FAS Abstracts 2004 Meeting Page

Biological Sciences (BIO Posters): POS-4

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Short-term experimental impacts of boat wakes on intertidal oyster reefs (Crassostrea virginica): a comparison between South Carolina and Florida sites. L. WALTERS (1), L. COEN (2), P. SACKS (1), J. GREVERT (1), and J. STINER (1). (1) Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Central FL, Orlando, FL 32816, (2) S.C. Dept. of Nat. Resources, Marine Resources Res. Inst., Charleston, SC 29412.  Using a variety of hull designs, engine profiles and velocities, we are experimentally looking at the impact of recreational boating on oyster reefs in two of the dominant habitat types (narrow tidal channels in SC, shallow-water estuaries in FL) in the southeastern United States.  In replicated trials, we measured shell dispersal, turbidity, wind speed, and flow rates generated after each boat pass.  Wind alone rarely moved shells.  However, significant shell movement and turbidity spikes were associated with boat generated wakes. The results were especially dramatic on the sheer SC slopes of tidal channels and on reefs in estuaries where prior activity (harvesting or die-offs) has created steeply-sloped, unstable accumulations of disarticulated shells.