European Native Oysters Produce 2 Million Larvae, Rebuild UK Reefs After 95% Decline
Updated
Updated · BBC Discover Wildlife · Aug 17
European Native Oysters Produce 2 Million Larvae, Rebuild UK Reefs After 95% Decline
3 articles · Updated · BBC Discover Wildlife · Aug 17
Summary
A female European native oyster can release 1 million larvae at about 8 cm, while larger oysters can produce up to 2 million in a single spawning event.
One oyster also filters about 200 litres of seawater a day, removing phytoplankton, organic matter and excess nitrogen that can fuel algal blooms, oxygen loss and fish deaths.
Dense oyster beds and shell accumulations form biogenic reefs that shelter species including sponges, spiny seahorses and critically endangered European eels, while providing nursery habitat for juvenile seabass.
UK native oyster populations have fallen 95% since the mid-19th century, and Europe retains less than 5% of historic levels, leaving UK strongholds mainly in western Scotland and southeast England.
That collapse has driven restoration efforts along British coasts as conservation groups push to rebuild self-sustaining reefs that can boost biodiversity, protect shorelines and store carbon.