transport approach”, Mississippi-Alabama Bays and Bayous Symposium, Mobile, Alabama, November 28-29, 2018

    20. Rakocinski CF, Morgan L, “Early recruitment of Crassostrea virginia to restored and natural reefs in the western Mississippi Sound: post-settlement success”, Mississippi-Alabama Bays and Bayous Symposium, Mobile, Alabama, November 28-29, 2018

    21. Rakocinski CF, Morgan L, “Early recruitment of Crassostrea virginia to restored and natural reefs in the western Mississippi Sound: post-settlement success”, Gulf Estuarine Research Society Annual Meeting, Galveston, Texas, November 8-10, 2018

    22. Wiggert JD, Pan C, Dinniman, Fitzpatrick, Lau, O’Brien, Bouchard, Quas , Miles, Cambazoglu MK, Dykstra , Dzwonkowski Jacobs, Church, Hofmann, “Controls on planktonic dynamics in the Mississippi Bight by estuarine-shelf exchange processes”, Ocean Sciences Meeting, Portland, Oregon, February 12-16, 2018

    23. Pan C, Dinniman, Fitzpatrick, Lau, Cambazoglu MK, Parra, Hofmann, Dzwonkowski, Warner, O'Brient, Dystrka, Wiggert JD, “Simulating the dynamics and water properties of Mississippi Sound and Bight using the CONCORDE Synthesis Model”, Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science (GoMOSES) Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 5-9, 2018

    24. Hode L, Howden SD, Diercks A, “Determining the variability and accuracy of high frequency radar surface currents in the Mississippi Bight”, Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science (GoMOSES) Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 5-9, 2018

    25. Howden SD, Diercks A, Hode L, Cambazoglu MK, Martin K, “Effects of salinity variations on CODAR ranges during the 2016 Bonnet Carré Spillway opening”, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, December 11-15, 2017

    26. Wiggert JD, Pan C, Dinniman, Fitzpatrick, Lau, O’Brien , Bouchard , Quas , Miles, Cambazoglu MK, Dykstra , Dzwonkowski Jacobs, Church, Hofmann, “Impacts of suspended sediment and estuarine – shelf exchange pathways on shelf ecosystem dynamics in the northern Gulf of Mexico”, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, December 11-15, 2017

    1. Stephan Howden, Arne R Diercks. 2020. Near surface velocity vectors in Mississippi Sound derived from high frequency RADAR data, 2018-01-01 to 2019-12-31. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/XQYPAGWF

    2. Hiroji, Anand. 2020. Repetitive acoustic mapping of oyster reef restoration sites off Pass Christian in Mississippi sound using multibeam sonar and phase-bathymetric sidescan sonar aboard R/V LeMoyne from 2017-10-18 to 2018-01-22. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/QEY465WM

    3. Rakocinski, Chet. 2020. Sampling information of early stages of oysters and spat settlement plate physical data collected at eight different sites in Mississippi Sound from 2018-06-07 to 2018-09-18. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/8KDYW8A9

    4. Scott Milroy, Kemal Cambazoglu, Jerry Wiggert, and Chudong Pan. 2020. Habitat suitability index (HSI) model results for oyster larvae trajectory and condition, COAWST_2017_Grp06_Srf_d02 drifter simulation released from Drum Bay, Louisiana from 2017-05-19 to 2017-10-26. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/VY9DED3G

    5. Scott Milroy, Kemal Cambazoglu, Jerry Wiggert, and Chudong Pan. 2020. Habitat suitability index (HSI) model results for oyster larvae trajectory and condition, COAWST_2017_Grp16_Srf_d02 drifter simulation released from Biloxi Bay, Mississippi from 2017-05-29 to 2017-10-02. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N62BJWTZ

    6. Scott Milroy, Kemal Cambazoglu, Jerry Wiggert, and Chudong Pan. 2020. Habitat suitability index (HSI) model results for oyster larvae trajectory and condition, COAWST_2017_Grp22_Srf_d01 drifter simulation released from Pass aux Herons, Alabama from 2017-06-04 to 2017-07-08. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/16TX911K

    7. Rakocinski, Chet. 2020. Zooplankton abundance tow during the summer of 2018 in western Mississippi Sound. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/EHMWYY6E

    8. Kemal Cambazoglu, Jerry Wiggert, Chudong Pan. 2020. Modeled drifter simulations for oyster larvae trajectory in Mississippi Sound and Bight from 2016-05-14 to 2016-07-15. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/SPKQN0AT

    9. Kemal Cambazoglu, Jerry Wiggert, Chudong Pan. 2020. Modeled drifter simulations for oyster larvae trajectory in Mississippi Sound and Bight from 2017-05-14 to 2017-10-26. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/2SP9XTRT

    10. Kemal Cambazoglu, Jerry Wiggert, Chudong Pan. 2020. Modeled drifter simulations for oyster larvae trajectory in Mississippi Sound and Bight from 2015-05-14 to 2015-07-15. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/ZKM29VT2

    11. Kemal Cambazoglu, Jerry Wiggert. 2020. Physical Model of the Mississippi Sound and Bight from 2015-05-14 to 2015-07-14. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/QXZVP60A

    12. Kemal Cambazoglu, Jerry Wiggert, Chudong Pan. 2020. Physical Model of the Mississippi Sound and Bight from 2016-05-14 to 2016-07-14. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/CGFJ6TY4

    13. Kemal Cambazoglu, Jerry Wiggert, Chudong Pan. 2020. Physical Model of the Mississippi Sound and Bight from 2017-05-14 to 2017-10-25. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/FYMFTNPP

    14. Hiroji, Anand. 2020. Repetitive acoustic mapping of oyster reef restoration sites off Pass Christian in Mississippi Sound using multibeam sonar and phase-bathymetric sidescan sonar aboard R/V LeMoyne from 2018-05-08 to 2018-05-15. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/RNE60WQ2

    15. Hiroji, Anand. 2020. Repetitive acoustic mapping of oyster reef restoration sites off Pass Christian in Mississippi Sound using multibeam sonar and phase-bathymetric sidescan sonar aboard R/V LeMoyne from 2018-08-23 to 2018-08-24. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/K9ZH3E82

    16. Hiroji, Anand. 2020. Repetitive acoustic mapping of oyster reef restoration sites off Pass Christian in Mississippi Sound using multibeam sonar and phase-bathymetric sidescan sonar aboard R/V LeMoyne from 2019-10-14 to 2019-10-23. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/3BABAFZK

    17. Hiroji, Anand. 2020. Repetitive acoustic mapping of oyster reef restoration sites off Pass Christian in Mississippi Sound using multibeam sonar and phase-bathymetric sidescan sonar aboard R/V LeMoyne from 2017-10-18 to 2019-10-23. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/D6WK18XM