My name is Jaclyn Taylor and I am currently a third-year Master’s student in Ecology and Evolution at Rutgers University. My career in marine sciences began as an undergraduate at Southampton College of Long Island University where I graduated with a B.A. in Marine Biology. As my academic career progressed, my childhood interests in marine life grew into an interest in fisheries ecology and evolved into a goal of pursuing a career in management and preservation of marine resources. I joined the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory (HSRL) in 2006 to conduct my thesis research on oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reef ecology in Delaware Bay with my advisor Dr. David Bushek.

The Delaware Estuary is a vital marine resource providing both economic and ecological benefits to the tri-state area. The Delaware Estuary is home to a major shipping port and an important consumer product, the oyster. The Estuary creates habitat for hundreds of species including horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds. Oysters also create their own habitat by forming oyster reefs. Oyster larvae initially settle on a hard substrate, grow and then serve as new substrate for incoming recruits. This ongoing process creates a growing vertical reef structure and the spaces created between the oyster shells creates habitat for many species.

The purpose of my research is to demonstrate the habitat value of oyster reefs and oyster aquaculture operations in Delaware Bay. Small reefs were constructed of mesh bags filled with oyster shell on the intertidal flats of lower Delaware Bay. Oyster aquaculture rack and bag structures are also found on these intertidal flats. Relative habitat value is being measured by sampling motile macrofauna (fish, crabs, shrimp etc) that are utilizing the constructed reefs, aquaculture racks and control sand areas. Macrofauna are sampled using various capture methods: eel pots, crab traps, minnow traps and seining. By depicting the numerous species utilizing these oyster structures as habitat, ecological significance is added to the already economically important oyster of the Delaware Bay.