This reef formation is based on water quality, current flows, and the availability of a suitable setting material, known as cultch. Oyster larvae exhibit a preference to settle on and around where other oysters are located, creating reefs. Once an oyster sets in a location, it cannot move, so finding an ideal location is vital. The larvae are microscopic and will swim for approximately two weeks until they develop a foot and begin to crawl, searching for a location to set. Fertilized eggs will float in the water column for ~24 hours and hatch into swimming larvae. When water temperatures change from cold to warm, this change triggers males to release sperm which in turn triggers females to release eggs. Oyster reproduction is cued by temperature changes. The gut is made up of diffuse tissue that is both digestive and reproductive. The food sorted by the gills and labial palps becomes part of a mucous strand that is reeled into the gut known as the crystalline style. The oysters’ gills “pump” water to obtain oxygen but also filter particles from the water for the oyster to eat. Oysters are bivalves that is, they have two shells made up of calcium carbonate secreted by their mantle tissue that protects their soft bodies from the environment and predators. Factoring in both the economic and ecologic value of oyster reefs increases the number into the billions. That is probably a low estimate of the overall value of the oyster because it does account for the ecological value of the fish species that use oyster reefs as a food source and nursery habitat, nor the coastal protection and water-quality services oyster reefs provide. In 2011 31 million pounds of oysters were harvestede with a dockside value of approximately $135 million ( National Marine Fisheries Service). Oyster culture is one of the most prominent forms of marine aquaculture in the U.S.
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