MODELING OYSTER Crassostrea virginica PRODUCTIVITY IN RESPONSE TO CHANNEL DEEPENING IN THE HUDSON RIVER ESTUARY  

Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) provide essential ecosystem services for coastal environments. Among these services, oyster reef restorations frequently are designed to improve water quality and to increase biodiversity in an estuarine area. In the Hudson River Estuary, located between New York City and New Jersey, restoration efforts now are being implemented to replenish oyster populations and to improve water quality. Oyster growth rates are sensitive to salinity, however, and the recent channel deepening in the estuary may change its salinity distribution, thereby potentially changing the optimal location for reef restoration.

In this study, the growth rate of a single oyster in one location, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, is assessed using a post-settlement growth model that responds to environmental measurements collected from a recent sampling effort. The results show that the oyster growth rate in Hastings-on-Hudson is strongly influenced by salinity fluctuations, and periods of extremely low salinity may result in negative growth. Because Hasting-on-Hudson is a low-salinity environment, increased salinity from channel deepening may increase the growth rate there, leading to increased oyster reef restoration potential in the area. Further research would involve incorporating the output from a regional hydrodynamic model (ROMS) to compare growth rates before and after channel deepening.