Fat mollusks, rockfish and even parasites can be found thriving at oyster sanctuaries in three Chesapeake Bay tributaries, leading scientists to believe that current oyster restoration techniques are working.
Those findings are detailed in a newly released study from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which found more wildlife diversity at sanctuaries than nearby unprotected harvest sites.
One indication of that — two native parasites: the boring sponge and mud blister worm.
They win their names easily enough. The boring sponge drills or “bores” through the shell to make a home while the mud blister worm burrows into the inner shell causing the oyster to form darkened, muddy-looking patches around the worm in self-defense.
Read more (and listen) at WYPR.
