{"id":9619,"date":"2015-01-05T10:53:03","date_gmt":"2015-01-05T15:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=9619"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:07:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:07:03","slug":"oysters-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=9619","title":{"rendered":"Can we have our oysters and eat them too?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Undergraduate students examine oysters as part of their capstone class at the Morehead City Field Site. (Photo by Michael Piehler)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oysters may be one of North Carolina\u2019s most important organisms \u2014 and not just because they contribute millions of dollars each year to the state\u2019s economy. Oysters filter the water, their shells provide habitats for other organisms, and they can even help slow the process of erosion<\/a>. But can oysters do all those things even when they\u2019re regularly being harvested for\u00a0food?<\/p>\n

Fifteen undergraduate students in a fall-semester capstone class at the UNC<\/span> Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS<\/span>) wanted to find out. \u201cOyster reefs provide vital services that benefit many species, including humans,\u201d says Jenny Hughes, one of the students in the class. \u201cOur goal was to measure possible differences in a few of these services in areas open and closed to shell\u00a0fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now in its eleventh year, the capstone program at the Morehead City Field Site is overseen by the UNC<\/span> Institute for the Environment and allows undergraduates from UNC<\/span> to spend a semester at IMS<\/span>. While there, they conduct independent research projects as well as a team project, referred to as \u201cthe capstone.\u201d \u201cThe students who come here\u2014many of them end up going on to graduate school and becoming scientists,\u201d says Mike Piehler, a professor at IMS<\/span>. \u201cAnd if you\u2019re going to become a scientist, the first thing you need to do is experience the\u00a0process.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the outside, coastal research often looks picturesque\u2014beaches and boat rides. Who wouldn\u2019t enjoy that? \u201cIt can be physically challenging, and there are some people who absolutely hate it,\u201d Piehler says. \u201cWe slog around in the mud a lot, and if you\u2019re not going to like that, that\u2019s important to\u00a0know.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students had to deal with several challenges\u2014primarily a short time frame. \u201cThey\u2019re dealing with processes that vary throughout the year, and they\u2019re just making an autumn measurement,\u201d Piehler says. \u201cYou just get a little snapshot if you only look at one\u00a0season.\u201d<\/p>\n

But even with a limited time frame, the students gathered findings that contribute to the wealth of coastal knowledge produced by the UNC<\/span> Institute of Marine Sciences. Local officials and community members often attend the students\u2019 presentations at the end of the semester. \u201cWe like to see what\u2019s going on in the research community because those are all things that are important for regulators to look at,\u201d says Steve Murphy, a supervisor at the N.C.<\/span> Division of Marine Fisheries. \u00a0\u201cThis has a lot of similarities to what we do\u2014opening and closing waters to fishing. These projects really lend a lot to\u00a0that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students took pride in designing and organizing the project on their own. \u201cMost of the experimental design was ours,\u201d Hughes says. \u201cAll of the research into the literature was ours. We had guidance in the lab from experienced technicians, but we did the work\u00a0ourselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not something I had thought about going into before. It opened doors to experiences I wouldn\u2019t have had\u00a0otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Historical evidence has shown that harvesting can be detrimental to an oyster reef\u2019s functionality. But in this study, the students found a high level of function in reefs that were both open and closed to\u00a0fishing.<\/p>\n

Imagine picking apples from a tree\u2014you want to pick the apples and enjoy them without diminishing the other services the tree provides, like providing oxygen and shade. There may be a similar phenomenon, to an extent, with oyster reefs. \u201cThis study offers support for the idea that oyster fishing may not always decrease the services that oysters provide to ecosystems,\u201d Piehler\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

On the surface, the capstone class seems to act as a filter\u2014to separate the hard core marine scientists from the land-loving scientists. But it\u2019s much more than\u00a0that.<\/p>\n

Even for the students who decide that slogging through mud is not their preferred method of data collection, Piehler says the semester-long experience is still highly valuable. \u201cIdentifying the problem, developing and executing a plan to solve it, generating data, and converting it into information\u2014that is the nature of many people\u2019s jobs,\u201d Piehler says. \u201cAnyone can come up with a number, but saying what it means is the real\u00a0challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey come here with fresh eyes, and ask questions about things we take for granted. We are just so fortunate to have great groups of undergraduate students here year after year after\u00a0year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more about coastal capstone courses.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Mike Piehler is an associate professor at the UNC<\/span> Institute of Marine Sciences and program head of estuarine ecology and human health at the UNC<\/span> Coastal Studies Institute. He is also the director of graduate studies for the UNC<\/span> Curriculum for the Environment and\u00a0Ecology in the College of Arts and Sciences.
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Jenny Hughes is a junior at UNC<\/span>\u2013Chapel Hill, majoring in environmental sciences with a double minor in biology and marine\u00a0sciences, both in the College of Arts and Sciences.
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Steve Murphy is the assistant section chief of shellfish sanitation and recreational water quality at the N.C.<\/span> Division of Marine\u00a0Fisheries.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Story by Mary Lide Parker, Endeavors<\/a> magazine<\/p>\n

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Oysters may be one of North Carolina\u2019s most important organisms. They filter the water, their shells provide habitats for other organisms, and they can help slow the process of erosion. 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