Non‐Random Mortality in an Experimental Oyster Restoration

Ecological restoration has emerged as a prominent conservation and management strategy widely touted for its utility in evaluating ecological theories when designed experimentally. In comparison, restoration has been underutilized to investigate evolution‐oriented questions, despite the importance of evolutionary processes in conservation and management settings. Here, we leverage an experimental restoration approach using the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, an economically valuable and ecologically important reef‐building foundation species. Previous small‐scale manipulations of oyster source identity highlight the potential evolutionary implications of sources used in restoration, yet have rarely been empirically evaluated at the scale of a restored reef. We sourced juvenile oysters from four commercial hatcheries spanning a broad geographic range along the Atlantic coast of the United States to build restored oyster reefs of diverse initial source composition in a single New England estuary. We characterized four distinct genetic clusters associated with hatchery source using SNP genotyping data and examined whether the frequencies of these genetic clusters on our mixed reefs shifted over the course of our restoration experiment. We documented strong shifts in the relative abundance of certain genetic lineages, consistent with differential mortality among oyster sources. Further, we found significant variation in ecologically relevant traits, including multi‐parasite infection patterns and oyster size, associated with source identity. Oyster condition index, a commonly used proxy for oyster health, was associated with higher relative mortality over time. Our research highlights how evolutionary processes can influence restoration demographics and how, concurrently, restoration can serve as a powerful platform for gaining fundamental, and sometimes unexpected, insights into eco‐evolutionary dynamics.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Evolutionary Applications

• Publication date

  2025-07-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1111/eva.70128PMID 40625418PMCID 12229816
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Incorporating experiments into management to facilitate rapid learning about climate change adaptation

  2024cited by this paper
• The eco-evolutionary risks of not changing seed provenancing practices in changing environments.

  2024cited by this paper
• Evaluating Multiple Oyster Reef Restoration Practices Across Space and Time in Coastal Rhode Island

  2024cited by this paper
• Designing eco‐evolutionary experiments for restoration projects: Opportunities and constraints revealed during stickleback introductions

  2024cited by this paper
• A second unveiling: haplotig masking of the eastern oyster genome improves population-level inference

  2023cited by this paper
• Host genetic identity determines parasite community structure across time and space in oyster restoration

  2023cited by this paper
• The application of assisted migration as a climate change adaptation tactic: An evidence map and synthesis

  2023cited by this paper
• Culturing for conservation: the need for timely investments in reef aquaculture

  2023cited by this paper
• Evidence for local adaptation of oysters to a within-estuary gradient in predation pressure weakens with ontogeny

  2022cited by this paper
• Nonrandom missing data can bias Principal Component Analysis inference of population genetic structure

  2021cited by this paper
• Genetic parameters for Crassostrea virginica and their application to family-based breeding in the mid-Atlantic, USA

  2021cited by this paper
• Use of predator cues to bolster oyster resilience for aquaculture and reef restoration

  2021cited by this paper
• Embedding genetics experiments in restoration to guide plant choice for a degraded landscape with a changing climate

  2021cited by this paper
• Genome‐wide analysis of natural and restored eastern oyster populations reveals local adaptation and positive impacts of planting frequency and broodstock number

  2021cited by this paper
• Factors influencing seed mix design for prairie restoration

  2021cited by this paper
• Heritability of acute low salinity survival in the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica)

  2020cited by this paper
• A scientific framework for conservation aquaculture: A case study of oyster restoration in central California

  2020cited by this paper
• Are bivalves susceptible to domestication selection? Using starvation tolerance to test for potential trait changes in eastern oyster larvae

  2020cited by this paper
• Assisted gene flow in the context of large‐scale forest management in California, USA

  2020cited by this paper
• Using genomics to design and evaluate the performance of underwater forest restoration

  2020cited by this paper
• Genetic diversity and phenotypic variation within hatchery-produced oyster cohorts predict size and success in the field.

  2019cited by this paper
• Evolution in novel environments: do restored prairie populations experience strong selection?

  2019cited by this paper
• Defining Dermo resistance phenotypes in an eastern oyster breeding population

  2019cited by this paper
• Preferential Parasitism of Native Oyster Ostrea edulis Over Non-Native Magallana gigas by a Polydorid Worm

  2019cited by this paper
• These aren’t the loci you’e looking for: Principles of effective SNP filtering for molecular ecologists

  2018cited by this paper
• Two-tiered defense strategy may compensate for predator avoidance costs of an ecosystem engineer

  2018cited by this paper
• Priority Actions to Improve Provenance Decision-Making

  2018cited by this paper
• Mix and match: regional admixture provenancing strikes a balance among different seed-sourcing strategies for ecological restoration

  2018cited by this paper
• Restoring the eastern oyster: how much progress has been made in 53 years?

  2018cited by this paper
• Genetic variation in anti-parasite behavior in oysters

  2018cited by this paper
• Links between community ecology theory and ecological restoration are on the rise

  2018cited by this paper
• Eco‐evolutionary dynamics in restored communities and ecosystems

  2017cited by this paper
• Genetic differentiation and regional adaptation among seed origins used for grassland restoration: lessons from a multispecies transplant experiment

  2017cited by this paper
• glmmTMB Balances Speed and Flexibility Among Packages for Zero-inflated Generalized Linear Mixed Modeling

  2017cited by this paper
• Inducible defenses in Olympia oysters in response to an invasive predator

  2017cited by this paper
• The effects of tidal elevation on parasite heterogeneity and co-infection in the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica

  2017cited by this paper
• Conservation aquaculture: Shifting the narrative and paradigm of aquaculture's role in resource management

  2017cited by this paper
• Using restoration as an experimental framework to test provenancing strategies and climate adaptability

  2017cited by this paper
• Estimating pairwise relatedness in a small sample of individuals

  2017cited by this paper
• Fast‐growing oysters show reduced capacity to provide a thermal refuge to intertidal biodiversity at high temperatures

  2017cited by this paper
• Improvements in desirable traits of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, as a result of five generations of selection on the West Coast, USA

  2016cited by this paper
• Fifteen Years of Rhode Island Oyster Restoration: A Performance Evaluation and Cost-Benefit Analysis

  2016cited by this paper
• Local adaptation in an estuarine foundation species: Implications for restoration

  2016cited by this paper
• Effects of intraspecific diversity on survivorship, growth, and recruitment of the eastern oyster across sites.

  2016cited by this paper
• Performance of selectively-bred lines of eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, across eastern US estuaries

  2016cited by this paper
• Evolutionary Restoration Ecology

  2016influential reference
• Local maladaptation in a foundation tree species: Implications for restoration

  2016cited by this paper
• Eco-evolutionary dynamics

  2016cited by this paper
• Assessment of recent eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reef restoration projects in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire: Planning for the future

  2016influential reference
• Genetic by environmental variation but no local adaptation in oysters (Crassostrea virginica)

  2016cited by this paper
• Are oysters being bored to death? Influence of Cliona celata on Crassostrea virginica condition, growth and survival.

  2015cited by this paper
• Time to get moving: assisted gene flow of forest trees

  2015cited by this paper
• related: an R package for analysing pairwise relatedness from codominant molecular markers

  2015cited by this paper
• LEA: An R package for landscape and ecological association studies

  2015influential reference
• Advances in restoration ecology: rising to the challenges of the coming decades

  2015cited by this paper
• Local adaptation of a marine invertebrate with a high dispersal potential: evidence from a reciprocal transplant experiment of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica

  2014cited by this paper
• dDocent: a RADseq, variant-calling pipeline designed for population genomics of non-model organisms

  2014influential reference
• Second-generation PLINK: rising to the challenge of larger and richer datasets

  2014influential reference
• Evolutionary responses to global change: lessons from invasive species.

  2014cited by this paper
• Eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica deter crab predators by altering their morphology in response to crab cues

  2014cited by this paper
• Classic paradigms in a novel environment: inserting food web and productivity lessons from rocky shores and saltmarshes into biogenic reef restoration

  2014cited by this paper
• Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4

  2014cited by this paper
• EnvStats: An R Package for Environmental Statistics

  2013cited by this paper
• Stacks: an analysis tool set for population genomics

  2013influential reference
• Strong natural selection during plant restoration favors an unexpected suite of plant traits

  2013cited by this paper
• Genome‐wide association genetics of an adaptive trait in lodgepole pine

  2012cited by this paper
• Size matters for risk assessment and resource allocation in bivalves

  2012cited by this paper
• Haplotype-based variant detection from short-read sequencing

  2012influential reference
• Historical ecology with real numbers: past and present extent and biomass of an imperilled estuarine habitat

  2012cited by this paper
• Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Services Provided by Oyster Reefs

  2012cited by this paper
• Growth and survival for genetically improved lines of Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and interline hybrids in Maine, USA

  2012cited by this paper
• Distance‐based multivariate analyses confound location and dispersion effects

  2012cited by this paper
• Local adaptation in marine invertebrates.

  2011cited by this paper
• Toward an Era of Restoration in Ecology: Successes, Failures, and Opportunities Ahead

  2011cited by this paper
• Genetic adaptation to captivity can occur in a single generation

  2011cited by this paper
• Oyster Reefs at Risk and Recommendations for Conservation, Restoration, and Management

  2011cited by this paper
• Genetic and historical evidence disagree on likely sources of the Atlantic amethyst gem clam Gemma gemma (Totten, 1834) in California

  2010cited by this paper
• Habitat-mediated size selection in endangered Atlantic salmon fry: selectional restoration assessment

  2010cited by this paper
• An R Companion to Applied Regression

  2010cited by this paper
• Sequence analysis Advance Access publication June 7, 2011 The variant call format and VCFtools

  2010influential reference
• Experimental evidence that phenotypic divergence in predators drives community divergence in prey.

  2009cited by this paper
• Development and Validation of a Real-Time Quantitative PCR Assay for the Detection and Quantification of Perkinsus marinus in the Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica

  2009cited by this paper
• Evaluating Recruitment Contribution of a Selectively Bred Aquaculture Line of the Oyster, Crassostrea virginica used in Restoration Efforts

  2008cited by this paper
• Estimating evolutionary parameters when viability selection is operating

  2008cited by this paper
• Fitness of hatchery-reared salmonids in the wild

  2008cited by this paper
• Seed supply for broadscale restoration: maximizing evolutionary potential

  2008cited by this paper
• A Meta-Analysis of Local Adaptation in Plants

  2008cited by this paper
• adegenet: a R package for the multivariate analysis of genetic markers

  2008influential reference
• Physiological and biochemical traits correlate with differences in growth rate and temperature adaptation among groups of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica

  2008cited by this paper
• Intraspecific variation in a predator affects community structure and cascading trophic interactions.

  2008cited by this paper
• Infection dynamics of an oyster parasite in its newly expanded range

  2007cited by this paper
• Non-lethal predator effects on the feeding rate and prey selection of the exotic zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha

  2007cited by this paper
• Steps in the construction of underwater coral nursery, an essential component in reef restoration acts

  2006cited by this paper
• Direct and indirect responses to selection on individual body weight in the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas)

  2006cited by this paper
• Clamming up: environmental forces diminish the perceptive ability of bivalve prey.

  2006cited by this paper
• A genetic test for recruitment enhancement in Chesapeake Bay oysters, Crassostrea virginica, after population supplementation with a disease tolerant strain

  2006cited by this paper
• Biodiversity and ecosystem stability in a decade-long grassland experiment

  2006cited by this paper
• HOW HABITAT SETTING INFLUENCES RESTORED OYSTER REEF COMMUNITIES

  2005cited by this paper
• Soil Heterogeneity Effects on Tallgrass Prairie Community Heterogeneity: An Application of Ecological Theory to Restoration Ecology

  2005cited by this paper
• HIERFSTAT , a package for R to compute and test hierarchical F -statistics

  2005cited by this paper

• No citing papers are available for this paper.