title: Role and value of nitrogen regulation provided by oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in the Mission-Aransas Estuary, Texas, USA.
abstract: Suspension-feeding activities of oysters impart a potentially significant benefit to estuarine ecosystems via reduction of water column nutrients, plankton and seston biomass, and primary productivity which can have a significant impact on human well-being. This study considered nitrogen regulation by eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica in the Mission-Aransas Estuary, Texas, USA, as a function of denitrification, burial, and physical transport from the system via harvest. Oyster reefs were estimated to remove 502.5 kg N km(-2) through denitrification of biodeposits and 251.3 kg N km(-2) in burial of biodeposits to sediments. Nitrogen is also physically transported out of the estuary via harvest of oysters. Commercial harvest of oysters in the Mission-Aransas Estuary can remove approximately 21,665 kg N per year via physical transport from the system. We developed a transferable method to value the service of nitrogen regulation by oysters, where the potential cost equivalent value of nitrogen regulation is quantified via cost estimates for a constructed biological nutrient removal (BNR) supplement to a wastewater treatment plant. The potential annual engineered cost equivalent of the service of nitrogen regulation and removal provided by reefs in the Mission-Aransas Estuary is $293,993 yr(-1). Monetizing ecosystem services can help increase awareness at the stakeholder level of the importance of oysters beyond commercial fishery values alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas, United States of America. jennifer.pollack@tamucc.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Beseres Pollack
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yoskowitz
authors.forename: Hae-Cheol
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Montagna
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049896:Crassostrea / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D063366:Estuaries / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D058458:Nitrogen Cycle; D013781:Texas; D018505:Waste Management / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D009584:Nitrogen; D062065:Wastewater