A mixture of environmental parameters and oyster health variables were recorded at each site. After organizing and cleaning our data, we compared the data between sites, over time, and through other unique variables, leading to these wonderful visualizations made by R.
On this platform, you can explore our data in countless ways!
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Fast Facts
months of oyster data collected
6
1500+
0.75
4
total oysters in the experiment
acres of farm site monitored
different environmental variables measured
Our Inspiration
What is the current industry like?
What is the problem?
What's causing the problem?
What are we
doing about it?
Native to the Atlantic Coast from Canada to Mexico, the eastern oyster serves as an economic, cultural, and ecological cornerstone. In the past decades, the oyster aquaculture industry has boomed in North Carolina.
160%
increase in weight of oyster bushels from 2012 to 2022 according to the North Carolina Environmental Quality Agency
Unfortunately, oyster farmers from the Chesapeake Bay to the Gulf of Mexico have been experiencing mass die-offs in their oyster crops during the summer months. This issue, also known as “summer mortality,” was first identified in 2012 by Virginian oyster farmers. However, summer mortalities have only been increasing in frequency and severity recently.
90%
loss in crops for some farmers in North Carolina because of summer mortality
The nature of summer mortality events is still largely a mystery.
Researchers from all over the world, including China and Canada, have begun investigating this problem. Although eastern oysters themselves are resilient animals, recent spikes in certain environmental conditions may be the driving force behind these die-outs. Researcher Tal Ben-Horin, a professor at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, believes that increased temperatures and salinity, coupled with decreases in dissolved oxygen and pH, may cause oysters to be more susceptible to oyster diseases.
Rather than just one stressor happening, all these conditions are worsening at the same time, imposing a synergetic effect, or an effect greater than the sum of all stressors, on oysters. These effects include stunted growth, lower quality tissue, softer shells, and loss of ideal appearance. In addition, multiple stressors can make oysters more susceptible to diseases, such as MSX and Dermo.
With climate change only worsening the conditions of ocean waters, summer mortalities are predicted to intensify, posing a major financial challenge to not just NC oyster farmers, but aquaculturists all over the world. Spurred by these summer mortalities, we wanted to figure out why exactly these oysters were dying in such high numbers. Thus, we conducted an observational study of the correlation between oyster health and water conditions at two different sites.
Meet the Team
Undergraduate Student
Annabelle Dyer
Annabelle is a junior majoring in Environmental Sciences with a minor in Chemistry. Annabelle helped clean, visualize, and analyze environmental datasets, with a specific exploration into storm events. In her free time, you can find Annabelle on the pickleball court or on the beach.
Undergraduate Student
Scarlett Schwimmer
Scarlett is a sophomore majoring in Earth and Climate Sciences. She is a part of the Environmental Sub-team working on data cleaning and visualization. As well as literature research. In her free time she enjoys hiking, trying new foods and traveling.
Undergraduate Student
Renée Dunford
Renée is a sophomore majoring in Marine Science & Conservation and Chemistry with a concentration in Environmental Chemistry. Renée is a member of the Environmental Sub-team working on data cleaning, visualization, and exploring the implications of Dissolved Oxygen. Outside of research Renée enjoys reading, swimming, and boating.
Undergraduate Student
Reid Wygal
Reid is a sophomore majoring in Biology and Marine Science with a minor in bioinformatics. Reid worked with the environmental subteam exploring precipitation events and pH, as well as developing the website. Outside of research, Reid enjoys hiking, fishing, and anything outdoors
Masters Student
Ryan Meshanko
Ryan is a 2nd-year Master of Environmental Management Candidate studying Environmental Management and Coastal and Marine Systems. He is a part of the biological sub-team working on farm and sensor maintenance, date collection, analysis and visualization alongside tissue and histology sample collection. In his free time Ryan enjoys being outdoors, fishing, and looking for critters.
Masters Student
Diandre' Richie
Diandre' is a 2nd-year Master of Environmental Management candidate studying Coastal & Marine Systems and Environmental Economics & Policy. He is a part of the biological sub-team working on data visualizing for oyster mortality across all sites. Alongside counting and processing oyster samples in field experiments In his free time he enjoys going to the gym, photography, and traveling.
Masters Student
Amelia McDonald
Amelia is a 2nd-year Master of Environmental Management candidate studying Coastal and Marine Systems and Community Engagement and Environmental Justice. She is a part of the biological sub-team, collecting sensor data at the field sites alongside dissections and other lab work. In her free time she enjoys ceramics, kitesurfing, running and gardening.
Masters Student & Project Manager​​
Andrew Barfield
​Andrew is a current 2nd-year Master of Environmental candidate studying Coastal and Marine Systems and Environmental Analytics and Modeling. He is the current Project Manager for the team and assisted in the initial experimental design and fieldwork efforts during the spring and summer of 2024. In his free time, he enjoys playing board games, attending trivia nights, and playing golf and disc golf.
Faculty Team Leader
Ty Roach
Dr. Roach is an Adjunct Research Professor at the Viral Information Institute and is a McCurdy Visiting Scholar at the Duke University Marine Lab. He serves as a Team Advisor for the project. Ty is a professional surfer and combat sports coach; and he also enjoys gardening, writing poetry, and freestyle rapping in the cypher scene.
Faculty Team Leader
Elizabeth Albright
Dr. Albright, the Dan and Bunny Gabel Associate Professor of the Practice at the Nicholas School, serves as one of the co-leads on the project. Betsy enjoys coding in R, painting, kayaking, fishing, and crabbing in the Pamlico Sound and dreams of having an oyster farm in retirement.
Faculty Team Leader
Nicolas Cassar
Dr. Cassar is the Lee Hill Snowdon Professor at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment. He serves as a co-lead on the project, helping with interpretation of environmental data. When he's not swimming or exploring the world, Nico takes great pride in baking sourdough bread.
Faculty Team Leader
Thomas Schultz
Dr. Schultz is an Associate Professor of the Practice at the Duke Marine Lab in the Nicholas School of the Environment. His research focuses on genetics and genomics of marine organisms and he serves as a team lead of the project. Tom started the Duke Aquafarm in 2018 and officially became an oyster farmer. He enjoys woodworking, home projects, roasting coffee, and especially being on/in the water.
Faculty Team Leader
Juliet Wong
Dr. Wong is an Assistant Professor of Coastal and Marine Climate Change at the Duke University Marine Lab. Juliet is a team lead of the project. She enjoys playing video games and hanging out with her husband and her increasingly spoiled cats.
Our Plan for the Future
This project will continue into the 2026-2027 school year, building on the data we have collected thus far to further understand how oysters respond to environmental stress and provide actionable insights to oyster farmers.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Bass Connections at Duke University. Additionally, we would like to thank North Carolina State University, Dr. Amy Wilbur, and Dr. Tal Ben-Horin for their contributions to this project. We would also like to thank Bennett Paradis for his advice and guidance in the design of this platform.