Oysters

Oysters were historically a keystone species in Chesapeake Bay, filtering water and providing habitat for numerous Bay organisms through their reefs. Today they stand at 1% of their orignial population. Oyster research at VIMS focuses on restoration of the native oyster Crassostrea virginica, as well as evaluation of the use of the non-native Asian oyster C. ariakensis.

Top Stories

• Jamestown studies (May 2007)
  In this National Geographic video, Dr. Juli Harding discusses her use of oyster shells to shed light on environmental conditions during the early years of the Jamestown Settlement. 
• VIMS updates Fishing Report (Dec 2005)
  VIMS researchers update their seminal 1997 study of how commercial and recreational fishing contribute to Virginia's economy.
• VIMS helps restore Wicomico oysters (March 2005)
  A disease-tolerant oyster strain developed at VIMS underpins the latest and largest effort to restore native oysters to Chesapeake Bay.

Crest Articles

• ABC helps breeds a new oyster Industry
• Landmark oyster study continues to provide data
• Collaborative project gets to the bottom of oyster questions
• Dye helps predict potential dispersal of non-native oyster larvae
• VIMS finds pathogen in non-native oyster
• ABC continues oyster work with Academy validation
• VIMS Helps Local Students Aid Oyster Restoration Effort
• VIMS urges caution in commercial release of non-native oysters
• Oyster Reef Restoration: How Should Sanctuary Reefs Look?
• Many Questions, Many Perspectives on Non-Native Oysters
• A Variety of Suspension Feeders May Be Assisting Oysters in Filtering Bay Water

Advisory Service Reports

Non-native oysters

• VIMS Statement on the Use of Crassostrea ariakensis in Chesapeake Bay
• Aquaculture of Triploid Crassostrea ariakensis in Chesapeake Bay
• Standing Policy for VIMS Non-Native Oyster Research in Virginia
• A Comparative Field Study of Crassostrea ariakensis and Crassostrea virginica in Relation to Salinity in Virginia
• A Comparative Field Study of Crassostrea gigas and Crassostrea virginica in Relation to Salinity in Virginia

Native Oysters and Restoration

• An Introduction to Culturing Oysters in Virginia
• Oyster Reef Habitat Restoration: A synopsis and synthesis of approaches (Order print copy here)
• Oyster Diseases of the Chesapeake Bay
• The status of Virginia's public oyster resource
   2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000
• Trophic studies on constructed "restored" oyster reefs. Annual report to the Chesapeake Bay Program
  1998 | 1997

Shellfish Diseases

• Status of the major oyster diseases in Virginia
  2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002
• Molecular methods for the detection of Quahog Parasite Unknown (QPX). Marine Resource Report No. 2001-10.
• QPX susceptibility in hard clams varies with geographic origin of brood stock.

Labs, Centers, and Groups

• Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center (ABC)
• Aquaculture Molecular Genetics Laboratory
• Aquatic Animal Health
• Eastern Shore Laboratory (ESL)
• Fish & Shellfish Immunity
• Fish & Shellfish Nutrition
• Kauffman Aquaculture Center (KAC)
• Molluscan Ecology Program
• NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office in Virginia (NCBO)
• OIE Reference Laboratory
• Oyster Pathobiology
• Shellfish Pathology Laboratory

Special Reports in Applied Marine Science and Ocean Engineering (SRAMSOE)

1. Kirkley JE. 1997. Virginia's Commercial Fishing Industry : Its Economic Performance and Contributions. Report 337. 77 pp.
2. Barber BJ, and R Mann. 1991. Estimation of Standing Stock of Oysters in the James River, Virginia, Using Commercial Fishing Records. Report 310. pp.
3. Hargis WJ, and DS Haven. 1988. The Imperilled Oyster Industry of Virginia : A Critical Analysis with Recommendations for Restoration. Report 290. 130 pp.
4. Johnson HB, JG Loesch, WH Kriete, JG Travelstead, EJ Foell, and MA Hennigar. 1981. Biology and Management of Mid-Atlantic Anadromous Fishes under Extended Jurisdiction. Report 236. 191, xi, 201 pp.
5. Zaborski J, and DS Haven. 1980. Oyster Mortalities in the Upper Rappahannock River and in the Virginia Tributaries of the Lower Potomac : Their Association with High River Discharge and Low Salinity. Report 241. pp.
6. Zaborski J. 1979. A Description of the Commercial Marine Fisheries of Virginia. Report 233. pp.
7. Merriner JV, and JW Smith. 1979. A Report to the Oyster Industry of Virginia on the Biology and Management of the Cownose Ray (Rhinoptera bonasus, Mitchill) in Lower Chesapeake Bay. Report 216. pp.
8. Haven DS, WJ Hargis, and PC Kendall. 1978. The Oyster Industry of Virginia : Its Status, Problems and Promise. Report 168. 149 pp.
9. Burrell VG, M Castagna, and RK Dias. 1972. A Study of the Commercial and Recreational Fisheries of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Accomack and Northampton Counties : History Review and Recommendations for Improvements. Report 20. pp.
10. Andrews JD. 1955. Reports on Freshwater Kill of Oysters in Rappahannock River Caused by Hurricanes Connie and Diana. Report 1. 78 pp.

Journal Articles

1. Mann, R, Harding, JM, Southworth, MJ. 2009. Reconstructing pre-colonial oyster demographics in Chesapeake Bay, USA. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. In press.
2. Mann, R, Southworth, MJ, Harding, JM, Wesson, JA. 2009. Population studies of the native oyster, Crassostrea virginica, (Gmelin, 1791) in the James River, Virginia, USA. Journal of Shellfish Research. 28(2): 193-220.
3. Harding, JM, Mann, R, Southworth, MJ. 2008. Shell length-at-age relationships in James River, Virginia oysters (Crassostrea virginica) collected four centuries apart. Journal of Shellfish Research. 27(5): 1109-1116
4. Moss, J. A., and coauthors. 2007. Pathogens in Crassostrea ariakensis and other Asian oyster species: implications for non-native oyster introduction to Chesapeake Bay. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 77(3):207-223.
5. Mann, R., and E. N. Powell. 2007. Why oyster restoration goals in the Chesapeake Bay are not and probably cannot be achieved. Journal of Shellfish Research:905–917.
6. Moss, J. A., E. M. Burreson, and K. S. Reece. 2006. Advanced Perkinsus marinus infections in Crassostrea ariakensis maintained under laboratory conditions. Journal of Shellfish Research 25(1):65-72.
7. Carlsson, J., C. L. Morrison, and K. S. Reece. 2006. Wild and aquaculture populations of the eastern oyster compared using microsatellites. Journal of Heredity 97(6):595-598.
8. Encomio, V. G., S. M. Stickler, S. K. Allen, and F. L. Chu. 2005. Performance of "natural dermo-resistant" oyster stocks-survival, disease, growth, condition and energy reserves. Journal of Shellfish Research 24(1):143-155.
9. Liu, Z. J., and J. F. Cordes. 2004. DNA marker technologies and their applications in aquaculture genetics. Aquaculture 242(1-4):735-736.
10. Carnegie, R. B., and N. Cochennec-Laureau. 2004. Microcell parasites of oysters: Recent insights and future trends. Aquatic Living Resources 17(4):519-528.
11. Burreson, E. M., N. A. Stokes, R. B. Carnegie, and M. J. Bishop. 2004. Bonamia sp (Haplosporidia) found in nonnative oysters Crassostrea ariakensis in Bogue Sound, North Carolina. Journal of Aquatic Animal Health 16(1):1-9.
12. Mann, R and Evans, D. 2004. Site selection for oyster habitat rehabilitation in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay: A commentary. Journal of Shellfish Research. 23(1): 41-49.
13. Southworth, MJ and Mann, R. 2004. Decadal scale changes in seasonal patterns of oyster recruitment in the Virginia subestuaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Journal of Shellfish Research. 23(2): 391-402.
14. Frankic, A., and C. Hershner. 2003. Sustainable aquaculture: developing the promise of aquaculture. Aquaculture International 11(6):517-530.
15. Carnegie, R. B., B. J. Barber, and D. L. Distel. 2003. Detection of the oyster parasite Bonamia ostreae by fluorescent in situ hybridization. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 55(3):247-252.
16. Harding, JM and Mann, R. 2003. Influence of habitat on diet and distribution of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in a temperate estuary. Bulletin of Marine Science. 72(3): 841-851.
17. Kator, H., and M. Rhodes. 2001. Elimination of fecal coliforms and F-specific RNA coliphage from oysters (Crassostrea virginica) relaid in floating containers. Journal of Food Protection 64(6):796-801.
18. Calvo, G. W., M. W. Luckenbach, S. K. Allen, and E. M. Burreson. 2001. A comparative field study of Crassostrea ariakensis (Fujita 1913) and Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin 1791) in relation to salinity in Virginia. Journal of Shellfish Research 20(1):221-229.
19. Harding, JM and Mann, R. 2001a. Oyster reefs as fish habitat: Opportunistic use of restored reefs by transient fishes. Journal of Shellfish Research. 20(3):951-959.
20. Harding, JM and Mann, R. 2001b. Diet and habitat use by bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, in a Chesapeake Bay estuary. Env. Biol. Fishes. 60:401-409.
21. Burreson, E. M., N. A. Stokes, and C. S. Friedman. 2000. Increased virulence in an introduced pathogen: Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) in the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica. Journal of Aquatic Animal Health 12(1):1-8.
22. Harding, JM and Mann, R. 1999. Fish species richness in relation to restored oyster reefs, Piankatank River, Virginia. Bulletin of Marine Science 65(1): 289-300.
23. Burreson, E. M., R. S. Alvarez, V. V. Martinez, and L. A. Macedo. 1994. Perkinsus marinus (Apicomplexa) as a Potential Source of Oyster Crassostrea virginica Mortality in Coastal Lagoons of Tabasco, Mexico. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 20(1):77-82.
24. Shpigel, M., and R. A. Blaylock. 1991. The Pacific Oyster, Crassostrea gigas, as a biological filter for a marine fish aquaculture pond. Aquaculture 92(2-3):187-197.

Theses & Dissertations

1. Moss, J. A. 2007. Characterization of exotic pathogens associated with the suminoe oyster, Crassostrea ariakensis. Ph.D. Dissertation. The College of William and Mary, Gloucester Pt. VA.
2. Stickler, S. M. 2004. Natural dermo resistance and related defense mechanisms in eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, with implications for restoration. Ph.D. Dissertation. The College of William and Mary, Gloucester Pt. VA.
3. Nestlerode, J. A. 2004. Evaluating restored oyster reefs in Chesapeake Bay: How habitat structure influences ecological function. Ph.D. Dissertation. The College of William and Mary, Gloucester Pt. VA.
4. Encomio, V. G. 2004. A study of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica: (1) Dermo tolerance, survival, growth, condition and Hsp70 expression in different geographic stocks; (2) Heat tolerance and effects of sublethal heat shock on survival and Hsp70 expression of infected and uninfected oysters. Ph.D. Dissertation. The College of William and Mary, Gloucester Pt. VA.

Suggested Links

• Virginia Marine Resources Commission
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
• American Fisheries Society (AFS)
• North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
• Atlantic Coast Marine Fisheries Agencies