Adult oyster growth from risk-addition experiment conducted on oyster reefs in the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve from June to November 2012

The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is a foundation species in northeast Florida estuaries, including the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR), where intertidal reefs are extensive. Estuarine research to assess sustainability and oyster population, plus various monitoring studies and oyster reef restoration projects have been undertaken, with an additional focus on testing theory regarding the effects of predation risk in the natural environment.

As part of a study that manipulatively “pressed” risk cues onto oyster prey, a field experiment was conducted on oyster reefs in the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida) from June to November 2012. Three areas within the southern areas of the GTM NERR (south of Matanzas inlet) were used in the experiment: Summer Island North (SIN), Marine Land (ML) and Pellicer Flats (PF). The SIN site occurred closest to the inlet (farthest from freshwater input), the PF site occurred farthest from inlet and closest to freshwater input, while the ML site occurs between the inlet and the freshwater input. Oyster survival, growth and recruitment were checked monthly. At the mid point and conclusion of the experiment, individual oysters were also destructively sampled to quantify differences in oyster traits (shell versus tissue mass) as a function of experimental treatment and location. This submission concerns the growth of adult oysters.

美洲东部牡蛎（Crassostrea virginica）是佛罗里达东北部河口生态系统的建群种，分布范围涵盖瓜纳-托洛马托-马坦萨斯国家河口研究保护区（GTMNERR），该区域潮间带牡蛎礁分布广泛。目前已开展多项河口研究以评估生态系统可持续性与牡蛎种群现状，辅以各类监测研究及牡蛎礁修复项目，同时将检验自然环境中捕食风险效应相关理论作为重点研究方向。
作为一项人为向牡蛎猎物施加风险信号的研究的一部分，2012年6月至11月，研究团队在佛罗里达州蓬特韦德拉海滩的瓜纳-托洛马托-马坦萨斯国家河口研究保护区的牡蛎礁上开展了野外实验。实验选取了该保护区南部（马坦萨斯河口以南区域）的三处样地：萨默岛北（SIN）、海洋领地（ML）与佩利西尔滩涂（PF）。其中SIN样地最靠近河口（距淡水输入最远），PF样地距河口最远且最接近淡水输入，ML样地则位于河口与淡水输入区域之间。研究团队每月对牡蛎的存活率、生长情况与种群补充量进行监测。在实验中期及结束阶段，研究人员还对单个牡蛎进行破坏性采样，以量化不同实验处理与样地条件下牡蛎性状（壳体质量与软组织质量）的差异。本数据集聚焦于成年牡蛎的生长情况。