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From molecules to ecosystems, and headwaters to ocean

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Short Stories about Aquatic Science

Help restore oysters to Texas' coastal waters

Home Aquatic Science CurriculumProjectsRecycle an Oyster Reef Class Project

Recycle an Oyster Reef Class Project

Aquatic Science Class Project to Recycle an Oyster Reef

Students volunteer for an aquatic science class project to help restore oysters to a Texas estuary. Students are placing oyster shells provided by seafood restaurants into the water which over time will recycle an oyster reef.

Students work to recycle an oyster reef, an image of a Texas Aquatic Science Class Project from the aquatic science textbook by author Rudolph Rosen. Photo credits: Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Corpus Christi Caller Times

Photo credits: Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Corpus Christi Caller Times

Most people know oysters have a hard outer shell and live on the bottom of Texas bays and estuaries. But what many people don’t know is that oysters don’t start out in a shell. After hatching from tiny eggs, the soft oysters drift in the water, pulled along by currents in the bay for about three weeks. They then find a hard surface upon which to attach. Once attached, they begin growing their shells.

Oysters in Texas mostly grow on the shells of other oysters, forming an oyster reef over time. When oysters are harvested for food the whole animal, shell and all, is removed. The soft oysters are removed from the shells when prepared as food in restaurants and by seafood processors. Where do all the shells go?

A great class project is to help restore these oyster shells to oyster reefs so new oysters will have a place to attach and grow. This is called oyster shell recycling. In cooperation with Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists, oyster shell is returned to oyster reefs to keep the reef healthy and supply oysters for the future. Without recycling, the shells will be thrown away and the oyster reef will not be able to regenerate new oysters.

In the photos below, high school students volunteer in a “Sink Your Shucks” oyster shell recycling program sponsored by the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Restaurants supply the shucks.

 

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Texas Aquatic Science is a cooperative education project sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife, The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University. Additional project support came from the Ewing Halsell Foundation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Sport Fish Restoration Program. Rudolph Rosen, Ph.D. wrote and edited the Texas Aquatic Science textbook. Videos were produced by Randall Maxwell. Sandra Johnson, Ph.D. served as educational consultant and authored the accompanying Teacher’s Guide.

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With financial support from the Ewing Halsell Foundation and the Sport Fish Restoration Program, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior


 
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© 2012-2022 · Texas Aquatic Science Website by Rudolph Rosen, Ph.D.
© 2013 · Texas Aquatic Science Textbook and Teacher's Guide by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University, and; The Hart Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

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