|
Oyster Shells from Jamestown: |
 |
|
Molluscan
Ecology Program
|
Introduction |
| Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and the reefs that they created were central to the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay prior to the early 20th century. When the colonists arrived in 1607, they would have had to navigate their way through massive three dimensional oyster reef communities in the James River that were exposed at low tide and created living "rocks" that posed serious hazards to their wooden ships on the way to Jamestown. Studies of oyster populations, past and present, rely on various levels of information. At the most basic level, presence/absence data combined with measurements of oyster shells provides information on general population demographics and ecology. As oysters grow, they deposit internal signatures within their shells that are preserved through time much like the concentric growth rings made by trees. These internal shell signatures are used for oyster age and growth rate evaluation. Estimates of individual oyster ages and growth rates provides a means to describe population dynamics (age structure, recruitment patterns, mortality rates) as well as general trends in environmental conditions (water temperature, salinity) given the extensive body of knowledge relating oyster growth to these parameters. Our research on the Jamestown oyster shells addresses each of these information levels for the 1600 era shells using the same techniques that we are using to evaluate modern oyster shells collected from the James River during 2004-2006. The use of the same techniques for historic and modern collections will allow us to make comparisons within the James River habitat across time periods. |
| As this research project progresses, we will be updating this web page regularly. Please check back for additional information. |
| Collaborators |
| This research has been made possible through a collaboration with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities staff at Jamestown. Dr. Howard Spero (University of California, Davis) and Dr. Greg Herbert (University of South Florida) are collaborating with us (Drs. Juliana Harding and Roger Mann,VIMS) in the evaluation of sclerochronological patterns within these historic shells. |
Contact Dr. Juliana M. Harding, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, for additional information on this research. |
e-mail: jharding@vims.edu |
Document
last modified 01.04.2007
|
©
2007-8. Molluscan Ecology Program. Virginia Institute of Marine
Science.
|
|
All
rights reserved. All images © 2007-8 Juliana M. Harding.
|