October 23, 2015
Oyster Aquaculture: Translating Science to the Community
Coastal waters around Cape Cod, are being destroyed due to high inputs of anthropogenic nitrogen. This nutrient loading results in negative ecological and economic effects. Cape Cod residents can be expected to pay $5 billon for municipal sewage and wastewater treatment projects to address these problems. In an effort to reduce this cost, the installation of oyster aquaculture is recommended. Oysters play an important role in the removal of nitrogen from eutrophic waters. While the amount of nitrogen converted into biomass is well studied, little is known about the additional amount of nitrogen that may be removed from the sediments due to the presence of oysters. During my internship as a Summer Student Fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, I examined the microbial processes that occur in sediments under oysters and measured their rates of nitrogen removal. Not only did my project require me to communicate with scientists in my lab, I had to translate my findings to town officials in an effort to help restore their waterways.
Explore the MHC Social Universe >