Assessing conservation conflict: Does intertidal oyster aquaculture inhibit foraging behavior of migratory shorebirds?

Maslo, Brooke; Burkhalter, J. Curtis; Bushek, David; Yuhas, Tanner; Schumm, Brian; Burger, Joanna; Lockwood, Julie L.

doi:10.1002/ecs2.3097

Cited by 3 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…In some cases, shorebirds, including oystercatchers and curlews, occurred in significantly lower numbers in areas with oyster racks when other suitable foraging habitats were nearby (Hilgerloh et al 2001; Burger & Niles 2017). However, there are also studies that found no significant effect of the presence of untended aquaculture structures, while tending the oyster cultivation structures by oyster farmers reduced the probability of shorebird presence (Maslo et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reduced visibility may ultimately cause foraging birds, which are cautious by nature, to avoid mussel beds that have been restored with the help of artificial structures, and thereby not comply with the original aims set for intertidal mussel bed restoration. While the effect of structures on bird behavior has not been studied much from a restoration perspective, studies have been conducted on the effect of intertidal aquaculture operations, such as the use of oyster culture racks or oyster longlines, on shorebirds (Connolly & Colwell 2005; Maslo et al 2020). Some of these studies have shown that shorebird species increased foraging around these aquaculture structures (Hilgerloh et al 2001; Connolly & Colwell 2005), while other studies showed that the presence of oyster culture structures did not influence habitat use and feeding rates (Maslo et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the effect of structures on bird behavior has not been studied much from a restoration perspective, studies have been conducted on the effect of intertidal aquaculture operations, such as the use of oyster culture racks or oyster longlines, on shorebirds (Connolly & Colwell 2005; Maslo et al 2020). Some of these studies have shown that shorebird species increased foraging around these aquaculture structures (Hilgerloh et al 2001; Connolly & Colwell 2005), while other studies showed that the presence of oyster culture structures did not influence habitat use and feeding rates (Maslo et al 2020). This contrast in findings emphasizes the need for similar studies in restoration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying how restoration measures influence the presence of shorebirds: a case study on the use of artificial structures for restoring mussel reefs

Schotanus,

Walles,

Capelle

et al. 2023

Restoration Ecology

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Artificial structures are often used as a tool for habitat restoration and the recreation of degraded coastal ecosystems and their associated food webs. However, it is often unknown if and how these artificial structures may influence the habitat use of target species, thereby hampering restoration goals. In this study, we test how artificial barriers, deployed to enhance the creation of an intertidal mussel bed, influenced the mussel‐habitat use by two bird species under pressure, Eurasian oystercatchers and Eurasian curlews. Average bird presence was monitored using time‐lapse camera's from the start of the mussel bed restoration in August 2018 until April 2019. We found that in the first few months of the experiment, both oystercatchers and curlews avoided the restored mussel beds containing artificial structures in the form of metal barriers that act as traps for dislodged mussels. Thereafter, the presence of barriers had no negative influence on the average presence of oystercatchers or curlews. In fact, curlews were significantly attracted to the mussel beds with barriers in January and February. In addition, we found a negative effect of the presence of European herring gulls on the presence of oystercatchers and curlews. The higher herring gull densities in the first 2 months of the experiment might explain the lower‐than‐expected curlew and oystercatcher densities observed in August. To our knowledge, no other studies have investigated the effect of artificial restoration structures on the abundance or habitat use of specific shorebirds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identifying how restoration measures influence the presence of shorebirds: a case study on the use of artificial structures for restoring mussel reefs

Schotanus,

Walles,

Capelle

et al. 2023

Restoration Ecology

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“…In the case of the Dutch Wadden Sea, Waser et al (2016) conclude that, whilst the impacts of M. gigas are substantial, it is likely that the disturbance resulting from efforts to remove or limit the spread M. gigas would do substantially more harm than good to the avian diversity of the area. Research on the utilisation of intertidal habitats by foraging shorebirds in Delaware Bay (USA) suggests that the feeding rates are unaffected by the presence of oyster aquaculture (Maslo et al, 2020).…”

Section: Effects On Birdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restrictions on UK aquaculture of Pacific oyster (Magallana gigas) will not prevent naturalised spread but suppress ecological and economic benefits to coastal communities

Shakspeare,

Cameron,

Steinke

2024

Preprint

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The Pacific oyster (Magallana (Crassostrea) gigas) was introduced to UK waters in the mid 20th century and currently accounts for over 95% of UK oyster fishery landings. Recently however, its non native origin has led policy makers to consider a limit on UK oyster aquaculture operations. M. gigas is effectively naturalised in the UK, with multiple records of populations originating from non local sources, including from outside the UK. Neighbouring countries, most notably France, treat M. gigas as a naturalised species. The naturalised status simplifies regulation and enables the fishery to provide large quantities of nutritious and sustainable food, supporting employment in coastal communities. Further to this, alongside the potential for detrimental effects this species could have on natural habitats, M. gigas presence can have substantial positive environmental impacts, for example, for improving water quality and by providing living breakwaters for contemporary coastal protection schemes. Our review suggests that efforts to reduce the spread of M. gigas in England are unlikely to have the desired long-term effect and will fundamentally fail due to introductions in Scotland and larval connectivity throughout the southern North Sea. We recommend that UK policy on M. gigas should be updated to reflect the environmental and socioeconomic benefits of Pacific oysters to the shellfish fishery and to open its utility for the provision of nature-based solutions in the adaption to the effects of sea-level rise. Additional location-specific management interventions should focus on suitable mitigation for sensitive sites or to slow spreading events on a case-by-case basis.

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“…Reduced visibility may ultimately cause foraging birds, which are cautious by nature, to avoid mussel beds that have been restored with the help of artificial structures, and thereby not comply with the original aims set for intertidal mussel bed restoration. While the effect of structures on bird behavior has not much been studied form a restoration perspective, studies have been conducted on the effect of intertidal aquaculture operations, such as the use of oyster culture racks or oyster longlines, on shorebird (Connolly & Colwell, 2005;Maslo et al, 2020). Some of these studies have shown that shorebird species increased foraging around these aquaculture structures (Hilgerloh et al, 2001;Connolly & Colwell, 2005), while other studies showed that the presence of oyster culture structures did not influence habitat use and feeding rates (Maslo et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoring mussel beds on highly dynamic mudflats

Schotanus

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could potentially be a better donor source for intertidal transplantations, as young mussels may still possess a sufficiently high capacity for phenotypic plasticity, making them capable of acclimating to a new environment. This chapter focuses on the understanding of how mussels adjust to a new environment, and which environmental factors (e.g., exposure to the air and wave action) are driving these adjustments. This knowledge can prevent the transplantation of organisms with illadjusted phenotypes and ultimately increase the transplantation success. Chapter 3: Lowering environmental stressorsNewly transplanted mussels are highly vulnerable to dislodgement by hydrodynamic forces and to predation by crabs or shorebirds (Capelle et al., 2014). As a result, the establishment might require a "window of opportunity," defined as a specific disturbance-free period (Balke et al., 2011;Balke et al., 2013). Additional measures are often needed to artificially create such a window of opportunity on a highly dynamic coast, as the chances are very low for such moments to naturally occur at the same time and space as the restoration effort being executed. Engineering measures such as breakwaters or attachment substrates may be used to create a window of opportunity and kick-start establishment. In this chapter, we tested whether the environmental stress caused by a high predation pressure and wavedriven dislodgement could be reduced through a combination of artificial structures such as fences (to exclude predatory crabs), attachment substrates such as coir-net or oyster shells (to enhance attachment strength) and breakwaters (to reduce dragforces from waves). Overall, this study highlights the potential for using techniques that can lower multiple environmental stressors to create a window of opportunity for establishment in highly dynamic ecosystems. Chapter 4: Promoting self-facilitating feedback processesCoastal ecosystem engineers often depend on self-facilitating feedback processes to ameliorate environmental stress. This makes the restoration of such coastal ecosystem engineers difficult. On soft-bottom mudflats, mussels attach themselves to conspecifics and aggregate into distinctive patterns (van de Koppel et al., 2005a;Commito et al., 2014) to increase their resistance to dislodgement by hydrodynamic forces (Liu et al., 2014) and create a safety in numbers effect and reducing the chance of falling prey to predators (Cote & Jelnikar, 1999;Hunt & Scheibling, 2001). Recent studies emphasize the importance of integrating these kinds of positive intraspecific feedbacks to improve transplantation success (Silliman et al., 2015;Renzi et al., 2019;Valdez et al., 2020). However, large-scale and cost-effective restoration methods that consider positive feedback interactions, in addition to creating a window of opportunity for the establishment of target organisms, are still scarce. In this chapter, Chapter 2 Mussel seed is highly plastic to settling conditions: the influence of waves vs. tidal emergence

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Assessing conservation conflict: Does intertidal oyster aquaculture inhibit foraging behavior of migratory shorebirds?

Abstract: 2020. Assessing conservation conflict: Does intertidal oyster aquaculture inhibit foraging behavior of migratory shorebirds? Ecosphere 11(5):Abstract. Conservation is increasingly in conflict with human activities due to global human population

Cited by 3 publications

References 70 publications

Identifying how restoration measures influence the presence of shorebirds: a case study on the use of artificial structures for restoring mussel reefs

Identifying how restoration measures influence the presence of shorebirds: a case study on the use of artificial structures for restoring mussel reefs

Restrictions on UK aquaculture of Pacific oyster (Magallana gigas) will not prevent naturalised spread but suppress ecological and economic benefits to coastal communities

Restoring mussel beds on highly dynamic mudflats

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