Annual Report 2005
Challenges
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 1968)
Auburn University Shellfish Laboratory
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2005 Highlights Projects
• Continued investigation into the development of oyster brood stock for tolerance to low oxygen environments.
• Initiated a project investigating the role of Perkinsus marinus (“Dermo” disease) infection in oyster reef restoration.
• Continued development of instructional CD, “Oyster Hatchery Methods”.
• Provided photographic input for creation of a poster titled, “The Eastern Oyster: The Reef Builders of Estuaries”, detailing the ecology, commercial importance and the life cycle of oysters.
• The Oyster Gardening Program, supported in partnership with Mobile Bay NEP, planted 11,000 oysters for reef restoration with the help of volunteers around the bay.
• Supported three graduate students and their associated research projects.
• Provided a summer internship for a high school student selected from Alma Bryant High School’s aquaculture program.
• Provided assistance to seven researchers at five institutions in the form of lab space, oyster larvae, oyster seed or adult oysters.
• Donated and planted approximately seventyfive thousand oysters on the Bon Secour Bay brood stock reserve.
Production
• Produced over 42.5 million larvae. From that total, 29 million were delivered as larvae, 3.8 million were set to produce single oysters and 5.8 million were set on whole shell.
• Maintained 9 different stocks of adult oysters in Mobile Bay for brood stock, anticipated experiments, and use by other researchers.
Facilities
• Separated intake pipeline from the pumphouse to hatchery into two redundant distribution systems to help control pipeline fouling.
• Installed sand fencing on the front beach in cooperation with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab to retain sand from a Corp of Engineers beach renourishment project.
• Returned the AU Shellfish Lab to full functional capacity within twentyone days following Hurricane Katrina through careful advanced preparation and diligent effort.
Tours and Meeting
• Hosted over 90 people from 9 groups as part of tours, lectures, or use of conference room facilities.
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Introduction Each year at the Auburn University Shellfish Laboratory (AUSL) brings new
challenges and 2005 was no exception. As the demand for oysters for research, habitat
restoration and private aquaculture steadily increases, continual improvements in technique
and procedure along with facility upgrades allow oyster production from the hatchery to
increase to meet this demand.
To further the research component of our mission, AUSL supported several Auburn
University research projects and three graduate students with their research, as well as
cooperative projects with researchers from other universities and agencies. AUSL’s outreach
objective was addressed through a continuing partnership with the Mobile Bay National
Estuary Program’s (MBNEP) in support of their volunteerbased Oyster Gardening Program.
Other public outreach efforts were provided through facility tours and lectures regarding
shellfish production and research, and through the support and encouragement of local
interest in oyster aquaculture. The third aspect of the AUSL mission, instruction, was fulfilled
through cooperative course offerings at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL).
Recurrent storms have proven to be an additional challenge to the success of
research and production efforts. Hurricane Ivan impacted the facility in 2004, providing an
excellent opportunity to assess our storm preparations and ability to recover after such an
event. The lessons learned in Ivan allowed us to improve and streamline our readiness
efforts as we faced the storms of 2005. Hurricane Dennis had little effect other than the
disruption necessitated by preparation for its arrival, but Hurricane Katrina dealt a devastating
blow to the entire Gulf coast. Careful preparation resulted in no loss of equipment and
minimal damage to the facility beyond debris removal, cleanup, and some minor plumbing
issues. It is also worth of note that there has been no loss of hatchery production in any of
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these storms. As is rapidly becoming our habit, AUSL will continue to face our challenges
with a weather eye for the opportunities they offer.
Projects Hypoxia
AUSL began a project in 2004 focusing on hypoxia tolerance in oysters and the potential
for developing oysters more tolerant of low dissolved oxygen. Much of the early work was
conducted by graduate student Courtney Ford as part of her master’s thesis. The findings
from the initial study were presented by Ms. Ford at the Alabama Fisheries Association
Annual Meeting in February, 2005 in Auburn, AL and at the National Shellfish Association
Annual Meeting in April, 2005 in Philadelphia, PA. Her work suggested that adult oysters
from reefs that experience by hypoxia have significantly longer survival times than oysters
from normoxic reefs. But breeding trials with parental oysters challenged with hypoxic
conditions showed that offspring from normoxic reef parents showed the most improvement
in survival over control oysters (Fig. 1). The findings suggest that the natural selection
pressure on the hypoxiachallenged reef may have already reached some maximum limit.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
CP Control CP Experimental 1
WH Control WH Experimental 1
WH Experimental 2
LT50 (h)
Figure 1: Lethal Time to 50% mortality for F1 generation oysters from Cedar Point (CP) reef and Whitehouse (WH) reef brood stock.
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Graduate student Susan Fogelson picked up the project in 2005. The offspring from
the previous study were again challenged with hypoxia. The surviving oysters were kept for
brood stock and returned to racks in Bon Secour Bay for spawning in 2006. Dr. Richard
Wallace, Auburn University Marine Extension Research Center, (AUMERC) is the principal
investigator for the project.
Dermo disease
A new twoyear project was initiated in 2005 investigating the role of Perkinsus
marinus infection in oyster reef restoration. Perkinsus marinus is a systemic protozoan
parasite that causes “Dermo” disease in oysters. Prolonged infection with P. marinus can
lead to mortality in oysters. “Dermo” disease has been particularly devastating to oyster
production on the East coast where growth rates are slow and oysters often succumb to
“Dermo” disease before reaching harvestable size. It has been generally assumed that in the
Gulf of Mexico, oysters tend to be harvested prior to deleterious effects of the disease. Often,
oyster reef restoration projects result in creation of protected reefs that are closed to harvest.
The current project focuses on the potential for these protected or unharvested reefs to serve
as reservoirs of infection and assesses the potential impact on nearby harvested reefs. The
goal of the project was to compare the effect of “Dermo” disease on oyster populations at
unharvested and harvested reefs by comparing the density and size structure (proxy for age)
of oyster populations, the prevalence and intensity of P. marinus, and mortality rates of
existing oyster populations. Disease development was tracked in hatcheryreared oysters
placed at reefs with varied harvest pressure.
In August of 2005, six harvested and six unharvested reefs were identified for use in
the study. Oysters were collected for baseline population data and analysis of disease
prevalence and intensity at each site (Fig. 2). This baseline data will be compared to
samples to be taken in 2006. An experimental array was constructed at each reef site
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composed of three mesh bags
each containing 30 oysters
collected from the reef. These
oysters were checked monthly
for mortality from August
through the end of the year and
will continue through 2006.
Three additional reefs
with differing harvest pressures
were selected to track disease development in hatcheryreared oysters. The three reefs
chosen had heavy harvest pressure, moderate harvest pressure, and no harvest pressure (a
newly created reef). Bags containing hatcheryreared oysters were placed on these reefs
and monitored monthly for mortality. Other hatcheryreared oysters were maintained to
provide samples for disease analysis. Mortality monitoring and disease analysis began in
August, proceeded monthly through the end of the year, and will continue into 2006.
Drs. Richard K. Wallace and Yolanda Brady are the principal investigators for this
project. Funding is provided through the University of South Alabama’s (USA) Alabama
Oyster Reef Restoration Program and NOAA. The project also supports graduate student
Dennis Donegan.
Educational CD
Development of an educational CD on the hatchery production of oysters began in
2004. Dr. LaDon Swann is the principle investigator on the project. In 2004, graduate
student Melanie Rhodes outlined material and created storyboards for the CD as part of a
directed study under Dr. Swann. Digital photographs of larval development were also taken in
Figure 2: Quadrat used to sample oyster reefs.
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2004 by Scott Rikard with AUSL (Fig. 3). Work on this project continued in 2005 with Jody
Scanlan from AUMERC working with Dr. Swann on the program development of the CD.
The Eastern Oyster Poster
Dr. LaDon Swann led the
effort to create a poster called
“The Eastern Oyster: The Reef
Builders of Estuaries” (Fig. 4).
Details of the poster describe the
ecology, commercial importance
and life cycle of the Eastern
oyster. The poster was produced
by MississippiAlabama Seagrant
and sponsored by several agencies including: The Alabama Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division; Mississippi Department of Marine
Resources; Auburn University; University of South Alabama; and the Mobile Bay National
Figure 4: The Eastern Oyster Poster
Figure 3: Eyed oyster larvae.
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Estuary Program. Scott Rikard, with AUSL, provided various photographs of larval stages of
oysters for the life cycle portion of the poster.
Clam Culture
Dr. LaDon Swann and graduate student Jonathan Jackson are in the planning stages
of a research project on clam culture in Alabama. The study will investigate the potential of
raising clams, Mercenaria mercenaria, in the waters of Grand Bay, Alabama. The project will
compare onbottom growout methods with offbottom methods using Australian longline
culture techniques.
Summer Internship
AUSL prides itself on meeting all challenges with a small but highly qualified staff.
To that end, AUSL supported a summer internship for a high school student selected from
Alma Bryant High School’s aquaculture program. The student, Melissa Gathwright, was
selected based on her enthusiasm for the program at Alma Bryant as well as her reliability
and academic qualifications. AUSL anticipates an ongoing relationship with ABHS by
supporting an intern each summer.
Oyster Gardening
AUSL continues to support of
the Mobile Bay National Estuary
Program (MBNEP) Oyster Gardening
Project. In this project volunteers
around Mobile Bay raise oysters in
protective cages on waterfront
property for restoration of oyster reefs
(Fig. 5). The number of volunteers in Figure 5: Oyster gardening volunteer checking floating cages of oysters.
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the 2005 program was down to 47 from approximately 60 the previous year due to the
aftereffect of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Many volunteers had lost piers where they raised
oysters for the program and had not yet rebuilt. Production from the program was also limited
in 2005 by the loss of many oysters and growing cages in Hurricane Katrina.
AUSL’s role in the Oyster Gardening Program is to provide the oyster spat for the
volunteers and then recover the resulting larger oysters after growout for planting. AUSL set
approximately 5 million eyed larvae on 45 bags of whole oyster shell for the project. Another
45 bags were placed on commercially productive Cedar Point Reef in Mobile Bay to catch
naturalset oyster spat. After 2 weeks in the field, bags were returned to AUSL and held in
flowthrough tanks with those bags set at the hatchery until delivery to volunteers for growout.
Volunteers grew the oysters for five months. The oysters were then collected by Kara
Lankford with MBNEP and P. J. Waters with AUMERC and placed in flowthrough tanks at
AUSL awaiting restoration to reefs in the bay. On November 15 2005, MBNEP, AUMERC
and AUSL personnel placed approximately 11,000 oysters on Kings Bayou Reef in Mobile
Bay. Volunteers remain enthusiastic about their participation in the program even through
the setbacks caused by the storms of 2004 and 2005.
Helping Industry
AUMERC and AUSL have assisted two novice oyster farmers for several years in
establishing oyster aquaculture operations. Auburn personnel have worked with these
individuals to set up culture systems and provide the farmers with postset spat from excess
production from the AUSL hatchery. AUSL provided 84,000 oyster spat to these individuals
in 2005. Both of these operations suffered significant setbacks due to Hurricane Katrina.
AUSL looks forward to helping these operations return to productivity in the coming years.
Since 2002, AUMERC has worked in partnership with Bon Secour Fisheries, Inc. to
create a broodstock sanctuary in Bon Secour Bay, Alabama. The program originated with a
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grant from the Ocean Trust and the National Fisheries Institute in conjunction with the NOAA
Restoration Center. An area of existing hard bottom was built up with oyster shell and then
planted with seed oysters grown by AUMERC on racks in Bon Secour Bay and oysters from
MBNEP Oyster Gardening Program in 2002. In 2004, AUSL planted 110,000 seed oysters
on this new reef at no cost to the project. In 2005, AUSL donated and planted approximately
100,000 oysters set on whole shell (30 bags) and another 30,000 single oysters on the reef.
Assisting Other Researchers
AUSL supplied oyster larvae for the second year in a row to Dr. Stephen Kempf in the
Department of Biological Sciences at Auburn University. These larvae were used for
research on the structure and function of the larva's apical sensory ganglion (ASG). The ASG
is thought to be the structure which senses the inductive cue for metamorphosis. In 2005,
AUSL provided Dr. Kempf with 7 shipments totaling 2.7 million oyster larvae.
AUSL provided lab space for Auburn fisheries graduate student Jeff Baker to process
microbial isolates from fish for a project in the Mobile River. The project compares the
prevalence of disease in fish captured on intake screens at Alabama Power’s Barry Steam
Plant facility and fish occurring naturally upstream from the plant.
AUSL has worked closely with several researchers from the USA investigating
various aspects of oyster reef restoration. AUSL began working with Dr. Ann Boettcher and
graduate student Nobuo Ueda in 2004 and continued that collaborative effort in 2005 by
supporting their research on the effects of temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen
concentrations on larval settlement and metamorphosis. In addition, they examined the
relationship between these environmental stresses and the expression of heat shock
proteins. AUSL provided approximately 24.5 million larvae and 300,000 newlysettled spat
for this project in 2005.
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AUSL also provided a variety of oysters to Dr. Sean Powers and Dr. Ken Heck from
USA for field projects investigating oyster reef restoration. AUSL provided 1900 adult single
oysters from 2004 production as well as 5000, 13mm single spat and 650, 35mm single spat
from the 2005 years production. AUSL also set 4 million larvae on 60 bags of whole shell for
Dr. Powers’ use.
USA postdoctoral researcher Keith Bayha working with Dr. Monty Graham at DISL is
investigating the use of molecular probes to identify oyster larvae in plankton samples. AUSL
provided 1.5 million larvae of various sizes and stages to groundtruth the molecular probes.
Jim Weston, a doctoral student at the University of Mississippi (UM), is investigating
the effect of mosquitocontrolling pesticides on the development of oyster larvae. AUSL
initiated a spawn and raised approximately 5 million oyster larvae for the project and provided
lab space and housing for Mr. Weston for 5 days from July 26 th through July 30 th .
AUSL was able to assist Brooks High School student Lacy Casteel with a science fair
project dealing with calcium uptake in oysters. AUSL shipped Miss Casteel 150 adult oysters
for use in her project.
AUSL has a longstanding relationship with Alma Bryant High School in Bayou La
Batre, Alabama, dating back to the initiation of the school’s aquaculture program in 2002. In
2005, AUSL donated 500 adult oysters to the program for use in controlling suspended algae
in a redfish rearing tank.
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Production Oyster Spawning
AUSL conducted four separate spawns on the following dates in 2005 for the stated projects or purposes:
May 18 MBNEP Oyster Gardening Project
USA heat shock protein project (Nobuo Ueda and Dr. Anne Boettcher)
USA oyster restoration projects (Drs. Sean Powers and Ken Heck)
AU apical sensory ganglion function (Dr. Steve Kempf)
Single oyster production for stock maintenance
July 27 UM pesticide project (Jim Weston)
August 2 AU apical sensory ganglion function (Dr. Steve Kempf)
October 12 AU apical sensory ganglion function (Dr. Steve Kempf)
USA molecular probe development (Drs. Keith Bayha and Monty Graham)
Oyster Larvae
The 2005 oyster spawns resulted in 42.5 million larvae being raised for the following projects or purposes:
25.5 million USA heat shock protein project (Nobuo Ueda and Dr. Anne Boettcher)
2.7 million AU apical sensory ganglion function (Dr. Steve Kempf)
5.0 million UM pesticide project (Jim Weston)
1.5 million USA molecular probe development (Drs. Keith Bayha and Monty Graham)
1.9 million Set on microcultch to produce single oyster spat.
12.7 million Set on whole shell.
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Oyster Seed
Oysters set on microcultch or whole shell were distributed for the following projects or purposes:
5000 Single oyster (13 mm) – USA oyster restoration projects (Drs.
Sean Powers and Ken Heck)
30,000 Single oysters planted on the Bon Secour Bay brood stock sanctuary
80,000 Single oysters 4 to 8mm – Private aquaculture interest (Steve Crockett)
4,000 Singles oysters 4 to 8mm – Private aquaculture interest (Steve Meyers)
10,000 Single oysters placed on racks in Bon Secour Bay for future use.
60 Bags Approximately 100,000 spat set on whole shell USA oyster restoration
projects (Drs. Sean Powers and Ken Heck)
90 Bags Approximately 150,000 spat set on whole shell – MBNEP oyster gardening
project.
30 Bags Approximately 50,000 spat set on whole shell – Bon Secour Bay brood
stock sanctuary.
Large Oysters
AUSL and AUMERC maintained 9 different stocks of oysters on racks in Bon Secour Bay. Some of these oysters date back to AUSL production from 2003. Oysters from stocks on the racks were distributed for the following projects or purposes:
1900 Single oysters from 2004 production USA oyster restoration projects (Drs.
Sean Powers and Ken Heck)
500 Single oysters from 2004 production – Alma Bryant High School
Aquaculture Program
150 Single oysters from 2003 production – Calcium uptake in oysters (Brooks
High School student, Lacy Casteel)
650 Single oysters from 2004 production USA oyster restoration projects (Drs.
Sean Powers and Ken Heck)
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Facilities Pipelines
The seawater intake system at AUSL consists of two pipelines coming into the
pumphouse and two pipelines exiting. In the original system design, those two pipes joined
to form a common supply line to AUSL’s two large reservoir tanks and to a raw water loop in
the hatchery. A second loop in the hatchery distributed water from the reservoirs. That
configuration allowed a buildup of biofouling on the interior of the common supply line and
the raw water loop in the hatchery. In 2005, personnel from AUSL and AUMERC modified
the system by splitting the common supply line into two separate pipelines. By adding a
series of valves, both hatchery loops are now interchangeable and both can be used for raw
water or reservoir water (Fig. 6). The
modifications resulted in two
completely independent pumping
systems. The systems can now be
alternated to allow the idle system to
go anoxic and kill fouling organisms
before they become large enough to
restrict water flow. The modifications
will help maintain a constant water
flow capacity.
Beach
An Army Corps of Engineers dredge and maintenance project provided material for
renourishment of the beach in front of AUSL and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL). AUSL,
Figure 6: Valving arrangement for seawater distribution system.
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in cooperation with DISL, installed sand fencing in an attempt to retain sand and build dunes
on the back portion of the beach. DISL provided the sand fencing and personnel from AUSL
and AUMERC installed the fencing.
Hurricanes
AUSL’s hurricane plan was tested in 2004 with Hurricane Ivan. As it turned out, that
was good practice for the 2005 hurricane season. AUSL was threatened by two storms this
past year, Hurricanes Dennis and Katrina.
Preparation for Hurricane Dennis began on July 6 th with the installation of hurricane
shutters on the building. Removal of all backup pumps and blowers took place on July 7 th .
The remaining pumps were removed on July 8 th and all pumps were transported to Mobile,
Alabama for safe storage. Equipment and small tanks under the building that could move
under high winds or float away were moved upstairs to the interior of the building. Oysters in
the hatchery were maintained in static systems. The storm took a more northerly track as it
neared the coastline bringing the storm ashore to the east at Santa Rosa Island, Florida.
Dauphin Island and the AUSL facility suffered very little damage due to Hurricane Dennis.
AUSL was fully operational with the reinstallation of main intake and discharge pumps, as
well as air blowers on Monday July 11 th .
With an unusually active hurricane season, the decision was made to not install back
up pumps until they were needed. That decision saved valuable time as preparations for
Hurricane Katrina were completed in one day on August 26 th . Again, hurricane shutters were
installed and all pumps were moved to Mobile, Alabama for safe storage. Hurricane Katrina
became one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history as it came ashore near
the mouth of the Pearl River along MississippiLouisiana border on August 29 th . The storm
had significant impacts along the Alabama coast even though it made landfall far to the west.
The storm cut passes across the west end of Dauphin Island and caused tremendous storm
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surge damage to structures on the west end of the island and in the coastal towns of Bayou
La Batre and Coden. Flooding was pronounced along the entire western shore of Mobile
Bay.
AUSL incurred no major structural damage to the building or pumphouse but had
significant impact to the hatchery facility under the building. The storm pushed 3 ½ to 4 feet
of water under the building, dislodging tanks and breaking plumbing to the tanks (Fig. 7 & 8).
Debris carried in by the storm surge caused the security fence on the south side of the facility
to collapse (Fig. 9). An estimated 54 cubic yards of debris was pushed up under the building.
Three 1000gallon fiberglass tanks were destroyed (Fig. 10).
The AUSL facility manager was able to return to the facility the day after the storm on
August 30 th to assess damage and start a generator to run laboratory refrigerators, freezers,
and life support systems for oysters in the hatchery. AUMERC and AUSL personnel
returned on September 1 st to move critical samples stored in freezers and refrigerators to
AUMERC’s Mobile, Alabama office. All the oysters in the hatchery were moved to open
waters under the DISL boat dock. Debris removal began on September 6 th and was
completed on September 9 th . Primary intake and discharge pumps were reinstalled on
September 12 th . Power service was restored that same day. After an assessment of the
intake pipeline, water flow was reestablished to the hatchery. Replumbing of hatchery tanks
took place between September 13th and September 16 th . The oysters held at the DISL boat
dock were returned to the hatchery on September 19 th and the facility was restored to full
operation 21 days after Hurricane Katrina.
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Instruction Dr. LaDon Swann taught Marine Aquaculture through the DISL summer school
program. This course introduced students to techniques in marine aquaculture with
emphasis in the areas of nutrition and feeding, reproductive biology, production techniques,
water quality requirements, processing, marketing, and economics of commercially important
marine aquaculture species. AUSL facility manager Scott Rikard provided assistance with
Figure 8: Tanks dislodged and broken away from plumbing.
Figure 7: Debris and tanks washed into back corner of hatchery.
Figure 9: Collapsed south security fence. Figure 10: Destroyed 1000 gallon tanks.
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lab work related to oyster culture as well as providing a guest lecture on bullminnow
aquaculture.
Facility Tours and Lectures In 2005, AUSL provided tours to several groups and allowed use of conference room
facilities for various meetings.
On April 18 th and 19 th , twelve students from The Alabama School of Math and Science
came to AUSL for a series of lectures on oyster ecology and aquaculture as well as a tour of
the facility. The group also toured oyster gardening sites and participated in building cages
for the Oyster Gardening Program.
Oak Park Christian School brought 20 7 th and 8 th students to AUSL for a facility tour and
lecture on oyster hatchery production.
Mary Susan Jones, a representative from U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions’ office, toured AUSL.
As part of their Center of Ocean Science Education Excellence Workshop, DISL brought
nine individuals to AUSL for a tour of the facility on June 9 th .
Ten students from the DISL Research Experience for Undergraduates program visited
AUSL for a presentation on oyster hatchery production and a tour of the facility on June 22nd.
As part of their Marine Application of Science and Technology Workshop, DISL brought
nine individuals to AUSL for a tour of the facility on June 23 rd .
Seven undergraduate students from the Auburn University Department of Fisheries and
Allied Aquaculture came to AUSL for a tour and lecture on July 26 th as part of Dr. Bill Daniels’
Introduction to Fisheries Science course.
Fourteen students from an aquaculture class at the University of West Florida came to
AUSL for a hatchery production lecture and facility tour.
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Dr. John Supan and two students from the Louisiana State University visited AUSL. The
focus of the visit was a discussion of design options for a hatchery to be built in Grand Isle,
Louisiana after Dr. Supan’s existing hatchery was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Plans
were also discussed for allowing Dr. Supan and his students to use the AUSL facility in the
Spring of 2006.
Media and Presentations In 2005 an article about AUSL was published in the MBNEP’s oyster gardening
newsletter and several presentations were given regarding research conducted at the facility.
Rikard, Scott. 2005. “Hatchery production of oysters at AUSL”. Mobile Bay Oyster Gardening Program Newsletter, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, April 2005, p. 4.
Ford, Courtney, Scott Rikard, and Richard K. Wallace. 2005. “The search for a more hypoxiatolerant oyster”. Alabama Fisheries Association Annual Meeting, Auburn, AL. February, 2005.
Ford, Courtney, Scott Rikard, and Richard K. Wallace. 2005. “The search for a more hypoxiatolerant oyster”. J. Shellfish Res. 24(2):654. National Shellfish Association, Annual Meeting, April, 2005.
Rikard, Scott, Richard K. Wallace, and Chris Nelson. 2005. “Oyster Reef Restoration in Bon Secour Bay, Alabama”. Alabama/Mississippi Estuarine Habitat Restoration Workshop, Pelican Landing, MS, February, 2005.
Challenges for 2006 Work will continue in 2006 on development of a hypoxia tolerant oyster. Brood stock
selected from the F1 generation in 2005 will be bred to see if further enhancements to hypoxia
tolerance can be obtained. AUSL will continue to work with Dr. Ann Boettcher and Nobuo
Ueda at USA on heatshock protein research by providing oyster larvae and spat. The
project initiated in 2005 assessing “Dermo” disease will continue through 2006 and into 2007.
As in 2005, AUSL will provide oysters for many other researchers and continue to work with
individuals interested in oyster aquaculture.
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AUSL will again supply oysters for the MBNEP Oyster Gardening Project. Volunteer
numbers are expected to remain low in 2006 due to the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina.
Volunteer numbers should increase as recovery from the storms of the past two years
progresses.
Summer school courses will be taught in conjunction with DISL. Marine Fish
Diseases and Marine Aquaculture will both be offered. Dr. Yolanda Brady from Auburn
University Fisheries Department will teach Marine Fish Diseases in the summer of 2006. Dr.
Hugh Hammer from Gasden State Community College will take over the teaching of the
Marine Aquaculture course from Dr. Swann but AUSL personnel will continue to assist with
the course. In the coming year, AUSL will continue to provide tours and lectures to various
groups visiting the Lab. As we have for the past two years, tours and lectures will be
provided for Discovery Hall programs and the REU program at DISL.
The coming year will present its own challenges, some known as well as some that
cannot be anticipated. AUSL will thrive as it faces these challenges whether they are driven
by mission objectives or presented by Mother Nature.
Acknowledgements The 2005 report was prepared by:
Scott Rikard, Manager Richard K. Wallace, Director Auburn University Shellfish Laboratory (AUSL) Auburn University Marine Extension 150 Agassiz Street and Research Center (AUMERC) Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528 4170 Commanders Dr Ph: 251 861 3018 Mobile, AL 36615 [email protected] Ph: 251 438 5690
Contributors:
Blan Page (AUMERC), Glen Chaplin (AUMERC), Phillip Waters (AUMERC), LaDon Swann (MississippiAlabama Sea Grant Consortium and Auburn University), and students Courtney Ford, Susan Fogelson, Dennis Donegan, and Jonathan Jackson (Auburn University Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture)
Thank you:
George Crozier and Staff (Dauphin Island Sea Lab)