TY - JOUR

T1 - Settlement of Ostrea edulis is determined by the availability of hard substrata rather than its nature: implications for stock recovery and restoration of the European oyster

AU - Smyth, David

AU - Mahon, Anne Marie

AU - Roberts, Dai

AU - Kregting, Louise

PY - 2018/6

Y1 - 2018/6

N2 - 1. Since the collapse of the Ostrea edulis stock in the mid‐1800s the oyster has struggled tore‐establish itself in self‐sustaining assemblages in Europe.2. It is now widely recognized that O. edulis is an integral component of a healthy biologicallyfunctional benthic environment and, as such, the restoration of wild stocks has become amatter of urgency.3. A major limiting factor in O. edulis stock recovery is the availability of suitable substratematerial for oyster larvae settlement.4. This research re‐examined the larval settlement potential of several naturally occurring in‐situshell materials (e.g. Mytilus edulis, Modiolus modiolus, O. edulis), with the aim of determiningwhich shell material is the most appropriate for large‐scale restoration projects.5. A positive correlation between available shell material and settlement was determined, andanalysis using PERMANOVA did not identify an attachment preference by O. edulis to anyparticular shell type.6. The findings suggest that if restoration efforts were coordinated with applied hydrodynamicand habitat suitability modelling, in conjunction with naturally occurring shell substrateconcentrations, a cost‐effective recovery for O. edulis assemblages in the wild could beachieved.

AB - 1. Since the collapse of the Ostrea edulis stock in the mid‐1800s the oyster has struggled tore‐establish itself in self‐sustaining assemblages in Europe.2. It is now widely recognized that O. edulis is an integral component of a healthy biologicallyfunctional benthic environment and, as such, the restoration of wild stocks has become amatter of urgency.3. A major limiting factor in O. edulis stock recovery is the availability of suitable substratematerial for oyster larvae settlement.4. This research re‐examined the larval settlement potential of several naturally occurring in‐situshell materials (e.g. Mytilus edulis, Modiolus modiolus, O. edulis), with the aim of determiningwhich shell material is the most appropriate for large‐scale restoration projects.5. A positive correlation between available shell material and settlement was determined, andanalysis using PERMANOVA did not identify an attachment preference by O. edulis to anyparticular shell type.6. The findings suggest that if restoration efforts were coordinated with applied hydrodynamicand habitat suitability modelling, in conjunction with naturally occurring shell substrateconcentrations, a cost‐effective recovery for O. edulis assemblages in the wild could beachieved.

U2 - 10.1002/aqc.2876

DO - 10.1002/aqc.2876

M3 - Article

VL - 28

SP - 662

EP - 671

JO - Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems

JF - Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems

SN - 1099-0755

IS - 3

ER -