Fish and invertebrate use of restored vs. natural oyster reefs in coastal North Carolina

Fish and invertebrate communities were quantified on recently restored (0-1 year post-restoration), older restored (3-4 years post-restoration), and natural oyster reefs to determine if and when restored reefs support functionally similar faunal communities. To test the influence of setting on the faunal communities, the restored and natural reefs, as well as a control without reef present, were distributed among 3 landscapes (on the edge of salt marsh away from seagrass [salt marsh landscape], on mudflats [mudflat landscape], and near to seagrass and salt marsh [seagrass landscape]). Oyster metrics (total oyster and shell weight, cluster weight, legal oyster density, and juvenile oyster density) and infauna (resident crabs, amphipods, polychaete biomass, bivalves other than oysters, and gastropods) were quantified using 15-cm diameter core sampling seasonally. In addition, juvenile fish and motile crustacean communities were quantified seasonally using 15 m^2 popup nets that sampled the entire reefs. Finally, experiments were conducted to compare gag grouper growth on oyster reefs vs. mud bottom in the field and to examine gag and flounder predation on mummichog and Penaeid shrimp using separate lab mesocosm experiments. The results of this study are analyzed and presented in the following manuscript: Grabowski, J. H. et al. 2022. Fish and invertebrate use of restored vs. natural oyster reefs in a shallow temperate-latitude estuary. Ecosphere (in press).