Abstract:

This dataset contains oyster recruitment data in Mississippi Sound from 2019-09-10 to 2021-10-12. Early stages of oysters including larvae and spat were collected from up to seven stations in western Mississippi Sound using plankton nets and settlement samplers during the late summer/early fall season in order to determine if and how much early oyster recruitment is occurring following the sustained freshwater inflow from the Bonnet Carre spillway which effectively eliminated early recruitment of oysters within this region during the 2019 season.

Suggested Citation:

Rakocinski, Chet. 2023. Oyster recruitment in Mississippi Sound from 2019-09-10 to 2021-10-12. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/VJ42V9PF

Purpose:

To monitor oyster recruitment in Mississippi Sound and maintain spat collection data.

Data Parameters and Units:

Year (yyyy); DateRtvd (mm/dd/yyyy); Site ID; Station; Latitude (decimal degrees); Longitude (decimal degrees); Tile (1, 2, 2 tiles per station); Surface (1=upper surface, 2= lower surface); Set (event 1 or 2); SoakTime (number of days soak time); NmLgSpat (number of large spat >2mm); NmSmSpat (number of small spat <2mm); TotNmSpt (total number of spat); PcSptCov (percent spat cover); NmSpatScr (number of spat scars); MaxSptSz (maximum spat size in mm); PcBRNCOv (percent barnacle cover); TempSurf (temperature at surface degrees centigrade); TempBot (temperature at bottom degrees centigrade); SalSurf (salinity at surface g/kg (psu)); SalBot (surface at bottom g/kg (psu)); DOSurf (dissolved oxygen at surface mg/L); DOBot (dissolved oxygen at bottom mg/L).

Methods:

Oyster spat samples consisting of two settlement plates per sampler - four cinder block samplers each with 2 settlement plates were deployed across seven designated sites in Mississippi Sound and left in the field for one month at which time they were recovered and examined for spat accrual.

Individual Files: