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An Investigation of Utilizing Ripraps as Substrate for Oyster Stocking within Delaware Coastal Bays
Brian A Reckenbeil1,2 and Gulnihal Ozbay1*1Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Delaware State University, Dover, DE 19901, USA
2Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Marathon, FL 33050, USA
- *Corresponding Author:
- Gulnihal Ozbay
Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Delaware State University, Dover, DE, 19901, USA
Tel: 1+(302) 857 6476
E-mail: gozbay@desu.edu
Received date: October 07, 2014; Accepted date: October 15, 2014; Published date: October 22, 2014
Citation: Reckenbeil BA, Ozbay G (2014) An Investigation of Utilizing Ripraps as Substrate for Oyster Stocking within Delaware Coastal Bays. J Ecosys Ecograph 4:150. doi:10.4172/2157-7625.1000150
Copyright: © 2014 Reckenbeil BA, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Numerous resources are required to re-construct oyster reefs, which make oyster enhancement projects difficult, and are not always successful. Riprap has increased the complexity of shorelines in developed regions, thus providing a suitable substrate for oyster stocking at no extra cost to managers. Two year-old oysters were planted between rock crevices, and after one year in the riprap, showed 50% survival. Medium sized ripraps (0.4-0.6 m rock diameter) are ideal for conducting survival experiments and general oyster stocking. It is important to note that all riprap is not homogeneous in nature, as size and depth of boulders vary, which will influence site selection depending on the goals of the oyster restoration program.
