Designing marine infrastructure to restore native shellfish

Abstract

ABSTRACT Reef forming bivalves like mussels and oysters have undergone massive declines due to many factors including increasing habitat loss. Bivalves provide important ecosystem functions and services that include increasing biodiversity and providing sustenance and cultural services to humans. Therefore, it is vital to preserve the reefs that remain and restore those that have been damaged or lost. Some of this natural habitat has been lost to coastal development making full habitat restoration near impossible. However, targeting habitat building bivalves in restoration efforts and designing marine infrastructure to attract bivalves, is a way to preserve and increase biodiversity in lost or degraded ecosystems. There is an increasing number of tools to enhance the effectiveness of restoration efforts including, designing infrastructure to mitigate external environmental stressors, and better understanding the habitat requirements and stressors of the species being restored. With the rapid loss of the world’s ecosystems, increasing research suggests restoration approaches are not one-size-fits-all and efforts are the most effective when tailored to local environmental conditions and species.