Open AccessA COMPARATIVE STUDY OF A SALTWATER IMPOUNDMENT AND ITS ADJACENT TIDAL CREEK PERTINENT TO CULTURE OF Crassostrea virginica (GMELIN)
Author(s) -
Anderson William D.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
proceedings of the world mariculture society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1749-7345
pISSN - 0748-3260
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-7345.1979.tb00066.x
Subject(s) - estuary , nutrient , chlorophyll a , crassostrea , salinity , oceanography , environmental science , phytoplankton , hydrography , oyster , biomass (ecology) , turbidity , eastern oyster , intertidal zone , hydrology (agriculture) , fishery , biology , ecology , geology , botany , geotechnical engineering
Certain physical, chemical and biological characteristics associated with the culture of subtidal Crassostrea virginica were assessed in a saltwater impoundment and its adjacent tidal feeder creek. Large seed oysters (initial x̄ = 57.3 mm) were transferred from a polluted estuary of Charleston Harbor to floating, mid‐water, and bottom hardware cloth trays (200/tray) in a 4‐ha pond. Identical trays at comparable depths were placed in the tidal creek and each location was sampled monthly for growth and survival. Surface and bottom water samples were collected weekly throughout the study and hourly during four seasonal 25‐hour stations. Standard hydrographic parameters (temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, light penetration, and turbidity) were measured along with chlorophyll a, phytoplankton, dissolved and particulate carbohydrates, nutrients (nitrates, nitrites, orthophosphates and silicates), current velocities, and thioglycollate assays for Perkinsus marinus . Over a 12‐month period, oyster growth was significantly (α = 0.01) greater in the pond than in the creek. Best growth in the impoundment occurred in floating trays, poorest in bottom trays. Growth and survival were higher in winter and lower in summer in both environments. Higher levels of chlorophyll a, carbohydrates, pH, and dissolved oxygen were consistently observed in the impoundment. Lower comparative nutrient values in the pond together with higher biomass levels indicated a more favorable environment for autotrophic production. Greater oyster production in the pond was directly related to a higher instantaneous biomass maintained throughout the year. This relationship was supported by indications of an inverse correlation between nutrient concentrations and the instantaneous biomass. Nutrient and biomass data indicated an apparent NO 3 ‐ limited system.