Why Study Oyster Reefs? 

Oysters play an incredibly important role in coastal ecosystems. They create hard three-dimensional structures with their shells as they grow, providing habitat for other organisms, such fish and crabs. They also filter the water through their feeding activity, clearing the water of sediment and algae. Clearer water is important for other organisms living in coastal waters, especially underwater plants.

In addition to their importance to coastal ecosystems, oysters are also important part of coastal economies. Oysters are delicious (depending on who you ask, of course!) and have been an important part of human's diet for millennia. In the Chesapeake Bay region in particular, the oyster industry has been an important part of the culture of coastal communities.

Unfortunately, across the globe oysters are not as abundant as they once were. Overfishing, introductions of diseases, and decreases in water quality have all led to declines in oyster population. Fortunately, oyster restoration, which involves restoring oyster substrate or 'planting' juvenile or adult oysters on reefs, is being undertaken around the world to increase oyster populations.

An important part of oyster restoration efforts is monitoring to find out if the restoration was successful. Monitoring reefs includes examining the structure of the reef to see whether it's providing a good habitat for other animals. It can also mean looking to see the diversity of animals that are calling the reef home. 

What Are We Trying to Learn?

Monitoring is a key part of restoration as it lets us know whether the oyster restoration is working. Typically, monitoring requires lots of time, money, and specialized skills like scuba diving. 

Determined to find a better, more accessible monitoring solution, scientists in the Fisheries Conservation Lab came up with the ingenius idea of Oyster Cam. The Oyster Cam method involves placing GoPro cameras attached to a camera rig onto an oyster reef and taking pictures of the surrounding reef.

The images allow us to determine two important things about the oyster reefs: 1) how much of the bottom is covered by oysters and 2) the amount of vertical structure on the oyster reef. These two pieces of information help us determine if the reef restoration was successful (lots of coverage and tall structure if good, little coverage and short structure is less good).