Effect of water dynamics on the clearance rate of oysters and mussels

As part of the Building with Nature project investigating the possibility of farming shellfish on the dykes, it is important to know how the oysters will grow in these high dynamic environments where the movement of water can be intense.

The growth of shellfish is highly dependent on how much an individual eats i.e. the available algae in the water, which can be measured by the rate at which the oyster filters the algae out of the water (clearance rate). To better understand how oysters and mussels fare in dynamic environments with high water dynamics you will work in Yerseke at NIOZ measuring the clearance rate of small oysters and mussels in three different levels of water movement intensity and their growth over three months. From this you can extrapolate the effect of hydrodynamics on the feeding behaviour and growth of oysters if they were to be farmed on the dykes.

'''Research type:''' lab research, desk research.

'''Research level:''' minor but can be adapted to other levels

'''Prerequisite:''' interest in ecology

'''Partners:''' Rijkswaterstaat Zee en Delta, NIOZ

'''Client:''' Anneke van den Brink{{Project config}}
{{Project
|Supercontext=Building with Nature
|Project type=Standaard
|Name=Effect of water dynamics on the clearance rate of oysters and mussels
|Start date=2016/08/01
|End date=2017/02/28
|Summary=Effect of water dynamics on the clearance rate of oysters and mussels

Research type: lab research, desk research.

Research level: minor but can be adapted to other levels

Prerequisite: interest in ecology
}}