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Restoration is increasingly implemented as a strategy to mitigate global declines in biogenic habitats, such as salt marshes and oyster reefs. Restoration efforts could be improved if we knew how site characteristics at landscape scales affect the ecological success of these foundation species. In this study, we determined how salt marsh shoreline geomorphologies (e.g. with variable hydrodynamic energy, fetch, erosion rates, and slopes) affect the success of restored intertidal oyster reefs, as well as how fauna utilize restored reefs and forage along marsh habitats. We constructed oyster reefs along three marsh shoreline geomorphologies in May 2012: 1) “creek” (small‐fetch, gradual‐sloped shoreline), “ramp” (large‐fetch, gradual‐sloped shoreline), and “scarp” (large‐fetch, steep‐sloped shoreline). Following recruitment, oyster spat density was greatest on ramp reefs; however, 2 years later, the highest adult oyster densities were found on creek reefs. Total nekton and blue crab catch rates in trawl nets were highest in the creek, while piscivore catch rates in gill nets were highest along the scarp shoreline. We found no difference in predation on snails in the salt marsh behind constructed reef and nonconstructed reference sites, but there were more snails consumed in the creek shoreline, which corresponded with the distribution of their major predator—blue crabs. We conclude that oyster reef construction was most successful for oysters in small‐fetch, gradual‐sloped, creek environments. However, nekton abundance did not always follow the same trends as oyster density, which could suggest constructed reefs may offer similar habitat‐related functions (prey availability and refuge) already present along existing salt marsh borders.
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Effects of landscape setting on oyster reef structure and function largely persist more than a decade post‐restoration
Long‐term monitoring is vital to understanding the efficacy of restoration approaches and how restoration may enhance ecosystem functions. We revisited restored oyster reefs 13 years post‐restoration and quantified the resident and transient fauna that utilize restored reefs in three differing landscape contexts: on mudflats isolated from vegetated habitat, along the edge of salt marsh, and in between seagrass and salt marsh habitat. Differences observed 1–2 years post‐restoration in reef development and associated fauna within reefs restored on mudflats versus adjacent to seagrass/salt marsh and salt marsh‐only habitats persisted more than 10 years post‐restoration. Reefs constructed on open mudflat habitats had the highest densities of oysters and resident invertebrates compared to those in other landscape contexts, although all restored reefs continued to enhance local densities of invertebrate taxa (e.g. bivalves, gastropods, decapods, polychaetes, etc.). Catch rates of juvenile fishes were enhanced on restored reefs relative to controls, but to a lesser extent than directly post‐restoration, potentially because the reefs have grown vertically within the intertidal and out of the preferred inundation regime of small juvenile fishes. Reef presence and landscape setting did not augment the catch rates of piscivorous fishes in passive gill nets, similar to initial findings; however, hook‐and‐line catch rates were greater on restored reefs than non‐reef controls. We conclude that ecosystem functions and associated services provided by restored habitats can vary both spatially and temporally; therefore, a better understanding of how service delivery varies among landscape setting and over time should enhance efforts to model these processes and restoration decision‐making.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1635950
- PAR ID:
- 10048301
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Restoration Ecology
- Volume:
- 26
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 1061-2971
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 933-942
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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