Research Overview
My current research is a project funded by the Maryland Sea Grant studying nitrogen cycling on oyster aquaculture farms. Eastern oysters are well known filter feeding organisms that can remove excess nutrients, such as nitrogen, when they feed. I am comparing nitrogen removal rates at aquaculture sites to natural and restored reefs using a numerical model. The model is validated with field data from two aquaculture sites.
Current projects
Abstract
Eastern oysters are filtering bivalves that once formed large nitrogen removing communities across the Chesapeake Bay.
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They have been shown to exhibit denitrifying potential beyond what they trap in shell and tissue.
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The inability to easily and reliably quantify this removal across diverse habitats prevents aquaculture growers from receiving an accurate crediting system for this ecosystem service.
The objective of my study is to apply a mechanistic model of oyster growth and biodeposition, sediment-water chemical fluxes, and oyster farm hydrodynamics to quantify nitrogen cycling within bottom-cage aquaculture.
Field Gallery
Freshwater meets the Chesapeake Bay at a salt marsh in Cove Point, MD
Aquaculture sampling locations
