ResourcesIdentification of Important Habitats in Coastal New HampshireChapter 14. American OysterThe American oyster, Crassostrea virginica, is a popular shellfish
for harvest, and also creates structure for other invertebrates and fishes.
The commercial harvest in Great Bay and tributaries is economically significant.
Habitats for oysters were mapped from locations of known beds. Oyster
beds were digitized from maps in Nelson et al. (1981, 1982) and from sites
drawn on base maps for us by Richard Langan (Jackson Estuarine Research
Laboratory). We field verified locations of many of these beds using GPS
to measure their geographic coordinates. Polygons representing these beds were converted to a grid-cell format
and scored 10 (0-10 scale); habitat was regarded as highly suitable based
on persistent occurrence of oysters (Figure of Adult
Habitat). |
