Comparing oyster population structure and disease prevalence between a disease‐resistant and transplanted wild population in Barnegat Bay, NJ (U.S.A.)

Abstract

Restoration efforts for the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, in Barnegat Bay are limited by natural habitat, shell resources, and recruitment. A pilot study was performed to compare two oyster restoration approaches direct‐planted at a subtidal site. The first approach used a disease‐resistant oyster strain remote set on whelk shell and the second approach used dredged oysters from a nearby wild population. Population size structure, mortality, and disease prevalence were monitored for both types for 3 years. Disease prevalence was significantly higher in the transplanted oysters resulting in reduced size and survivorship. This study highlights challenges restoring oysters with substrate limitations and proposes suggestions for future work in this location and similar areas.