At the start of the 20th century, over 500 million oysters were harvested annually from the Chesapeake Bay, making it one of the most valuable fisheries in the United States. However, by 2000, overfishing and disease had all but wiped out the wild oysters.
Recent efforts by governments and nonprofits to restore oyster habitats have shown promise in reversing this decline. But despite significant investments in rebuilding oyster reefs, the success of these restoration efforts has been mixed. This month, Associate Professor Max Castorani, a marine ecologist in the Department of Environmental Sciences at UVA’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, will launch a new study focused on understanding how environmental changes impact the success of restored oyster populations. By partnering with The Nature Conservancy, Castorani aims to inform habitat recovery planning across Virginia’s coastal bays. His innovative research has won him a CAREER Award, the National Science Foundation’s top honor for early-career faculty who serve as academic role models in research and education. The award will also provide students in the sciences at UVA with opportunities to gain hands-on research experience as undergraduates.
Since 1987, UVA’s Virginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological Research program, based on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, has collaborated with The Nature Conservancy and several partner universities to produce science that helps local communities from Assateague Island to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel respond to a wide range of environmental challenges that directly impact their lives and the future of the seashore. Castorani is among the scientists leading this program, working to advance coastal science and environmental solutions. His new CAREER Award will leverage decades of knowledge and partnerships developed through the program.
Where Ecology Meets Economy
Adult oysters can’t move, but when they spawn, their larvae float in the water for about two weeks at the whim of currents, tides, and wind until they are able to sink down into a spot suitable to support them for the rest of their lives. The larvae may end up back near where they started or drift miles away, sometimes landing in a favorable spot and sometimes not. Castorani’s research focuses on understanding the factors that affect this journey to predict where oyster offspring are likely to settle. Bringing these predictions together with data on how many oyster larvae are produced, and how well they grow and survive in their new home, he can assess the effectiveness of restoration efforts. A key question in his research is whether restoring reefs in strategic locations can enable thriving oyster populations to support struggling ones by sharing large numbers of larvae.
Castorani is collaborating with UVA oceanographer Patricia Wiberg and Will White, a fisheries scientist from Oregon State University, to develop mathematical models that forecast the outcomes of restoration efforts. The team hopes their work will help habitat restoration experts on the Eastern Shore to build reefs in places that support healthy oyster populations while minimizing the risks associated with a changing climate.
“My role is to produce the best scientific information possible to guide restoration practices and help managers maximize the return on investment with limited time and resources,” Castorani said. “The project will reveal how larvae connect oyster populations across Virginia’s seaside bays and use that information to guide where managers should restore oysters to create resilient and productive reefs for the future.”
Castorani is also working closely with Bo Lusk, who leads The Nature Conservancy’s marine restoration efforts in the region. “This work helps us plan strategically as The Nature Conservancy designs oyster reef restoration projects to enhance the production of many of our local fisheries, protect our shorelines from erosion and preserve this essential part of the local Eastern Shore culture and history,” Lusk said.
Castorani noted that pilot data crucial to this project’s success were made possible through seed funding from the College. This support facilitated earlier studies by former postdoctoral researcher Rachel Smith and recent Ph.D. graduates Kinsey Tedford and Qingguang Zhu, who will continue to contribute to the new research.
The $1.4 million grant will fund a five-year field campaign, allowing Castorani and a team of students to collect long-term data from coastal waterways. They will also gather information about local goals and challenges to develop restoration resources that positively impact the region’s residents and maritime economy.
Oyster restoration is gaining momentum across the U.S., from the East Coast to the Gulf of Mexico. The United Nations has declared 2021–2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, emphasizing efforts to prevent or reverse ecosystem degradation on every continent to regain lost biodiversity, combat climate change, and promote sustainable economic development.
“Globally, there’s growing attention to coastal restoration, including oyster reefs, and this work is accelerating,” Castorani said. “My goal is to use what we learn in Virginia to inspire restoration science and planning worldwide.”
Oysters in the Classroom
In addition to funding groundbreaking research, the highly competitive CAREER Award also recognizes exceptional educators. For Castorani, the grant will enable a team of undergraduates to gain hands-on research experience, an important component of UVA’s world-class education. He will also develop a new course in restoration ecology that will take UVA students to the field to collect data used in the research.
The grant also provides the opportunity for Castorani to work with K–12 and community-college educators on the Eastern Shore to develop research-inspired curricula that engage students with coastal restoration and its potential impact on the future of their communities.
Having grown up in Delaware, Castorani has a personal connection to the challenges facing the Bay and the communities that depend on it, making this award especially meaningful.
“I feel fortunate and grateful to be supported by the National Science Foundation,” Castorani said. “This award allows for sustained research over a long period of time, leading to discoveries than are hard to achieve with short-term funding.”
Christa Acampora, Buckner W. Clay Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the College, praised Castorani’s achievement.
“Awards of this caliber exemplify the commitment that Professor Castorani and his colleagues have to research that will have a meaningful impact on the health and wellbeing of Virginia’s coastal communities and to creating outstanding and meaningful educational opportunities for our undergraduates. I’m honored to have professor Castorani as a colleague.”
