| Radio programs for the week of 2 June 2003 |
For more information: Project works to restore region's oyster beds
|
||
Add to the list of restoration projects in Florida, the state's oyster
reefs. They've shrunk in number from both human and natural causes. But
there's an effort to reestablish these populations. Restoring Oyster
Reefs, I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. Though oysters are still common in Florida, they are nowhere near as
abundant as they are recorded in history, from Colonial times to as
recently as fifty years ago. But there's an effort to change that. Marine
scientist Aswani Volety heads up an effort to restore oyster reefs... |
|||
fe30603
As recently as the 1950s, Florida's bays and coastal areas were covered with oyster reefs. But that coverage has declined, and with it, important natural functions that the oysters once provided. Oysters and the Ecosystem, I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. An effort to restore Florida's oyster population by rebuilding oyster reefs is in part in response to the important role the oyster plays in the ecosystem. Marine scientist Aswani Volety heads up the oyster restoration project, helping what he calls the ultimate water filter... |
|||
|
fe30604
Scientists are turning to a salvage of sorts in a project that would help restore oyster reefs in Florida's back bays and coastal areas. They're literally laying a foundation for oysters to come. Oysters to Grow On, I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment... Florida's once abundant oyster reefs have been lost to a variety of human caused as well as natural impacts. But an effort to restore the oysters is showing promise. Since oyster reefs grow as new oysters attach to old ones, one challenge was to figure out how to start a reef when there were no old shells to build on... |
|||
|
fe30605
Florida has more than its fair share of unusual crops. But a grassroots effort to restore the population of one Florida species takes the meaning of "crop" to a whole new level. Volunteer Oyster Gardening, I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment Homeowner with salt-water access could play a role in one of Florida's many restoration projects. This one is aimed at brining back the oyster reefs that once made up much of the state's back bays and coastal areas. Marine Scientist Aswani Volety says volunteers are needed for oyster gardening... |
|||
|
fe30606
Scientists involved in a oyster restoration project say if it is successful, it will bring numerous benefits to Florida waters, both soon and in the distant future. Oysters building Islands, I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment... There's an project underway to test whether Florida's oysters and oyster reefs might be restored after decades of declining habitat and population. In the short tern, the oyster provides an important water filtering system that helps keep estuary waters clean. Longer term, says marine scientist Aswani Volety, the oysters help form the estuary's valuable mangrove islands... |