Our Research:
Building on the work of prior years, this project uses field-based monitoring to assess how changing climate conditions impact oysters at the Duke Aquafarm in Beaufort, North Carolina, and four additional oyster farms in the area. We collected environmental data using underwater sensors to measure temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and water depth. Oyster performance was evaluated through measuring oyster growth and mortality across different genetic families. Our goal is to share our findings with local oyster farmers to inform adaptive management support the growing aquaculture industry in North Carolina.
Environmental Data Collection:
At each oyster farm there are underwater sensors that collect temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, pH, and water depth data. Every two weeks during the data collection period of the year (May-November) these sensors are pulled and their data is collected to be analyzed by the Environmental Sub-team. The Environmental Sub-team then uses excel, R, and Hoboware's software to be clean and visualize the data. From there the data is compared with the Biological Sub-team's data to begin drawing conclusions.
Biological Data Collection
Every two weeks, the members of the Biological Sub-team travel out to oyster farm sites to begin collecting biological data. A set number of oyster bags from each genetic line are opened, the dead oysters are counted and measured alongside 20 alive oysters. 2-3 oysters will then be selected for dissection to collect liquor and body condition samples. This data is then analyzed and visualized to compare to the data from the Environmental Sub-team's data.
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