Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: California
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

California Project


Humboldt Bay Invertebrate

September 2016 - August 2019


Personnel

Participating Agencies

  • Confluence Environmental Company

Numerous studies on the U.S. West Coast have documented differences in species diversity and abundance associated with estuarine habitat types with and without oyster culture. However, due to the relatively recent transition to off-bottom culture, few studies have addressed how and whether off-bottom oyster culture affects species use and abundance or whether these differences affect the overall food web ecology of the system. We will examine how off-bottom oyster culture influences the benthic invertebrate community in Humboldt Bay, California's second largest estuary.