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<p>In estuaries where native eelgrass (<i>Zostera marina</i>) and Pacific oyster (<i>Magallana gigas</i>) aquaculture co-occur along the US Pacific Coast, contemporary landscape-scale distributions are essential to properly assess the interaction between these habitats and balance priorities of eelgrass conservation and sustainable aquaculture. We classified eelgrass distribution and delineated active oyster aquaculture throughout Willapa Bay, WA, using orthoimagery to examine eelgrass coverage among aquaculture practices and compare current and historical estimates. Eelgrass covered an estimated 5550&#xa0;ha (or 25.7%) of the intertidal area and had not substantially changed from that of 2009. Active oyster aquaculture encompassed approximately 3096&#xa0;ha of intertidal area, wherein eelgrass coverage differed among aquaculture management practices (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001), exhibiting the highest proportional coverage (0.60) within off-bottom culture beds. Bottom-culture beds that were harvested mechanically contained lower proportional eelgrass coverage (0.27) than those harvested by hand (0.44, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). We further demonstrated the utility of these landscape-scale datasets by integrating nekton data to develop novel abundance estimates for two managed nekton species within channel-fringing habitats. Estimated seasonal densities of juvenile Dungeness crab (<i>Metacarcinus magister</i>) and English sole (<i>Parophrys vetulus</i>) differed among aquaculture methods (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.03, except for <i>P. vetulus</i> in spring (<i>p</i> = 0.05)), with bottom culture generally containing the highest densities of both species. Species densities did not differ between areas of eelgrass presence and absence. Collectively, channel-fringing habitat composed 9% of the estuary’s expansive lower intertidal area and was estimated to support just 1.3–2.1% of the juvenile <i>M. magister</i> but a relatively high 13.6–23.5% of the juvenile <i>P. vetulus</i> throughout the same intertidal zone. These landscape-scale methodologies, datasets, and findings provide valuable information on the spatiotemporal dynamics of eelgrass and oyster aquaculture that can support stakeholder efforts to navigate the dual challenges of preserving eelgrass and supporting sustainable aquaculture.</p>

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Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Eelgrass (Zostera marina), Oyster Aquaculture, and Channel-Fringing Habitat Provided to Managed Nekton Species Throughout Willapa Bay, WA, USA

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  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月11日

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  • Nathaniel S. Lewis,
  • Brooke A. McIntyre,
  • Jennifer L. Ruesink,
  • Fiona C. Boardman,
  • Brett R. Dumbauld

摘要

In estuaries where native eelgrass (Zostera marina) and Pacific oyster (Magallana gigas) aquaculture co-occur along the US Pacific Coast, contemporary landscape-scale distributions are essential to properly assess the interaction between these habitats and balance priorities of eelgrass conservation and sustainable aquaculture. We classified eelgrass distribution and delineated active oyster aquaculture throughout Willapa Bay, WA, using orthoimagery to examine eelgrass coverage among aquaculture practices and compare current and historical estimates. Eelgrass covered an estimated 5550 ha (or 25.7%) of the intertidal area and had not substantially changed from that of 2009. Active oyster aquaculture encompassed approximately 3096 ha of intertidal area, wherein eelgrass coverage differed among aquaculture management practices (p < 0.001), exhibiting the highest proportional coverage (0.60) within off-bottom culture beds. Bottom-culture beds that were harvested mechanically contained lower proportional eelgrass coverage (0.27) than those harvested by hand (0.44, p < 0.001). We further demonstrated the utility of these landscape-scale datasets by integrating nekton data to develop novel abundance estimates for two managed nekton species within channel-fringing habitats. Estimated seasonal densities of juvenile Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister) and English sole (Parophrys vetulus) differed among aquaculture methods (p ≤ 0.03, except for P. vetulus in spring (p = 0.05)), with bottom culture generally containing the highest densities of both species. Species densities did not differ between areas of eelgrass presence and absence. Collectively, channel-fringing habitat composed 9% of the estuary’s expansive lower intertidal area and was estimated to support just 1.3–2.1% of the juvenile M. magister but a relatively high 13.6–23.5% of the juvenile P. vetulus throughout the same intertidal zone. These landscape-scale methodologies, datasets, and findings provide valuable information on the spatiotemporal dynamics of eelgrass and oyster aquaculture that can support stakeholder efforts to navigate the dual challenges of preserving eelgrass and supporting sustainable aquaculture.