Oyster reefs and flooding

Oyster reefs are important estuarine habitats, providing habitat for fish and invertebrates, and important ecosystem services such as filtering and cleaning estuarine water.

This project will:

• help us understand how floods may impact the ability of oysters to feed, resist disease, and ultimately survive
• investigate how increased sedimentation and smothering by soft sediments may affect oyster reefs and change water flows, altering the ability for oyster reefs to provide coastal protection
• help us understand how flooding has affected the abundance and distribution of estuarine fauna associated with oyster reefs.