You cannot get there from here, can you? An examination of the timecourse and impact of oyster restoration in Chesapeake Bay

摘要

While restoration of the oyster resource of the Chesapeake Bay is supported by extensive research and "on the ground" efforts there has been a reluctance to estimate a realistic time course for achieving both restoration goals and eventual magnitude of impacts on ecological processes, water quality and support of com-mercial fisheries (noting that these may not be equivalent). Fundamental aspects of oyster biology dictate that such estimates will have similar limitations no matter what species (singular or plural, native or non-native) is considered. We describe the current state of knowledge of stock-recruit relationships, annual replacement ratios, growth rates, age-specific mortality rates in relation to density and disease pressure, and available habitat to provide upper and lower estimates of time to stable terminal carrying capacity (with implications for ecological services and water quality) and potential harvest for commercial purposes.