Oyster growth in a shallow subtropical estuary (Mission-Aransas Estuary, Texas, USA) 2010-11-24 to 2011-08-17

Spatio-temporal changes in the shell and soft tissue growth of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, were determined in a shallow subtropical estuary, the Mission-Aransas Estuary, Texas. Seed oysters were placed in mesh bags at four locations characterized by different salinities. Shell length, shell weight and soft tissue weight were measured monthly for nine months, from November 2010 to August 2011, including the spawning seasons. Ten oysters were collected monthly at each station and water salinity and temperature were measured. In the laboratory, oysters were rinsed clean, measured with a caliper (± 0.01 mm) and then dissected to separate the soft tissue from the shell. Gonad presence was determined visually. Shells and soft tissues were dried for 72 hours at 60 °C before measuring dry weights (± 0.001 g).

Dataset is associated with this publication: Lebreton, B., Pollack, J., Blomberg, B., Palmer, T., & Montagna, P. (2021). Oyster growth across a salinity gradient in a shallow, subtropical Gulf of Mexico estuary—ERRATUM. Experimental Results, 2, E13. doi:10.1017/exp.2021.3.