An ecological assessment of Australia's first community oyster gardens

Boström‐Einarsson, Lisa and Martínez‐Baena, Francisco and Diggles, Ben and Firby, Lauren and McLeod, Ian M. (2022) An ecological assessment of Australia's first community oyster gardens. Ecological Management & Restoration, 23 (3). pp. 244-251. ISSN 1442-7001

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Abstract

Summary: Oyster gardening is a community‐driven activity where oysters are grown in cages hanging off docks or other coastal infrastructure. Besides the provision of adult oysters for restoration programmes, oyster gardening may also support other ecosystem services such as providing habitat for fishes and invertebrates as well as encouraging community involvement and citizen science. Australia's first oyster gardening programme was undertaken in a canal estate on Bribie Island in Moreton Bay, Queensland between October 2016 and November 2017. Oyster gardens consisting of plastic mesh cages were deployed with either three species of bivalves (polyculture), or exclusively Sydney Rock Oysters (monoculture) to investigate whether the habitat value differed between the two garden types. After one year of growth, polyculture cages supported higher abundances and species richness of both invertebrates and fish compared to the monoculture gardens. Our study showed that oyster gardening can provide habitat for a range of invertebrate and fish species in the highly modified coastal environment of a canal estate. Further studies are needed to discern whether these oyster gardens would also support larger and mobile fauna, such as species with commercial and recreational importance.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Ecological Management & Restoration
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2308
Subjects:
?? CITIZEN SCIENCEISOGNOMON EPHIPPIUMOYSTER GARDENINGREEF RESTORATIONSACCOSTREA GLOMERATATRICHOMYA HIRSUTAECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, BEHAVIOR AND SYSTEMATICSNATURE AND LANDSCAPE CONSERVATIONMANAGEMENT, MONITORING, POLICY AND LAW ??
ID Code:
184280
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
14 Feb 2023 16:25
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
19 Sep 2023 02:57