Short term effects of a commercial eastern oyster nursery upon nutrient and plankton dynamics of a coastal embayment: observations from mesocosm experiments

Two mesocosm experiments were conducted to study the interaction of a commercial oyster-nursery system with the surrounding embayment, specifically, nutrient and plankton dynamics. The nursery was stocked with 80–200 L of oysters, sized 3–5 mm. Ambient water and the water passed through the oyster nursery were incubated in mesocosms, and nutrients and plankton were monitored over the course of 27-h incubations. The first experiment conducted in July 2009 captured a phytoplankton community dominated by Peridinium quinquecorne, a rare dinoflagellate not previously reported in the northeastern USA. Dissolved nitrogen compounds in all mesocosms were depleted within the first 6 h. The second experiment was conducted in September 2009, when a more typical and diverse phytoplankton community was present. Unlike the first experiment, Nitrate plus nitrite in the mesocosms was not depleted. Both experiments indicated little difference between the water passed through the oyster nursery and the ambient water in terms of subsequent nutrient and plankton dynamics, indicating little ‘legacy effect’ of the oyster nursery upon nutrients and plankton in this embayment. This conclusion was reached under the specific operating conditions typical for this nursery system, as chosen by the commercial partner in the study; changes in oyster stocking or flow rate are likely to change the results.