Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2021
DOI
10.1002/eap.2382
Publication Title
Ecological Applications
Volume
31
Issue
6
Pages
1-15 pp..
Abstract
One of the paramount goals of oyster reef living shorelines is to achieve sustained and adaptive coastal protection, which requires meeting ecological (i.e., develop a self-sustaining oyster population) and engineering (i.e., provide coastal defense) targets. In a large-scale comparison along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, the efficacy of various designs of oyster reef living shorelines at providing wave attenuation was evaluated accounting for the ecological limitations of oysters with regards to inundation duration. A critical threshold for intertidal oyster reef establishment is 50% inundation duration. Living shorelines that spent less than half of the time (< 50%) inundated were not considered suitable habitat for oysters, however, were effective at wave attenuation (68% reduction in wave height). Reefs that experienced > 50% inundation were considered suitable habitat for oysters, but wave attenuation was similar to controls (no reef; ~5% reduction in wave height). Many of the oyster reef living shoreline approaches therefore failed to optimize the ecological and engineering goals. In both inundation regimes, wave transmission decreased with an increasing freeboard (difference between reef crest elevation and water level), supporting its importance in the wave attenuation capacity of oyster reef living shorelines. However, given that the reef crest elevation (and thus freeboard) should be determined by the inundation duration requirements of oysters, research needs to be re-focused on understanding the implications of other reef parameters (e.g. width) for optimising wave attenuation. A broader understanding of the reef characteristics and seascape contexts that result in effective coastal defense by oyster reefs is needed to inform appropriate design and implementation of oyster-based living shorelines globally.
Original Publication Citation
Large-scale variation in wave attenuation of oyster reef living shorelines and the influence of inundation duration. Ecological Applications, 31(6), Article e0238. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2382
Repository Citation
Morris, Rebecca L.; La Peyre, Megan K.; Webb, Bret M.; Marshall, Danielle A.; Bilkovic, Donna M.; Cebrian, Just; McClenachan, Giovanna; Kibler, Kelly M.; Walters, Linda J.; Bushek, David; Sparks, Eric L.; Temple, Nigel A.; Moody, Joshua; Angstadt, Kory; Goff, Joshua; Boswell, Maura; Sacks, Paul; and Swearer, Stephen E., "Large-Scale Variation in Wave Attenuation of Oyster Reef Living Shorelines and the Influence of Inundation Duration" (2021). Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications. 42.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cee_fac_pubs/42
Included in
Civil Engineering Commons, Environmental Engineering Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Comments
© 2021 by the Ecological Society of America
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article:
Large-scale variation in wave attenuation of oyster reef living shorelines and the influence of inundation duration. Ecological Applications, Article e02381, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2382, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2382. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.