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Role and value of nitrogen regulation provided by oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in the Mission-Aransas Estuary, Texas, USA - PubMed

  • ️Tue Jan 01 2013

Role and value of nitrogen regulation provided by oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in the Mission-Aransas Estuary, Texas, USA

Jennifer Beseres Pollack et al. PLoS One. 2013.

Abstract

Suspension-feeding activities of oysters impart a potentially significant benefit to estuarine ecosystems via reduction of water column nutrients, plankton and seston biomass, and primary productivity which can have a significant impact on human well-being. This study considered nitrogen regulation by eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica in the Mission-Aransas Estuary, Texas, USA, as a function of denitrification, burial, and physical transport from the system via harvest. Oyster reefs were estimated to remove 502.5 kg N km(-2) through denitrification of biodeposits and 251.3 kg N km(-2) in burial of biodeposits to sediments. Nitrogen is also physically transported out of the estuary via harvest of oysters. Commercial harvest of oysters in the Mission-Aransas Estuary can remove approximately 21,665 kg N per year via physical transport from the system. We developed a transferable method to value the service of nitrogen regulation by oysters, where the potential cost equivalent value of nitrogen regulation is quantified via cost estimates for a constructed biological nutrient removal (BNR) supplement to a wastewater treatment plant. The potential annual engineered cost equivalent of the service of nitrogen regulation and removal provided by reefs in the Mission-Aransas Estuary is $293,993 yr(-1). Monetizing ecosystem services can help increase awareness at the stakeholder level of the importance of oysters beyond commercial fishery values alone.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Mission-Aransas Estuary, Texas, USA, showing locations of oyster reefs.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Seasonal environmental variables measured in the Mission-Aransas Estuary, Texas.

(W = winter, Sp = spring, Su = summer, F = fall).

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Grants and funding

This study was partially supported by grant number NA09NMF4720179 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Comparative Assessment of Marine Ecosystem (CAMEO) program, and by grant number 12–142 from the Texas General Land Office Coastal Management Program. Support was also provided by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the Harte Research Institute. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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