Oysters' Gape Measurement System

Abstract

The Mississippi Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence (MBRACE) is a consortium of four research universities: Jackson State University (JSU), Mississippi State University (MSU), the University of Mississippi (UM), and the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), where USM takes the lead in the research. MBRACE sponsored four projects in studying the importance of the environmental condition of oysters in the Mississippi Gulf Oyster Reefs with each university being assigned a specific project. JSU's team was tasked with the responsibility of developing biosensors for the measurement of Bivalve Valve Movement [15]. In this work, the hardware and software used in developing a bivalve gape measurement system have been explored. This system employs the Hall-effect phenomenon to accurately measure and report the gape of a bivalve. This system has been designed to operate in the field as well as in a laboratory environment.