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Established non-native species can have significant impacts on native biodiversity without any possibility of complete eradication. In such cases, one management approach is functional eradication, the reduction of introduced species density below levels that cause unacceptable effects on the native community. Functional eradication may be particularly effective for species with reduced dispersal ability, which may limit rates of reinvasion from distant populations. Here, we evaluate the potential for functional eradication of introduced predatory oyster drills (Urosalpinx cinerea) using a community science approach in San Francisco Bay. We combined observational surveys, targeted removals, and a caging experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach in mitigating the mortality of prey Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida), a conservation and restoration priority species. Despite the efforts of over 300 volunteers that removed over 30,000 oyster drills, we report limited success. We also found a strong negative relationship between oyster drills and oysters, showing virtually no coexistence across eight sites. At experimental sites, there was no effect of oyster drill removal on oyster survival in a caging experiment, but strong effects of caging treatment on oyster survival (0 and 1.6% survival in open and partial cage treatments, as compared to 89.1% in predator exclusion treatments). We conclude that functional eradication of this species requires significantly greater effort and may not be a viable management strategy in this system. We discuss several possible mechanisms for this result with relevance to management for this and other introduced species. Oyster restoration efforts should not be undertaken where Urosalpinx is established or is likely to invade.
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This content will become publicly available on June 20, 2025
Exploring high intertidal refugia as an approach for the restoration of an intertidal oyster
Marine organisms frequently inhabit intertidal zones that serve as refuges from predation and competition but are not optimal physiologically. Restoration practitioners working with intertidal species may similarly have to consider whether restoration success will be greater where conditions are more benign (usually lower in the intertidal) or where negative biotic interactions are reduced (usually higher in the intertidal). In cases where a target species has greater desiccation tolerance than its enemies, restoration may be more successful higher in the intertidal zone, despite potential performance trade-offs. In many US West Coast estuaries, non-native drill species can decimate native oyster populations, posing a challenge to restoration. Given that native Olympia oystersOstrea luridashould be better able to withstand tidal emersion than the non-native Atlantic oyster drillUrosalpinx cinerea, we explored using the high intertidal as a refuge from predation as a potential restoration technique. Using surveys and a field experiment, we investigated the recruitment, growth, and survival of oysters as well as drill abundance and predation over 3 tidal elevations. Oysters recruited and survived equally well at +0.1, +0.5, and +0.8 m mean lower low water, but juvenile oyster growth decreased with increasing elevation. In our experiment, predation on oysters was lower at the highest elevation than at low and mid elevations, but in natural populations there was a near complete absence ofO. luridaat any elevation whereU. cinereawas present. This suggests that a higher tidal elevation refuge is not a viable approach for oyster restoration in our study area.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2023571
- PAR ID:
- 10562271
- Publisher / Repository:
- Inter-Research Science Publisher
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Marine Ecology Progress Series
- Volume:
- 738
- ISSN:
- 0171-8630
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 119 to 132
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Olympia oysters Ostrea lurida Urosalpinx cinerea Predation Intertidal zonation Refuge Restoration
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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