They are also the only hard substrate biological habitat in a predominately soft-sediment environment 8. Oyster reefs are one of the most important estuarine habitats, but they are the most endangered marine habitat on earth, with an estimated loss of 85% in relation to historic levels 7.

However, human economic activities exert significant environmental pressures on these habitats, especially hard-substrate oyster reefs in estuarine areas 6. These findings can be used to develop suitable management strategies for the sustainable maintenance of artificial oyster reef ecosystems.īiological habitats, including estuarine oyster reefs, provide a variety of sustainable economic and ecological benefits to society 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The oyster density was 324 ind/m 2 for the reef created in 2016, 724 ind/m 2 for the reef created in 2015, and 364 ind/m 2 for the reef created in 2013. We also found that as the age of the oyster reefs increased, the percentage of oysters in the low shell height group (< 40 mm) decreased. The abundance biomass curves showed that the oyster reef area in spring, autumn, and winter experienced low disturbance, whereas the community structure in summer was subject to large variations from external disturbance. The benthic organisms present in the community of artificial oyster reef areas can be classified into groups according to month and season. Seasonally important fish species included Lateolabrax japonicus, Konosirus punctatus, Thryssa kammalensis, Hexagrammos agrammus, and Acanthopagrus schlegelii. Resident fishes belonged to the Cynoglossidae, Paralichthyidae, Pleuronectidae, and Gobiidae families. The dominant economically important fish and mobile crustaceans were Hexagrammos otakii, Pholis fangi, Sebastes schlegelii, Charybdis japonica, and Oratosquilla oratoria. During the survey year, 56 species belonging to 50 genera, 45 families, and 19 orders were recorded. Between July 2016 and May 2017, seasonal surveys of species composition and community structure were performed in the artificial oyster reef area and control area adjacent to the Luanhe River Estuary in China.

Artificial oyster reefs provide important spawning and nursery grounds for a variety of fishes and large mobile crustaceans.

Y graphic river